Larger than Life

This is a partial transcript from Your World with Neil Cavuto, August 7, 2002, that was edited for clarity. Click here for complete access to all of Neil Cavuto's CEO interviews.

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NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: It is the ultimate eye-popping experience in theaters popping up everywhere. IMAX Company, which makes and leases projection and sound systems, it uses the largest film frame in motion picture history. The Canadian maker reported net earnings of nine cents a share versus losses of 37 cents a share a year earlier, beating Street estimates.

Here to tell us all about this larger than life company, Richard Gelfond, the IMAX CEO, chairman and co-CEO. I believe he is in our Fox Central, is he? OK, let's take a look there. Is he there? Mr. Gelfond? Yes, indeed you are.

RICHARD GELFOND, CO-CHAIRMAN & CO-CEO, IMAX (IMAX): Hi, Neil.

CAVUTO: By the way, we just took a speak peak at the head of Ethan Allen. You're going to have a quiz later on how he looks right after this.

All right. But let me get, first of all, your take on IMAX right now. I noticed you guys are spreading everywhere. Do you have a sense that you are spreading almost too quickly?

GELFOND: Oh, no, not at all, Neil. I mean, I think the key to small companies is really managing your growth. And I think we have a very reasonable growth curve. We are slated to open about 18 to 20 theaters this year. We are coming out of a very bad environment for exhibitors, and we have been in a turnaround mode. This is our third consecutive profitable quarter. And, you know, we think we have the growth well under control.

CAVUTO: All right. I want to take a peek, Richard, if I can again, at that stock chart. Guys, if we can bring it up, the IMAX peek there. It's kind of interesting here because I guess the fear seems to be that if the economy sputters again, all of the improvement you have made is going to be for naught. Do you buy that?

GELFOND: I don't buy it at all. As a matter of fact, many people look at film exhibitors or even film studios as a protection in a recessionary time. As you know, recently, regular box office has been way up, and IMAX theaters this year are having a terrific year. We released Beauty and the Beast with Disney back in January, which...

CAVUTO: But who is your major audience, Richard? I mean, obviously, I know you do a great deal of this general public stuff. But I realized that a lot of it is in the professional category, right?

GELFOND: No, our audience is really families, Neil. I mean, historically, we came out of museums and science centers, then went to more commercial locations, brought in families with films like T-Rex and Everest.

And now what we are doing is taking Hollywood blockbuster-type films and repurposing them into IMAX with our new technology. So, as I said, you had Beauty and the Beast earlier this year. We are releasing Apollo 13 this September 20. In IMAX, it looks just incredibly stunning. You had Disney releasing four new films coming forward in the next few years. So, the audience is in transition, one where it was more of kind of family education, tourist thing, now to where it is really mainstream commercial audiences.

CAVUTO: All right. Richard Gelfond. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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