As IMAX Corporation steps upits positioning as a distributor of Hollywood event films the company hasappointed veteran buyer Phil Groves to the new post of vice president ofdistribution and development.

Groves will serve as chiefliaison with the studios' distribution executives and will devise easier waysof distributing original and IMAX DMR films - those that have been prepared forIMAX projection using the company's proprietary technology - to IMAX Corp'snetwork of theatres.

He will also developoriginal IMAX film content and will be based in Santa Monica, reporting toLarry O'Reilly, IMAX's senior vice president of theatre development and filmdistribution, and Greg Foster, IMAX's president of filmed entertainment.

Groves started out as a filmbuyer with General Cinemas in 1981 and six years later joined Cineplex Odeon,where his various roles included vice president of film and programming at IMAXtheatres across the States.

"As IMAX DMR is proving tobe a powerful option for extending the life of Hollywood event films andsustaining box office performance, wider accessibility of this content is apriority for IMAX," O'Reilly said in a statement.

"Phil has been a passionatesupporter of IMAX DMR, and his proven track record makes him a great asset foradvancing the company's commercial initiatives."

"We expect Phil's excellentrelationships with the Hollywood studios and the exhibition industry to be adriving force in continuing the expansion and distribution of both IMAX DMR andoriginal IMAX films," Foster added.