The movies are returning to Crown Center.</p><p>After the six-screen multiplex there closed two years ago, much of the space was converted into a 250-seat theater for live performances.</p><p>Now Butch Rigby, owner of the Screenland Crossroads and Armour theaters, will use the remaining space to operate two auditoriums as the Screenland Crown Center.</p><p>Rigby said his film operation will not interfere with events at the adjacent Off Center Theatre. The movie screens and the live theater will share a box office and concession stand on the shopping complex&rsquo;s third floor.</p><p> Plans call for the Screenland Crown Center to open in mid-December. It will show films Thursdays through Sundays, although it will be open every day between Christmas and New Year&rsquo;s Day.</p><p>Admission will be $8.</p><p>&ldquo;Up to now the Screenland brand has been kind of a mom-and-pop thing,&rdquo; Rigby said. &ldquo;This partnership with Crown Center and Hallmark puts a whole new face on it.&rdquo;</p><p>The new theater will show what Rigby and his partner, veteran exhibitor John Shipp, called &ldquo;middle art fare &mdash; documentaries, foreign films, American independents.&rdquo;</p><p> That programming should distinguish it from the more commercial fare shown at AMC&rsquo;s Mainstreet in the nearby Power & Light District.</p><p> &ldquo;Our intent was to find an operator who would fit more into our entertainment strategy, something outside first-run, big-studio pictures,&rdquo; said Rick Brown of Crown Center Redevelopment.</p><p> &ldquo;We wanted somebody to create a niche market &mdash; independent films, locally produced films, even some retro films. Butch fits the bill perfectly.&rdquo;</p><p> The proximity of the two screens to the Off Center Theatre offers intriguing programming possibilities, Rigby said.</p><p>&ldquo;I can envision some interactive experiences. Recently at the Screenland Crossroads we debuted a movie about local cabaret group Alacartoona, where we showed the film in the auditorium and the band gave a live concert in a nearby space. This would be perfect for that. We&rsquo;ve already had some musicians approach us about doing multimedia shows.</p><p>&ldquo;Or maybe some sort of &lsquo;Rocky Horror&rsquo; hybrid that combines the film with live performance.&rdquo;</p><p>Although they&rsquo;ve not screened movies for three years, the two auditoriums are in excellent shape, Rigby said.</p><p>&ldquo;They got new seating and had the carpets cleaned just a couple of years before they closed,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll need to check out the projection and sound systems. And of course we&rsquo;ll put our own touch on the place with framed classic movie posters from our collection.&rdquo;