ALL THE RAVE

For months now, “ravemotionpictures” has been emblazoned on the bright blue façade looming just east of Interstate 15 and just north of the Las Vegas Beltway.

Was it a soundstage? A movie distribution movie studio?

Neither one, it turns out. Merely a preview of a coming attraction: not a movie but a movie theater.

“It’s the ultimate teaser campaign,” Jeremy Devine, Rave Motion Pictures’ marketing vice president, says of the early name recognition heralding Las Vegas’ latest all-digital multiplex.

Rave’s Town Square 18, located at the back of the sprawling Town Square Las Vegas development, opens today with 9:15 p.m. shows of “Beowulf” on seven screens — all in 3-D.

“We’re not even going to play a 2-D version,” Devine says.

That underlines the status of Rave’s Town Square as Southern Nevada’s third all-digital-all-the-time multiplex. (Regal opened its first, the 12-screen Fiesta Henderson, last month; Galaxy Theatres’ 14-screen Cannery in North Las Vegas opened in May 2006.)

Rather than splicing together “two 50-pound cans of film” and threading the film through a projector, Devine notes, digital projection involves downloading images from a hard drive about the size of a VHS video cassette.

Once the images have been downloaded onto a computerized system, projectionists “can send (the movie) to whatever auditorium they want,” explains projection trainer Tina Loucks.

The digital projection system in turn means audiences will see the same crisp digital images whether they attend an opening-night show or catch a movie a month after its debut.

Other elements throughout the multiplex also take advantage of new technology, from 24-hour ticket kiosks to digital displays combining high-resolution footage of the movies they’re touting.

Preview footage also will appear on plasma screens at the entrance to each of the theater’s auditoriums, which range in size from 105 to 470 seats. Overall, there’s room for more than 4,000 moviegoers at the multiplex, which cost an estimated $18 million to build, based on the industry construction-price standard of $1 million per screen.

Each auditorium features wall-to-wall screens and stadium seating, with 18-inch risers separating each row.

That means “a child can see over the head of a grown man,” Devine says.

And with 48 inches of legroom between the rows, there’s enough room for an audience member to leave his or her seat — without “interrupting the entire row when you get up,” he adds.

The 10 largest auditoriums have elevator access, enabling wheelchair-bound patrons to reach special seating on the theater’s mezzanine level. (Additional wheelchair spaces are located on the main levels of the auditoriums.)

All auditoriums have plush, rocking-chair seats; the larger theaters feature retractable armrests, while six smaller auditoriums have larger, stationary armrests with snack trays and cupholders.

At the theater entrance, an enclosed box-office area features eight ticketing windows. It’s air-conditioned, so patrons waiting in line during summer blockbuster season won’t have to endure triple-digit outdoor temperatures.

Theater designers also considered customer comfort in another area — the lobby restrooms — by building 27 stalls for female patrons, compared to 14 stations available in the men’s room. (A separate family bathroom features a changing table for whichever parent’s on diaper duty.)

Other amenities include a private party room, a customer service window and an arcade.

Throughout, the decor reflects Rave’s two-in-one design scheme, which combines contemporary, digital-age details with neon accents reminiscent of classic Hollywood and “the age of the Bijou on Main Street,” according to Devine.

The neon-bedecked marquee and interior lighting also reflect the theater’s Las Vegas setting.

Las Vegas, yes, but not a casino setting — a distinction Rave officials hope locals will appreciate.

“We want to differentiate ourselves” with the noncasino angle, Devine says. “You can pull up in back, park and walk in,” he says. “We absolutely love the location.”

The Town Square multiplex marks Rave’s debut not just in Nevada but in the West; it’s the circuit’s first multiplex west of the Mississippi River. (Overall, the Dallas-based chain has 28 locations, with 445 screens, in 12 states.)

And there’s plenty of competition for moviegoers in the Southern Nevada market, Devine acknowledges, especially with “practically brand new” theaters that represent the very model of a modern movie multiplex.

“It’s a great time for a movie buff,” Devine comments. “Theaters are recognizing, with all kinds of other entertainment” competing for the public’s time and money, that they must “make the theater experience something you can’t replicate at home. That’s why we have a 55-foot screen. I’m sorry, but you don’t have that at home.”

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0272.