In marketing move, independent studio plans screenings.

CANOGA Park-based Cinema Libre Studio has begun a series of screenings of top foreign independent films as part of an effort to inform local independent filmmakers of the studio's efforts at assisting in financing independent films.

"We want to let filmmakers know that we're here," said Kendra Rucco, a spokes-woman for the studio.

The screenings are by invitation only and feature a number of classic films by famed directors such as Sergei Eisenstein, Akira Kurasawa and Fernando Arrabal.

The series will continue every Wednesday through next year, Rucco said.

So far, the studio has screened "The Battleship Potemkin," and "Viva La Muerte," ("Hail Death"), both shown with subtitles.

Cinema Libre, which opened June 10, is housed in a refurbished 6,500-square-foot former medical office on the 8300 block of De Soto Avenue where a core group of independent filmmakers gather to produce feature films under its Cinema Libre banner.

The studio provides filmmakers with equipment, studio and postproduction facilities to complete their films.

French filmmakers Phillippe Lenglet and Phillippe Diaz have a slate of four films in various stages of development or production, so far this year. Diaz said filmmakers are encouraged to submit their project ideas for consideration.

DIS Increases Revenue

Agoura Hills-based Digital Theater Systems Inc. is continuing to boost its sales after it reported a 41 percent revenue increase last quarter over the same period a year earlier.

For the quarter ending Sept. 30, the company reported a $2.4 million profit or $0.16 per share on $13.3 million in revenue compared to a year earlier when it posted a $399,000 profit or $0.04 per share on $9.5 million a year earlier.

CEO Jon Kirchner said the company's consumer business and its theatrical segment helped spur much of the company's growth last quarter. "In our consumer business, we saw growth in our emerging markets and in sales of DVD and home theater systems," he said.

"In our theatrical business, licensing revenue was solid, as movie studios continued to incorporate DTS soundtracks on their major releases."

The company, which went public last June, is known for its 5.1 Surround Sound used in scores of films and movie theaters around the country.

Meanwhile, the company filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue 4.5 million shares of its common stock. Three million shares will be offered to stockholders and the remainder will be offered to the public. The lead manager for the offering is SG Cowen.

DIC Signs Distribution Deal

Burbank-based DIC Entertainment has signed a deal with Universal Home Video and Concord Records to distribute its new Mommy & Me records and videos.

Its new titles under that brand's "Together" Time" series are scheduled for release on Jan. 20. The company acquired the rights to market the Mommy & Me series about a year ago as part of its efforts to diversify its operations from a television cartoon production house into a merchandising and licensing firm as well as a producer and distributor of children's television properties.

Over the past year, the company has been on an acquisition binge for properties for its merchandising and licensing unit. Last year it acquired the worldwide TV distribution, merchandising and licensing rights to the 1960sera Japanese cartoon series, "Speed Racer," along with the rights to "Strawberry Shortcake," potential new characters developed by comic book writer Stan Lee in a separate development deal signed last summer.

CEO Andy Heyward said he has been moving the company toward merchandising and licensing its properties as a hedge against the volatile nature of the animation industry. About 70 percent of DIC's revenue comes from animation while the remainder comes from licensing and merchandising.

Vivid Opens Distribution Office

Van Nuys-based adult film producer Vivid Entertainment Group has opened a distribution office in Chatsworth which Hustler Video will also use as distribution center.

Last year, Vivid signed a multi-year distribution deal with Larry Flynt Publications to distribute its videos and DVDs. Flynt also operates Hustler Video. Under that deal, Flynt controls shipping, warehousing and sales of Vivid's products.

Vivid Chairman Steven Hirsch had been seeking to streamline the company's operation to better compete with low-cost competitors. Last year, Vivid posted about $150 million in sales, compared to a year earlier when it made about $100 million.

'The Alamo' Opening Delayed

The opening of the expensive and controversial film "The Alamo" has been delayed from its December opening to April, said the film's producer Touchstone Pictures, a unit of the Walt Disney Co.

The film, which portrays a less-than-heroic Davy Crockett and other Texans who defended the historic Alamo fort from the Mexican army in 1836, needs additional work before it can be released, said director John Lee Hancock.

Hancock, who replaced Ron Howard, has been under fire for his portrayal of Crockett as a coward and other historical figures as sometimes racist and unsavory.

Business Journal Reporter Carlos Martinez may be reached at [phone] or by e-mail at [e-mail]