A cinema for ED?

[DavidWooderson]

How about at the Police Station.

[Jeremy]

Drew/stephen/terri - what makes you think that the Wetherspoons building is available?

[LUVED]

I love the idea. Yes, I would def come along

[Eddleston]

Luved the small cinemas and am absolutely thrilled about this prospect.

[cazza]

Love the idea! Was having a similar converstaion with hubby about the need for one and also thought the forest hill wetherspoons should be returned to it's former glory. However would prefer it to be in ED!

As well as mainsteam/indie/foregin language films...

how about a kid screenings (maybe Disney classics or sound of music type movies - wholesome fun!) or mums/dads and babies screenings (with more adult movies for parents grieving the lost of their social lives since babies have come along. These sessions could be in the mornings to make more use of the space and for something to do with kids when the weather is dodgey or when parents need to chill out with popcorn or catch up on sleep:)-D

[Cora]

Yes,yes,yes.....oh how nice would it be to lose foxtons and gain something useful!! Wish you lots of luck in the venture (even if it didn't involve Foxtons!) and yes another vote for ED over Forest Hill.

[stephen509]

Not saying it is available but I think that is the only building big enough to fit one. That it used to be an old cinema as well, they most have the basis of a refit.

Tbh even if they had one in Crystal Palace I would rather go there than Surrey Quays

[jamie3]

Fantastic Idea! I'd go at least once a week. The closer to ED/Peckham Rye the better in my opinion - i'd love somewhere within walking distance. Best of luck progressing it :)

[Norfolkvillas]

Thumbs up from our family too. If it did daytime screenings of kids films I know my husband and soon-to-be-of-film-watching-age son would use it very regularly.

[JessM]

great idea

Please do include screenings for mums & their babies, I loved the one at the Ritzy when I had my 1st at home, but too much of a mare to get to now I'm pushed for time and on no.3!

kids' matinees at the weekend - classics too not just latest stuff

good luck

[Dorothy]

Yes please, SE22 would absolutely welcome and warmly embrace a new cinema.

Am not sure about finding a suitable spot on the main drag of Lordship Lane though?

Anyway, if it does all eventually work out and you get your lovely independent cinema, could I put in a request for some child-free daytime screenings please? :)

[Reg Smeeton]

Love the idea, would definitely use it, and with the growing number of teenagers in the area, it could become a destination for them too.

Dread to think what the cost of a lease would be, or the conversion costs. But good luck.

[redjam]

It really is the one glaring thing that ED lacks. I've often daydreamed about such a venture myself (if I had the funds to sink in it). Go for it - you'll get loads of local support and I think you could make a real commercial success of it.

[fazer71]

You are kidding right?

[DulwichFox]

Why do you think all the Cinemas have closed.... ???

It is because they were never able to make money... (1960's)

They were turned into Bingo halls in the 70's

Now many have been turned into Flats...

Only the large screen cinemas in the West End can make money .. and they struggle.

Fox Not 20th Century.

[NicolaWJ]

We've been talking of doing this for years although haven't got the funds, time or know how so just a pipe dream! Think it's a great idea and this is the perfect area for it - lots of niche showings for mums and babies, kids etc. Also would be great to see a film at a time that doesn't start too early (6.30pm) or too late (9pm) - v annoying timings for getting babysitters! 8pm starts would be v welcome! Good luck.

[neilson99]

Its a great idea, go for it, it would be fantastic addition to the area and Greenwich, Notting Hill (has 2) Clapham, Brixton etc all show a local cinema can be a success and have a future!

Would be interested to know when you would locate but I guess that confidential for now, ED would be great but Forest Hill is only very short bus ride away so would work well there too I think.

Good luck!

[jamie3]

neilson99 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Its a great idea, go for it, it would be fantastic

> addition to the area and Greenwich, Notting Hill

> (has 2) Clapham, Brixton etc all show a local

> cinema can be a success and have a future!

And also the Lexi - a great cinema and proof of concept

http://thelexicinema.co.uk/lexi-community/

[theron]

Avoid Ritzy cos of 'parking issues'!!!! Good grief, 37 bus route all the way there. Within walking distance even! Done that with my 2 kids aged under 10 many times.

[PSJ]

Would love to get rid of Foxtons (regardless) and replace it with a cinema.

I doubt they're going out of business any time soon, but the Kwik-Fit and the Jewsons (near the station, big-ish buildings) would be good sites.

[longman]

I think this is a great idea and it would be an amazing addition to what is already a great place to live. A really exciting idea, go for it.

[PSJ]

Of course, ED does have a few cinema things going on, such as the clockhouse pub and also the back of that colourful paint shop is going to do some screenings. But a proper cinema would be ace. One less reason to venture beyond wonderful E.D.

[yossarian_lives]

Hello all,

Many thanks everyone for your encouraging and very constructive comments.

I will be undertaking a more thorough feasibility study over the coming months and I will certainly keep the forum updated.

The key challenges that have been highlighted by this thread are finding a suitable location which will be key and transport links - car parking is of course a problem so the cinema, I imagine, would not be able to cater to people driving in (in large numbers). It would have to be able to thrive on people walking and taking the bus.

Just to respond to some individual points:

EDMummy and Nero - I'll be looking into suitable sites over the coming months. Thanks for suggesting Thomas More Hall. I expect that a lack of suitable location may well be the main barrier to the idea working or not.

cazza, Norfolkvillas and JessM - I haven't got to looking at the programming in any depth yet but the great advantage of an independent cinema over an Odeon / Vue / Cineworld etc. is that the programme can be tailored exactly to what customers want. So, if I'm able to proceed with the idea you can be sure that daytime family screenings / parent and toddler screenings and weekend and bank holiday matinees would certainly be on the programme, no question.

Dorothy - likewise, child-free screenings are a great concept too and I really like them. Some Cineworlds have recently introduced over-18 screenings for "family films". Effectively, it's all about making best use of the screens to ensure everyone. If I'm going to the cinema with my girlfriend, I don't necessarily want to be distracted from a film by kids making noise and talking (even if it's a Pixar film, for example). On the other hand, if I'm taking my nephew, I don't want to feel uncomfortable because he's asking questions etc. but disrupting other people. So it's all about giving some options to improve the experience for everyone.

Reg Smeeton - sadly, conversion costs or even new build costs are very high for even small cinemas. As the margins are so low, this is why they're a challenge to build. It's possible, but it really requires the right site becoming available.

fazer71 - I'm not kidding at all. As I've said above, a feasibility study might prove it sadly unworkable but I think there is a general enthusiasm for the idea and I'm very keen on ED having its own cinema. As many people have mentioned, it's the one thing that ED really is missing at the moment.

DulwichFox - you're absolutely correct that many, many cinemas were forced to close down in the 1960s, 70s (and 80s too) because various changing factors meant that smaller cinemas just couldn't generate enough revenue to survive. You're wrong, however, when you say that only cinemas in the West End make money. The most profitable cinemas tend to be out-of-town multiplexes (like the Odeon in Surrey Quays) which started popping up in the late-1980s. And the number of cinemas in the UK has actually been growing considerably since 1996. We're now undergoing a revolution in how cinemas operate and that's digital projection. Since 2010, the majority of cinema screens in the UK show films digitally rather than on traditional 35mm prints. By 2014 it will be more-or-less 100% of non-specialist cinema screens. Without getting into too much boring detail, the upside is that for the first time in decades small local, independent cinemas are once again viable. And my prediction is that, over the next 10 years or so we'll see more of them springing up. It's not so much a question of the size of the cinema (many of Vue's recent new builds have been very small) but more to do with the number of screens: single scree cinemas can't really sustain themselves, even still, but small 2-3 screen cinemas - happily - now can.

Once again everyone, thank you for all your really helpful comments so far!

[esme]

There is an industrial unit that's been up for rent for ages on ED rd nr goose green, might be worth looking into as u would have a fair amount of height in that space... Excellent idea, nice change from eateries!

[returnee]

yes please! we would definitely be regulars!