CEO Of Company Buying Beacon Cinema Outlines Plans

Tuesday night, the Pittsfield, Massachusetts City Council voted to forgive more than $2.5 million in debt on the Beacon Cinema. The choice was between the downtown movie theater facing foreclosure or accepting the loss as part of a deal with a Michigan-based company called Phoenix Theatres. Phoenix first became involved with the Beacon years ago through its management company InSight, which evaluated the Beacon’s business for the banks that financed it. The CEO of that company, Cory Jacobson, appeared at the meeting to discuss why he wants to take over the struggling theater and its historic building, which also houses WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau. Jacobson spoke with WAMC about his vision for a staple of Berkshire County’s largest city.