Creekside theater complex opens

With the opening of Mann's Creekside Center triplex across from the Cottonwood Mall, Mann Theaters now has more movie screens in the Salt Lake Valley area than any other chain - no less than 17 in six buildings (including one drive-in).

And Creekside opens with an impressive lineup of new films, starring Goldie Hawn, Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood and Peter Sellers, in "Best Friends," "Honkytonk Man" and "Trail of the Pink Panther."

Mann Theaters recently purchased the two-screen Flick Theater in Trolley Square, and today's opening of the new triple-screen complex coincides with three other openings in Western states: Fort Collins, Colo.; Ventura, Calif.; and Tarzana, Calif., in the San Fernando Valley.

Based on the West Coast, Mann Theaters is a privately owned company with Ted Mann heading its board. Mann is also in the movie-making business, with Ted Mann Productions, whose credits include "Brubaker," with Robert Redford, and the forthcoming "Krull," a science fiction thriller.

Among the theaters owned by the chain is the famed Mann Chinese Theater (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theater), a popular movie palace of the cathedral era that has been preserved and is the site of cement handprints, footprints and autographs by Hollywood's biggest stars.

A VIP invitational screening Thursday night kicked off the new theater complex at Creekside Center, with Gov. Scott Matheson attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The red brick building contains three 350-seat theaters (one with luxury rocker seats and 70mm capabilities) and has underground parking for patrons. It is equipped with facilities for the handicapped in the auditoriums, rest rooms and parking lot.