Thurso cinema on course to open on Friday
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THE Dark Knight Rises will be showing at the new cinema in Thurso on Friday at 5pm.
That was the confident prediction Rob Arthur gave this week.
He said in two days’ time the final instalment of the new Batman series will be the first film shown at the former All Star Factory in Ormlie Road.
The West Lothian entrepreneur said the last touches are now being put in place for the reopening of the former cinema complex which closed three years ago.
Despite the deal not being 100 per cent complete, Mr Arthur said significant progress has been made and the first customers coming to enjoy the latest films in Thurso could be a reality by this weekend.
"I am optimistic that a cinema in Thurso will be open by Friday," he told the Caithness Courier.
"What we are trying to do is run things through as soon as possible.
"All that is left to do is to sort out cinema licensing, legal issues and the lease to the building and I am confident that this can be done this week."
Subject to the cinema meeting licensing conditions, the first four films that will be shown in the first two weeks also include Ice Age Four:Continental Drift, Chernobyl Diaries and Prometheus.
A provisional deal has also been agreed to show the Disney Pixar animated film, Brave, on Friday, August 3, for two weeks with screenings being shown between 10.30am and 10.45pm.
The cinema has also appointed its senior team with Eileen Mullins as duty manager and Gavin Ewenson who will work as projectionist.
The pair will oversee the running of the facility and work together with the owner to ensure the smooth running of the business.
Mr Arthur said his long-term vision for the cinema is to offer a greater amount of choice to the public and plans to convert the existing bowling alley from two screens to five at a future date as well as convert the projection equipment from 35mm to digital by the end of the year.
He said the cinema is a long-term project and the main focus for now is just to get it reopened.
"I am really conscious that the best that we can do for now is to reopen the cinema – when you have a building as good as this then you might as well open it up," he said.
"I would ask the public not to have too high an expectation on day one but we are doing our best to create the best cinema we can.
"Over the next six months, however, we want to see a range of continuous improvements to make it better than any cinema that has been here before.
"I look at cinemas in Ireland in towns which have the same population as Caithness and they have successful six-screen cinemas operating in areas of less than 20,000 people.
"I think in order for everyone to get to see the films they want to see it is important to have as many screens as possible."
Over 200 people packed into the Pentland Hotel in Thurso last month to hear plans for the new cinema which gained widespread support.
The first films – subject to licensing – in the next two weeks
The Dark Knight Rises (12A)
The third film in the Batman trilogy, the caped crusader returns to Gotham City despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in which he took the rap for Harvey Dent’s crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with super villain Bane’s plans to destroy the city.
Ice Age Four: Continental Drift (U)
Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences. A continental cataclysm triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.
Chernobyl Diaries
(15)
A group of six young vacationers who, looking to go off the beaten path, hire an extreme tour guide. Ignoring warnings, he takes them into the city of Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, but a deserted town since the disaster more than 25 years ago.
Prometheus
(15)
A team of scientists travels through the universe on the spaceship Prometheus on a voyage to investigate alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an alien world and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves but to all of mankind.
Brave
(U)
Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right.
