Sell Out

IN KEEPING WITH the film industry trend of mainstreaming "indies," Landmark Theater Group, the nation's largest exhibitor of specialty films, has been bought out by a cabal of rich investors. Dallas-based Silver Cinemas International, Inc., a subsidiary of the L.A.-based Brentwood Associates, bought Landmark for a cool $65 million. Landmark owns 140 screens at 49 theaters across the country--locally, the Lagoon--and claims to be the only national "independent" film exhibitor. For moviegoers, the move probably means more Sling Blades and even fewer Thieves.