SHANDON Easton is taking the movie-going experience in Bermuda to the next level. Starting next month, he is renovating The Little Theatre to be Bermuda's only digital cinema.

The new system will be Bermuda's only high definition movie theatre and it will be the only theatre able to play 3-D movies using a new technology that will be bought direct from Dolby.

Mr. Easton explained: "We need to take the island to the next step for people that want to enjoy going to the movies.

"The new screen, digital projector and 3-D technology are far superior to any that has come before in Bermuda. The 3-D films will run at 48 frames per second (fps) versus regular film that is 24 fps. The first 3-D film we are showing will be Journey to the Centre of the Earth and that will be in mid-August.

"We also are installing a brand-new sound system that will make us Bermuda's only theatre with a true digital sound experience."

The new sound technology, which was developed after taking projectionists' input from around the globe, has a solid reputation for delivering premium clear sound and, according to Mr. Easton, "research showed it was the best for sound in movie theatres".

Mr. Easton also owns Unique Audio which does high end home theatre installations as well as car and boat installations for superior sound.

August 1 marks the first anniversary of Mr. Easton owning The Little Theatre after he bought it from businessman Lee White.

He said: "I started it for the love of it all. I've always been into high-end entertainment. I love it here and can't wait for all the new changes that will be taking place in the upcoming months.

"We are finally going to give the island the true movie-going experience they've been waiting a long time for and we will be leading the way for movie theatres across Bermuda.

"Being here for a year, it's taught me a lot about what people want. No other theatre in Bermuda will be a high definition theatre except for us and people will appreciate the changes that are taking place both visually and audibly. We are working with movie studios to bring you the best entertainment value for your money."

Mr. Easton and manager Tracy MacRonald are also pleased to announce plans for a bigger and better concession stand.

"We put our customers first in everything we do," they said.

"We like to keep the concession stand line flowing.

"From serving the freshest, tastiest popcorn to having competitive concession prices we want to give you a true movie-going experience that can't be found anywhere else in Bermuda."

When it comes to choosing the line-up to show at The Little Theatre on Queen Street in Hamilton, Mr. Easton said: "It's hard to pick movies. You have to think about what the people want to see. Action, adventure and comedy are the three things that sell well. Horror movies are at the bottom of the list and no one really goes to those.

"We book the movies at least three months in advance and we have exclusive rights with Universal to show their films. Studios recommend the length of time we should show a film which is usually two to three weeks with 70 per cent of the ticket sales from the first week going back to the studios. The first week a film shows we make most of our monies from concessions."

Currently ,The Little Theatre is showing the new Batman movie The Dark Knight. With the movie breaking every sales record after raking in $155 million during its opening weekend in North America, it is also the highest rated movie on The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).

With a rating of 9.7 based on 70,000 votes, this makes the film the No. 1 rated movie of all time and is number one on the top 250 films to see. It beats out The Godfather at No. 2, which has a 9.1 rating based on 290,000 votes, and The Shawshank Redemption, which also has a 9.1 rating based on 341,000 votes.

With The Dark Knight, Mr. Easton said he can't sell tickets fast enough.

"Every show has been sold out. Two days before the movie started playing we were sold out. This is the best we've ever done. All 62 of our advance tickets are gone for each show and we sell out of the 100 tickets we have for walk-ins constantly. And that is just from locals.

"We haven't had a cruise ship in Hamilton since The Dark Knight started, but when we do we expect the numbers in attendance to climb even higher. We have regular customers who work on the cruise ships that come to see a movie every time they are in port, and with The Dark Knight being the No. 1 movie we expect to do even more business and attract new clientele.

"That doesn't even take into account people travelling on the ships. There are a lot of movie-going fans that come off the ship and into our air- conditioned theatre for $9 and they enjoy themselves seeing a first-run movie that opens the same day as New York or Boston.

"The phone keeps ringing off the hook and at this rate if the sales remain strong we will extend the three weeks allotted to Batman even longer."

So far this year has been good to Mr. Easton, who also had strong sales with his previous movie, Wanted.

"Between the two," he said, "we are having a great summer and we look forward to the changes that are on the way.

"The new theatre will make people want to go to the movies in Bermuda again."