Exhibition veteran Charles Wesoky has been appointed chief executive of no-frills UK exhibitor EasyCinema.

Wesoky's appointment is part of a move by EasyCinema to win over film distributors, many of which have cold-shouldered the exhibitor by refusing to supply it with first run films.

Wesoky was chairman and CEO of London-based EuroPlex Cinemas, which has screens in Switzerland, Italy and Greece. He joined EasyCinema on Feb 1, and will remain chairman of EuroPlex's supervisory board.

He has 37 years experience in the industry, and was responsible for opening the first multiplex cinema in the UK in 1985 - which is now the EasyCinema in Milton Keynes - when he was chief executive of American Multi Cinemas.

Wesoky told ScreenDaily.com that he would be speaking to distributors to see if he could move forward and secure more first run films. "I prefer to pursue this through diplomatic ways," he said.

This is a distinct softening in tone over previous EasyCinema attempts to secure films. Last year, EasyCinema owner Stelios Haji-Ioannou threatened to sue Hollywood studios in the US over its inability to secure first-run films.

The only first run film shown to date at EasyCinema is 20th Century Fox's Down With Love.

EasyCinema, which has no concessions stand or box office and offers tickets online for as low as £0.20, launched in May last year.

The company proposed offering distributors a flat fee for prints, rather than adopting the industry's revenue sharing model, and its business model uses a yield management pricing structure with tickets at a low price if booked ahead for off-peak times.