Sweet or Salted

A year and a half of writing about cinemas by Vikki Chowney, now no longer being updated - but enjoy! :)

[vchowney]

Cineworld (an H+K client) gave me tickets to check out the Chelsea screens last week, and there was no other sensible option that to use them to go see the new Avengers (which was *way* better than Assemble). We went early on, midweek, so it was pretty empty (bliss!). A gorgeous building, vast amounts of space and a full bar, plus 2 separate concessions on each floor. Adult tickets £10.40 before 5pm, and extra £2 after.

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The Marriage of Cinema and Branded Content

As part of Advertising Week Europe, the guys at DCM curated an panel event entitled 'Is Branded Content Inspiring Film'...

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Curzon's new cinema in the basement of the Mondrian London at Sea Containers

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September 26th; booked

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Usheru will offer personalised film recommendations & exclusive offers in local cinemas. Sign up for the beta here; http://www.usheru.com/

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I didn't get a chance to go in to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, as it was being used for SXSW film screenings. BUT, I did manage to take these awesome shots of Sixth Street. It had a super cool Southern vibe, and I'm almost glad I didn't get to see what it *really* looks like as now I can just imagine that old school, picturehouse interior without being disappointed!

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Picturehouse Cambridge

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Odeon Kensington saved from redevelopment

A campaign backed by Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Curtis and Sir John Hurt to stop developers turning one of London’s biggest cinemas into luxury flats has won a major victory.

SAVED!

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A bit left-field for SweetorSalted, but still some great stats on the way cinema sales are generated in 2015. Most interesting is that of that 18%, the majority came from tweets by users talking about movies, accounting for 13% of total sales.

Outside of the headline stats above, the piece also states that 3 in 5 people (61%) said Twitter directly influenced their decision to see a film, and covers the benefit of dedicated accounts like @StarWarsUK and @HungerGamesUK in generating sales as “owned” tweets from film-based Twitter accounts contributed 2.0% to box office sales.

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Save the Curzon Soho. Possibly.

Last week The Telegraph ran a story claiming that developers were looking at the historic Curzon Soho site as part of Transport for London’s construction of Crossrail 2. Gulp.

Though the Curzon quickly responded via a message on its website to rebut this, saying; "As far as we are concerned, Curzon Soho is here to stay and it’s business as usual". Hooray!

But THEN, Time Out spoke to them, and Curzon admitted that it was 'aware that there’s a question mark over our future, according to the plans.'. Crumbs.

So, a Soho Curzon regular has started a petition to pre-empt any building work, which has already picked up just over 19k signatures of a 20k goal in just 11 days. I'm signing. Better to be safe than sorry, and that cinema is a beautiful old relic.

Add your name here.

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Bar Chick's exhaustive list of London cinemas you can drink in...

"When better to hit the cinema than in January? It’s cold, you’re fat from all the Christmas indulgence and you’re on the wagon (but if you drink in the dark it’s not cheating, right?). Sure, it’s an obvious choice, but step it up and go to one of London’s finer screens, no 10 quid popcorn..."

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Just before Christmas, the amazing team at Things Unlimited (disclaimer: my old agency) took over my favourite cinema in the whole world - The Electric in Notting Hill - to host an event for NOWTV.

Partnering with Edible Cinema, the team hosted a screening of The Muppets Most Wanted for a group of online influencers, decking out the cinema with fur rugs, blankets, Christmas trees and onesies (straight out of the channel's Christmas ad) - and gave them a tray of treats ready to eat along with the film.

What's more, for people who couldn't join them in person, they sent out limited edition NOWTV boxes and goodies for bloggers & their families to watch along live at home.

Job well done guys :)

Images via NOWTV

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IKEA has transformed one of Moscow's Kinostar De Lux Multiplex screening rooms into a 'Cinema of Love'...

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Time Out reveals winners of Best Cinema Awards

After months of voting, Time Out has today announced the winners of its Best Cinema Awards, chosen by Londoners themselves.

As they say, the results aren't that surprising, with arthouse & local locations the most popular - and a few of the larger multiplex cinemas that have a bit of an edge creeping in.

The top 25 is here, with the top five as follows;

1. The ArtHouse, Crouch End 

2. Prince Charles, Leicester Sq

3. The Lexi, Kensal Green

4. BFI Southbank, Waterloo

5. Ritzy, Brixton

I'm thrilled to see my firm-favourite Prince Charles in at number two, and haven't had a chance to go to the ArtHouse yet (as it's only been open since March). Next on the list for sure.

Time Out has also revealed some more specific winners, fit for every occasion...

Best bar goes to BFI Southbank @bfi

Best for blockbusters goes to BFI Imax @bfi

Best on a budget goes to @Peckhamplex

Best for a date goes to the Electric Cinema, Portobello @electriccinema (HOORAY! MY LOCAL!)

Best for fun goes to @ThePCCLondon

Best independent cinema goes to @riocinema

Best luxury cinema goes to Everyman Belsize Park @Everymancinema

Best new cinema goes to Curzon Victoria @CurzonCinemas

Best for old movies goes to BFI Southbank @bfi

Best pop-up cinema goes to @secretcinema

Best for snacks goes to the Genesis, Whitechapel @GenesisCinema

Both images via Time Out

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Last week I went to the Prince Charles cinema, in the middle of Leicester Square, for a 30th anniversary screening of Ghostbusters. 

Yes, there was cake (green slime covered chocolate cupcakes to be specific), yes, there was fancy dress (LOTS of groups of Ghostbusters - and a particularly excellent 'possessed Dana Barrett') and yes, there was really terrible singing.

The bit that made it for me though was the outrageously entertaining compere, who worked for the cinema. I've been to another special event there before (an X-Men thing back in 2006 when The Last Stand was released) - and ever since I've been on the mailing list. Back then, it was the gusto with which the films were introduced, and how fun the staff made it, that made me fall in love with the Prince Charles. And since then, it hasn't really changed a bit.

Not only do they do special events, sing-a-longs, quote-a-longs, all nighters and movie marathons, but they curate their schedule *really* well. It's a mixture of classics, cult films and new releases, and the sheer adoration for film comes through in the way they talk, write and present their upcoming events.

Sure, the cinema isn't huge, and evening shows tend to create a huge queue for the bar that snakes up the stairs and makes it impossible to walk around, but who cares? Ticket prices are super reasonable (£8 matinee and £11.50 evening/bank holidays), and there's a vintage credibility to the place that puts the other multiplex cinemas in the square to shame.

Plus, annual membership is just £10 (or lifetime for £50?!) - and you get half price matinee tickets and at least £2.50 off at all other times, a tonne of discounts for partners in the surrounding parts of London, 10% off at the bar, members deals weekly, pre-sale tickets and occasional free screenings. What's to complain about?

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Curtains for Melbourne's Astor Theatre

Melbourne’s Astor theatre first opened its doors in 1936 and may close them for good in 2015 - take a pictorial tour of one of Australia’s last art deco film palaces

So sad :(

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Curzon Mayfair in 1965