City of Moncton Has Its Share of Movie Buffs

Written By: Sharon A. Layton-Pollock

The City of Moncton has its share if movie buffs according to Kevin Hanson. Kevin is the manager of the Trinity Drive Empire Theatres.

Kevin says the hot movies of this summer are Superman Returns, Pirates of The Caribbean and Cars. Looking back over the last five years Kevin says some of the most popular movies have been: The Note Book, Spiderman, Lord of Rings, Harry Potter, Shriek and Star Wars, just to name a few. Kevin added that Moncton is definitely a movie town, he said that people line up for hours before movies. As a matter of fact they lined up 18 hours prior to the doors opening up for Star Wars, Spiderman and Harry Potter.

When I asked Kevin what the general comments were from people after seeing The Da Vinci Code, his reply was that most people felt that it followed the book very well.

I asked Kevin what he liked about Moncton, and his reply was that he liked the people and it being the hub of the Maritimes there are a lot of people to meet. He also said he liked the progressive attitude of the business people.

When asked what Kevin's favorite outdoor activity was he confessed to being pretty busy at work to get out to many of the hockey games, but he follows them very closely.

If Kevin had his way he'd eat at Boomerangs every day. Needless to say Boomerangs is his favorite restaurant.

When I asked Kevin what he would do if he were Mayor for a day, he said he'd love to meet with the political people of Moncton.

I'm afraid when I asked Kevin if he had ever had the opportunity to meet any celebrities he sadly said "No."

A must see TV show for Kevin is Law and Order. He likes it because it gives him something to think about.

Time off, Kevin quizzed me as to what that was. Not really, Kevin enjoys dining out or just relaxing at home spending time with his wife and two children on his days off.

Working as manager of the Empire Theatre is a pleasure for Kevin, but his family is what makes him the happiest.

When Kevin considers the three communities, Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, and the progressive attitudes, he predicts that the population could double in size in the very near future. The City of Moncton has a big city feel, but a small town atmosphere due to the friendliness of those that live here.

Kevin has enjoyed his years as manager. In 2002 Kevin became manager at Crystal Palace and changed over to the Empire Theatre in 2004. Both theatres are owned by Empire Theatre Ltd. out of Stellerton, Nova Scotia, with Sobeys being the major stock holders. The two theatres combined have 16 screens for Moncton's movie buffs to enjoy. With big ticket movies, there are two or three screens at a time showing the same movie.

Many of the local restaurants work with Kevin as they offer packaged deals to their customers for a complete night out, dining and a movie.

So, if you want to know what is coming to Moncton's movie theatres check out their web site at www.empiretheatre.com Brochures are available at both movie theatres that explain the classification of films so you know before you go the type of movie that is showing. For more information on film, video, or video game ratings, call the Maritime Film Classification Board's toll free number at 1-800-565-3820 or check out their web site at www.gov.ns.ca/aga