2 extracts from a Labour party leaflet currently being circulated - under the heading Cinema News (sic)
...the current proposals for a single screen 'art house' cinema do not meet the needs of the city. They may delight the Civic Society, but will provide nothing for our young people or families who will still have to travel to Hatfield, Garston or Hemel to see the latest films.
and,
It is sad that inaction by the Lib-Dems lead(sic) to two schemes for a real city centre cinema with parking being lost.
Well, apart from pointing out that those 'cinemas' were rejected because of the horrendous developments they were part of, words, for once, almost fail me. Maybe people don't have enough reasons for not voting Labour this year (Iraq/the economy/avaricious M.P.s etc.). Oh why not add to the list by attacking the local desire to have our historic, purpose built cinema back. A master stroke of political strategy by Alma Rd H.Q..
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I've got a lot of sympathy for the views expressed by the authors of the leaflet.
ReplyDeleteThe Alpha is unlikely to be big enough to show current run blockbuster films that many young people - indeed, that many people in general - want to see.
The cinema proposals for the city centre thus far have been, as they should have been, turned down because they weren't suitable for our historic city. But St. Albans does need a cinema that shows range of current films and the Alpha, at least as I and many others understand it, will be targeting a different audience niche.
It would be great if the Alpha could be saved. It would be wonderful if, as well, we could have a multi-screen cinema showing current blockbusters in central St. Albans. It would be terrible if the latter in any way diminished the viability of the former, or if planning was given to a horribly out of place development.
Best Wishes - and great blog!
Robin.
The Rex shows current films alongside a really interesting mix of older films which YOU DON'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE, unless you are prepared to travel into London to the National Film Theatre, or wait for months at local film clubs. Actually The Rex seems pretty unique to me in its programming.
ReplyDeleteHave you looked??
In March the programme includes Up in the Air (current), Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll (current), A Prophet (current), Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it is showing this one way way before any other cinema in the country!!!), The Last Station (current), Invictus (current), It's Complicated (current), Precious (current). All this and kids films (Ponyo, Astroboy and Planet 51) in the afternoons and at the weekends. The programme is different on nearly every night so it is like a multiplex in that you get a large choice of films throughout each week. It will seat 500 people at each showing. Babies will be welcome at selected viewings, as at the Rex.
WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT????? Please get your facts straight before you start complaining!
The two proposals for a family cinema were turned down by our lib dem council , who had used St Albans taxpayers money to pay for consultants who submitted designs to cover the specifications they had been given by the council , the same lib dem council then claimed a victory by rejecting the proposals which they had paid the firm to provide.
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember Teares Towers ?