I want to be in the movie business; having said that, I don’t
want to make movies (a childhood dream that will come to nought I am afraid), I
want to show movies to an audience of people and do it for a living. Yes, I
want to work in a cinema.
When I was younger I attended an interview with Odeon to
work at the new multiplex in Tunbridge Wells; I chose not to take the job. This
has proved to be one of my more successful decisions as I have come to dislike
everything that an Odeon is about. Almost singlehandedly, they have
progressively removed the magic that surrounds movies. They have made going to
the movies a lifeless, characterless, dull experience that only succeeds in
emptying your wallet. Each Odeon multiplex is exactly the same and each one has
the feeling of a cardboard box that happens to be showing the latest movie on
three screens seven times a day. Not only that, it will only cater for the
mind-numbingly boring movies that are nothing more than preludes to the
inevitable toy collection. (The Lego Movie, for me, was one overlong advert for
the product.)
So I propose a return to the old feeling of a cinema, which
is also known as a movie theatre, yes, that’s right, a theatre; a place of imagination,
wonder, splendour and excitement.
I have read that in Newcastle there is a project that fills
empty spaces, such as shops with creative arts events. I would like to use this
idea in the South East and start to show movies that you cannot see at the
Odeon. Latest movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel; older movies, or events,
such as Back to the Future or E.T. for a new audience to discover on the big
screen.
Here is my first thought for a double bill.
I want the whole thing to be an experience, and try to
reflect the same feeling I had as a child going to the Classic in Tunbridge
Wells to watch The Empire Strikes Back. There was excitement in the building,
there was wonder. Posters gave you a hint of the movie you were about to see; magazines
and comic book adaptations were available to buy; in the foyer you could look
at promotional photos of the movie, all in black and white even though the
movie was in colour, and for me this heightened the sense of expectation (as if
it made the experience in the actual cinema even better).
The Southwark Playhouse create a similar effect with their
theatre. They take a space that has not been used and transform it completely,
to great effect. Even though you are in an empty shop or warehouse, there is
drama and magic from what they have done; it is a creative space.
In Maidstone, where I am now, there are numerous empty
spaces that cry out to be used. The local council must be able to allow their
use for a limited price. For me, as a taxpayer, I would rather have a thriving
town than an empty one, and take the lead of Brighton, where it seems most
shops that lie empty are used to sell bric-a-brac, odd stuff. That makes
Brighton what it is, a place for the quirky.
I will attempt to get this project off the ground, and here,
at my blog, I will post updates on the process. If anyone has any advice,
please, I would be very grateful to you.
Zac Thraves
currently reading: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; currently
watching: Fringe and Breaking Bad, via Netflix; last movie watched: The Lego
Movie (crap); currently drinking: coffee, from Kenco Millicano;
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