NEW YORK, March 8, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In keeping with its reputation for industry-standard-setting quality, IMAX Corp. (NYSE:IMAX) (TSX:IMX), today announced it has promoted David Keighley to the newly created role of Chief Quality Officer. In this role, Keighley will be responsible for continuing to demand that every film IMAX touches not only meets the Company's exceptional criteria, but becomes an enhanced version of the original.
"While many organizations today are preoccupied with finding ways to do things cheaper, IMAX is focused on maintaining the highest quality of presentation and continuing to improve all aspects of the cinematic experience," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "David Keighley has been the driving force behind that approach at IMAX for many years. By operating this way, we are able to deliver exceptional value to our audiences, partners and shareholders."
Keighley has been involved in the post-production of more than 265 IMAX films and will continue as president of IMAX's post-production image and quality control subsidiary, DKP 70MM Inc., co-founded with his wife and business partner, Patricia, in 1972 and acquired by IMAX in February 1988. Keighley was appointed Executive Vice President of IMAX in July 2007 and previous to that had been Senior Vice President since July 1997.
Award-winning filmmaking team Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas commented on Keighley's new post: "We were thrilled to hear of David's promotion. His attention to detail, extraordinary technical knowledge and dedication to the highest standards of motion picture image quality have been essential to the IMAX presentations of our films."
"David Keighley is an icon in the industry, earning a sterling reputation through his meticulous attention to detail and his sense of personal responsibility to the work he's done for the best, brightest and most innovative filmmakers," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, Filmed Entertainment at IMAX. "David's collaboration with these key partners and his unwavering focus on delivering the ultimate cinematic presentation have been key contributors to solidifying IMAX's position as an important partner for Hollywood's most influential, leading filmmakers."
Keighley is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and participates in the Academy's Science and Technology Awards Committee. He is a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and a recipient of its Herbert T. Kalmus Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Color Motion Pictures. He has also received the Giant Screen Theater Association's inaugural Special Achievement in Film Award.
"As CQO, I am committed to ensuring IMAX remains the presentation quality leader and am very grateful for this opportunity to reinforce the IMAX brand," said Keighley. "My passion for raising the bar for our talented filmmakers will carry on and I am confident that the IMAX team will continue to offer premium cinematic experiences as we near almost half a century of astounding our audiences."
About IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences. With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world. The industry's top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and as such, the IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. The Company's new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. IMAX theatres deliver the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX, IMAX® 3D, and IMAX DMR (Digital Re-Mastering) technologies. IMAX DMR enables virtually any motion picture to be transformed into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience.
IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo and Shanghai. As of December 31, 2010, there were 518 IMAX theatres (396 commercial, 122 institutional) operating in 46 countries.
The IMAX Corporation logo is available at
IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience® and The IMAX Experience® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/imax ), Twitter ( www.twitter.com/imax ) and YouTube ( www.youtube.com/imaxmovies ).
This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, general economic, market or business conditions, including the length and severity of the current economic downturn, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by the Company, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions, foreign currency fluctuations and the Company's prior restatements and the related litigation and investigation by the SEC and the ongoing inquiry by the OSC. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
CONTACT: Entertainment Media: IMAX Corporation - Santa Monica Rebecca Klein 310-255-5656 rklein@imax.com Principal Communications Group - Los Angeles Melissa Zuckerman/Paul Pflug 323-658-1555 melissa@pcommgroup.com paul@pcommgroup.com Investors: IMAX Corporation - New York Heather Anthony 212-821-0121 hanthony@imax.com Business Media: IMAX Corporation - New York Ann Sommerlath 212-821-0155 asommerlath@imax.com Sloane & Company - New York Whit Clay 212-446-1864 wclay@sloanepr.com