London Calling
This is happening almost faster than I can write it. Even a week ago I would have said the future of cinema is safe, and yet the pace is gathering so fast, decisions made seemingly on the hop, that the direction of this narrative may well have altered by the time I get to the bottom of the page. In the UK as of this morning, Cineworld, Odeon and now Vue have either closed their doors or reduced their opening hours dramatically, at the same time as the Chancellor of the Exchequer has finally produced an overdue £275 million bailout for theatres, museums, orchestras and music venues. Cinemas have again been excluded as well as being the subject of some rather unsupportive “It’s the end of the road” speculation in the press over the last week.