SPANISH SUBTITLES OFFER A CHOICE THEATERS SAY DUAL FARE HELPS BRIDGE GENERATIONS.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - When the new Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy ``Maid in Manhattan'' opens at the Mann Theatre Plant 16 on Friday, moviegoers in this heavily Latino populated area will have the option of seeing Lopez and co-star Ralph Fiennes fall in love on-screen with or without Spanish-language subtitles.

The multiplex is one of the few theaters in the Los Angeles area to offer ``Maid in Manhattan'' and other current releases such as ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' and ``The Santa Clause 2'' with Spanish subtitles.

``We do most of the family fare in the subtitles instead of the action genre,'' said Rana Matthes, vice president of film and marketing for the Encino-based Mann Theatre chain. ``I find that it's the families with different generations that go to see the subtitles, not teenagers going on their own. But if it's a real popular picture, you get people who don't mind if there are subtitles on the screen.''

When the Plant 16 opened nearly four years ago, it offered as many as half of its movies with subtitles. But the number has dwindled to one or two each week mainly because a subtitled version of a film will do on average about half the amount of business as the regular version at this location.

But the concept has allowed for many in the area of Van Nuys and Panorama City the option of going with Spanish-speaking family members or friends to see a popular new release.

``Everybody is enjoying it and it has provided Mann with a niche here by playing 'Harry Potter' and other popular films with Spanish subtitles,'' said David Nagel, president of Decron Properties Corp., owner of The Plant which also includes a retail and food complex.

``In the Latino community, the parents, grandparents and children tend to shop together and what this has done is it's bridged the generation gap,'' Nagel added. ``Grandparents without a strong English background and their grandchildren can suddenly share the common experience of enjoying a new movie together.''

Recently, several families took in a late afternoon showing of Disney's animated film ``Treasure Planet'' with subtitles. Among them were Panorama City resident Tonya Carvajal and her three young daughters, Mercy, Leticia and Sarah.

``It's a good idea because this is a community where there are more Spanish speakers than in other places,'' Carvajal said.

Sitting nearby was Van Nuys resident Teresa Laoisiga, who speaks limited English, and her 7-year-old daughter, Fabiola, who is fluent in English and Spanish.

``I like to have both languages together,'' Laoisiga said as she situated a large tub of popcorn between herself and her daughter who tried in vain to rattle off the movies she and her mother had been able to see together.

``There was 'The Tuxedo' and 'Spirit: (Stallion of the Cimarron)' and a bunch of other ones,'' the youngster said.

While the subtitled films are a limited success in Van Nuys, they have enjoyed immense popularity at Pacific Theatres Commerce 14 in the city of Commerce which will play any subtitled film that is provided by such studios as Warner Bros., Disney, or DreamWorks.

The theater chains are limited with what titles they can run because it is up to the studio distributing the movie whether or not to create a subtitled version. Running the subtitles requires no extra effort on behalf of the theater since the product arrives already prepared by the studio.

The Commerce theaters' Spanish subtitled selection this week includes ``Potter,'' ``Empire,'' ``Treasure Planet,'' ``The Ring'' as well as the Spanish-language foreign film ``El Crimen Del Padre Amaro.''

``It was originally built as a Spanish-language theater,'' said Ted Mundorff, vice president for film for Pacific Theatres in Los Angeles. ``As the community has matured, the second generation came along and they were bilingual so their requirement was different for the theater. When something is available, we always play it and I'd say they are as popular as the English-only versions.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Theater employee Karla Brizuela looks at a marquee advertising Spanish subtitling on the Disney movie ``Treasure Planet'' that is screening at the Mann Theatre Plant 16 in Panorama City.

(2) The Mann Theatre Plant 16 is one of the few megaplexes in the Los Angeles area to offer Jennifer Lopez's ``Maid in Manhattan'' and other current films with Spanish subtitles.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer