Business Unusual

TK Theaters Personalizes the Silver Screen; L.A. Film School Makes Hollywood Dreams Come True; Two Entrepreneurs Sell Doggone Good Furniture

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, HOST: Ahead on BUSINESS UNUSUAL, they say a man's home is his castle. But a rich man's home can be his Palace Theater or Carnegie Hall. We're going to take you inside one of the latest fads for millionaires.

Also coming up, you say what you really want to do is direct? We'll see you in the school that teaches students how to make movie magic.

And carving out a niche in the furniture business by breaking the rules and warming hearts. These two entrepreneurs are causing quite a stir.

That's all ahead on BUSINESS UNUSUAL.

From Eddie Murphy to Roger Ebert and Ronald Lauder (ph), to the dot.com millionaire next door, home theaters are big business. And one man is catering to their (AUDIO GAP) on the biggest show in town.

Lauren Thierry has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN THIERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the $10 billion home theater industry, Theodore Kalomirakis has a leading role. The company he founded 11 years ago, TK Theaters, designs scaled-down movie palaces in private homes. Detail is everything.

THEO KALOMIRAKIS, FOUNDER AND CEO, THEO KALOMIRAKIS THEATERS: I started the company December 1989, now the rest is history. I started with two or three theaters at that point. We grew to five theaters the next year. Right now, 10, 11 years later, we're about -- big castle projects, we're about 50, 60, sometimes 70 theaters a year.

THIERRY: Big is an understatement. This project, still in the blueprint stage, will go into the mansion of a dot.com millionaire in California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The original idea, when he first came on board, was to have us design a theater that would fit in in this room, or a room about that size, which was about 700, 800 square feet. And his company was extremely successful and took off, and he became very successful overnight. And so he basically said to Theo, Listen, Theo, I want you to go crazy, design me the best thing that you've ever come up with.

A sauna, there's an exercise space, there's a hot tub...

THIERRY: With 14,000 square feet to play with and a multimillion-dollar budget, Kalomirakis is designing a small town -- a 50-seat theater, two pizza ovens in the lobby, a game room, two-story jazz club, and, of course, a swimming pool.

MICHAEL DALTON, COO, THEO KALOMIRAKIS THEATERS: There's a limited group of people who can do the custom designs, but it's fairly stable population. These are very wealthy people, and it's a global business.

THIERRY: From the Ukraine to the U.S., TK Theaters are turning up as the must-have playthings of the rich and famous. Prefab Kalomirakis theaters start at $50,000. For custom theaters, the sky's the limit.

And it all started under the skies of Athens, Greece, where the classical theater began as a model of the universe, and where Theo Kalomirakis was born.

KALOMIRAKIS: When I got to be 8, 9 years old, I got an 8- millimeter projector, and I started, you know, getting films from the American Library in Athens, 8-million -- super-8 millimeter, and I would just project them out in my terrace in Athens, get my friends, put seats -- you know, seats, you know, for me seats spelled theater. It's not just like put the chair there, chair there, it's just like formalizing the experience of communally getting into the movie.

So we play movie exhibitor.

THIERRY: At 14, he was writing movie reviews for local magazines. At 16, he went to film school in Athens, made a movie called "Limited Engagement" -- see it up on screen there -- and he found himself invited to get his master's at New York University's film school.

KALOMIRAKIS: After the graduation from NYU, I found that I just didn't have the patience to go to L.A. and start working as an assistant director. So I switched to writing about movies again, which led me to designing pages of my reviews in a couple of local Greek-American newspapers, and that design/writing led me to getting a design job at Time Warner.

THIERRY: In the meantime, he built a shrine to his love of film, right here in this Brooklyn brownstone.

KALOMIRAKIS: Whether actually this is the theater that got me into the business that we all are now, I think it was a place of pleasure for me, and 12 years ago, it was something that I did for my own use.

THIERRY: The rest is, pardon the expression, right out of the movies.

KALOMIRAKIS: And my friends were either journalists, or were working for "Time" magazine, they were working for "People" magazine. I would bring them over for screenings, and they would say, This is amazing, this is the best thing we've ever seen. So let us write about it.

THIERRY: The press coverage was followed by phone calls from people asking Kalomirakis to design theaters like his in their homes. But it was not until his new boss, Malcolm Forbes, gave Theo a talking-to that TK Theaters opened for business.

KALOMIRAKIS: I left Time Warner to work for "Forbes" magazine as an ad director of a magazine that they just acquired, "American Heritage." So I was telling Malcolm one day what was happening. He says, "You know, you're an idiot. Opportunity knocks at your door, and you're deaf."

THIERRY: Today, Theo's list of confidential clients could fill a small theater. And while his business is one of a kind, he keeps a vigilant eye on competitors.

KALOMIRAKIS: I tell you something, if you don't obsess about something, if you don't put every ounce of energy, of inspiration, or whatever you have into your business, other people will catch up.

THIERRY: And right down to the chairs, no detail is too trivial.

JAMES THEOBALD, SALES EXECUTIVE, THEO KALOMIRAKIS THEATERS: It comes in leather, velour, chenille, and -- as well as the suede, which you see now. Obviously the price points are a bit different, but it can range from about $1,500 to about $3,000 a chair.

THIERRY: Today, Theo was working on his signature line of theaters, prefabricated designs that are his company's solution for the masses -- at least for the masses who can afford $50,000 to $100,000 for the architectural components, the furniture, and the installation.

Add another $25,000 to that for a basic audiovisual package that TK does not supply.

KALOMIRAKIS: If you ask me, What's your goal, Theo, as an entrepreneur? two years from now, it's to have a theater in a box, a theater where the client will go and find it at -- wherever, Home Depot, Sears -- for $15,000, that includes a bundle of electronics, and you bring it home, you open the box, you have a screwdriver, and you put it up yourself.

THIERRY: But before theater-in-a-box comes to your home, most of us will have to do it the old-fashioned way, standing in line at the local multiplex, where a $9.50 movie ticket is beginning to sound like a bargain.

For BUSINESS UNUSUAL, Lauren Thierry, CNN Financial News, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHAFFLER: Kalomirakis's company is currently in a 3,500-square- foot office space in Manhattan it moved into 10 months ago when it had only six employees. But because the company is now beginning to manufacture many of the materials in its signature line of theaters, it's moving again, this time to a 12,000-square-foot space in Manhattan's midtown West Side. There, Kalomirakis plans to construct not only offices for his current 20 employees, but also a showroom with five fully constructed home theaters.

Coming up, how to make it on those big screens. We take you to a place where they won't teach you how to be a star, but they'll show you how to make one.

Plus, we find out why this dog and its owners are turning heads while turning a profit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHAFFLER: There's a new school in Los Angeles that will teach you how to set up a shot and all the tricks of the trade that shooting entails. No, it is not a school for gun enthusiasts, it's the Los Angeles Film School. By learning from some of the best directors, producers, and editors in Hollywood, young filmmakers are learning to make fantasy into reality.

CNN's Gloria Hillard has more from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So one of the bywords that we have around here is, be a pro. Do it like a professional.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You got (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I'm going to mess you up real good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order to get your effect, you just agitate the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a set (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a set protocol.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're just working all the time. When you're not shooting, you're developing a project to shoot, and you're trying to coordinate a production, and you shoot, and then you're in post-production.

GLORIA HILLARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And all the while, you're in school. Welcome to the Los Angeles Film School, which offers a 10-month curriculum at a cost of $21,000 with classes in all aspects of movie making -- cinematography, editing, directing, and producing.

THOM MOUNT, THE LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL: Over 75 percent of this movie takes place in a single room. How are you going to handle it? What are you going to do with it?

HILLARD: These students are in a producing class, something the teacher knows all about. In fact, when he was about the age of the students here, he was president of Universal Pictures. Thom Mount is also one of the school's founders.

MOUNT: When they leave here, we believe they'll be equipped to go make pictures as opposed to talk about making pictures. These people are not professors, they are working professionals in the industry. These young men and women get exposed to people that they otherwise would be standing in line outside someone's office to see.

DON CAMBURN (ph), FILM EDITOR: There are a couple of ways that you can also deal with them.

HILLARD: Don Camburn has edited 40 feature films.

CAMBURN: Once you've gained experience, you want to pass it on. And teaching is a wonderful way to do it.

This is the first scene in the movie. So put a little -- you know, give it a little, you know, zip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My long-term goal is to own my own production company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately, I would love to write and direct a film.

HILLARD: What distinguishes this school from others, they say, is not only its hands-on but foot-in-the-door philosophy, with an opportunity to observe real productions.

AMEDEO D'ADAMO, DEAN, THE LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL: We tell them, Hey, make business cards. When you're on the shoots, when you're in these places, hand them out, get known, smile.

MOUNT: We're going to put Roman on the phone with you, and you're all going to explain to him how you're going to produce his movie.

HILLARD: They'll be talking to director Roman Polanski.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was so nervous, you don't even understand.

MOUNT: So I don't want anybody to chicken out.

HILLARD: It's probably more nerve-wracking than a final exam from one of those academic film schools.

For BUSINESS UNUSUAL, Gloria Hillard, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHAFFLER: Just ahead, one doggone good furniture company. How Mitchell Gold and its cover girl, named Lulu, are rolling over the competition -- next on BUSINESS UNUSUAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHAFFLER: Over the past 10 years, the Mitchell Gold Company has turned heads and raised eyebrows in the furniture industry. While winning accolades from local clergy for its family-friendly workplace, they've also caused a stir with a series of controversial and sexy advertisements.

Terry Keenan has the story of two entrepreneurs who are doing business, having fun, and raising Cain down South.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITCHELL GOLD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MITCHELL GOLD COMPANY: Oh, you're so sweet. She loves the furniture. The whole thing is to make furniture that she loves.

TERRY KEENAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lulu isn't exactly the Playboy Bunny, but she is the cover girl for Mitchell Gold Furniture. She's the sexy model posing for cheesecake shots on a sofa, and the gracious hostess greeting her guests in the showroom.

Lulu accompanied the partners to a photo shoot for their company's ad campaign. The rest is history.

GOLD: Lulu, over here. Up there and model.

We realized that people, when they see a pet, an animal, in the shot, they remember it more easily. You're the one with that cute bulldog. And she started getting fan mail.

KEENAN: Lulu's stardom is a natural fit for this company, as comfortable as the innovative furniture that accounts for its success.

BOB WILLIAMS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, MITCHELL GOLD COMPANY: When people walk in and they see her, she's kind of doing her little waddle thing, they immediately just break down. And it makes it a lot more enjoyable, because we can see the human side in them, and it's just not two business people talking.

KEENAN: Founders Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams keep their company focused on human values.

JOANNA SEITZ, J. SEITZ AND COMPANY: What I like about these furnishings is, they're easy to live with, they're warm, they're comfortable, they're beautiful, they're good quality, they're a good value. They're great.

GARY MCKAY, "COUNTRY HOME" MAGAZINE: And every time we come down here for market, we look forward to coming in the showroom, because we'll see something fun, something exciting, something that's stylish, and yet something we've never seen before.

KEENAN: With comfort as its priority, innovative design to ensure its appeal, and a policy of giving back to those who add to its success, the 10-year-old company is teaching an old industry some new tricks.

GOLD: Everything has to be comfortable. If it's not comfortable, it doesn't matter what it looks like. Comfort is paramount to us. We want to build quality that we would want to have in our own homes.

KEENAN: Gold and Williams are not afraid to break the rules to protect their vision.

MITCHELL: I have this incredible desire, and fortunately Bob does too, to please our customers, because the furniture industry in general doesn't please its customers.

TIM BOYD, METROPOLITAN DELUXE: They're able to deliver very good value. We have a pleasant buying experience when we purchase at this level from a wholesaler.

KEENAN: The entrepreneurs met in New York. They moved to Hickory, North Carolina, when Gold became marketing director for Lane Furniture. Gold grew unhappy working to increase Lane's profits.

GOLD: I remember thinking, Shucks, if that's all I'm going to do, that doesn't make my life enjoyable. The dream was to have this nice little company. Maybe we do $4 or $5 million worth of business, sell to 20 or 25 customers, and do things the right way.

KEENAN: The dreamers bought a furniture factory in the neighboring town of Taylorsville. They vowed to make their workplace enjoyable, manufacturing processes environmentally friendly, customer service exceptional, and product quality high.

RICK ASHLEY, LEATHER SUPERVISOR, MITCHELL GOLD COMPANY: They come in, and they purchased the company, him and Bob Williams, and we went skyrocketing ever since.

WILLIAMS: Part of it started with the idea that we needed a lot of bang for a buck.

KEENAN: It was only a small budget for print advertising. The partners, taking a lesson from Calvin Klein's sensual ads, created a series of sexy photos with provocative headlines.

WILLIAMS: I liked how sexy some of them were, and I liked how thought-provoking other ones were.

KEENAN: The ads were widely praised, but some criticized them for promoting a gay lifestyle.

WILLIAMS: It's nothing that other industries haven't been doing for years, but yet you would think to some of these people that, you know, we're, like, stopping the sun in the middle of the day or something.

GOLD: So if other people in the industry, you know, look down on us for doing it, it doesn't really bother us.

KEENAN: The partners believe another innovation will have a more important impact. Mitchell Gold is the first residential furniture manufacturer to have onsite daycare.

ASHLEY: They can bring them there, and we get to see them every day. We get to go in there when we want to and take them to break, for breakfast, lunch.

GOLD: When I die, on my tombstone I would like it written that, He insisted on having a daycare center, and it set a pace for the industry to do the same.

KEENAN: For BUSINESS UNUSUAL, I'm Terry Keenan, CNNFN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHAFFLER: Coming up, the influence of star power -- how these two entrepreneurs are curing women's blues by directing them to their local video store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHAFFLER: Finally, one reason movies are so magical and so powerful is that they go directly to your feelings. Two psychology entrepreneurs have taken that idea and run with it. They believe movies can be a form of therapy to women. At least somebody thinks they were right. A television show and a book have both recently come out based on the idea of cinematherapy.

CNN's Rachel Wells caught up with the therapists to find out more about their novel treatments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEVERLY WEST, CO-AUTHOR, "CINEMATHERAPY": The point of the book is that we feel that women watch movies differently than guys, and we thought that it was time that, for one, that somebody -- that we gave women a video guide that let us go to a video store and not have to comb through 750 copies of "Rambo" to find a good chick flick.

Let's take a stroll.

NANCY PESKE, CO-AUTHOR, "CINEMATHERAPY": This is one of my favorite sections, Classics.

WEST: And Nancy's our Classics expert.

PESKE: Lot of happily-ever-after movies like "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable. WEST: Happily-ever-after movies are when no matter what insurmountable odds you come up against, somehow everything manages to come out all right.

Oh, here's a great, like, martyr syndrome movie, "Camille."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAMILLE")

GRETA GARBO, ACTRESS: You will never love me 30 years. No one will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PESKE: When you're feeling a little bit sorry for yourself and just want to wallow in it, it can be nice to watch somebody who really has some problems.

RACHEL WELLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): "All About Eve," where does that fall in?

PESKE: Bette Davis movies. You know, it's wonderful to watch those if you have to be nice to people all day, and you're just feeling a little angry.

WELLS: Do you have any of those mother and father issue movies?

WEST: Here we go, "Father of the Bride" (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PESKE: That's, like, a great movie to remember.

WEST: Here's a classic mom movie, "Terms of Endearment."

We have two categories of PMS moves. We have weepers and ragers, if you're feeling fragile or pissed.

PESKE: "Scarface" could be a PMS rage.

WEST: "Ghost" is up there.

PESKE: Oh, yes. Now, there's the ultimate weeper.

WELLS: Then there's the always popular, though I've never sat through it, which is "Dr. Zhivago."

WEST: When you feel like crying your eyes out, in this case for hours.

PESKE: Romance (UNINTELLIGIBLE), they've taken the book and they've turned it into a program.

WEST: Every night, a movie's presented for a different mood. And there's two on-air cinematherapists, Kate and Jessie, that give you a lead-in, basically, to the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have got one doozy of a dysfunctional romance for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEST: When women want to kick back and meet their own needs for a change, take charge of their own remote control, they generally speaking pull a movie that matches the mood they're in.

WELLS: I see (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Shirley Temple.

WEST: "Bright Eyes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BRIGHT EYES")

SHIRLEY TEMPLE, ACTRESS (singing): On the good ship "Lollipop"...

PESKE: She's, like, a cinematherapy role model to the max. She's never unhappy. That woman must have watched a lot of movies.

WELLS: For BUSINESS UNUSUAL, Rachel Wells, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHAFFLER: And that is BUSINESS UNUSUAL. This week we've shown you that feelings count in business, whether it's movie therapy or a cute, woolly dog. If you missed any of today's program, you can catch it on the Web. Just log onto cnnfn.com and click on BUSINESS UNUSUAL.

I'm Rhonda Schaffler. Thanks for joining us. Goodbye from New York.

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