I spy an idea that the whole country could Bond over...
AMONG the many slings and arrows of outrageous fortune we’ve all suffered in the last few months, the loss of going to the movies is not the harshest among the restrictions faced.
We are, after all, in a pandemic. And anyway, we can watch plenty of films in the comfort of our own home without paying for overpriced popcorn or listening to the bloke behind slurp his way through the trailers.
But the fact is, sitting in a darkened movie theatre is one of life’s best shared experiences.
The thrill as the lights go down and then the emergence into real life, two hours or so later, with a bunch of people who are still strangers but who will catch your eye and say: ‘Good, wasn’t it?’
It’s not like going to the theatre, which for many remains unaffordable, or attending a football game, which takes commitment as well as cash.
Going to the cinema offers escapism for all, there in the inky blackness of Screen 3, whether you’re there to see a blockbuster or Disney release, Arthouse offering or Oscar contender.
Or at least it did. This week, in a further blow to an already strained industry, Cineworld announced the temporary closure of its sites in the UK and US, a move affecting 45,000 jobs.
Then one of the biggest releases of the year – the new James Bond movie – was delayed for a second time until 2021.
I’m not even a big fan of 007 and even I was disappointed.
God knows in a year when there has been little enough to look forward to it would have been nice to watch Daniel Craig do his thing one last time, complete with a vat of Coke and a hot dog.
A new Bond film is an event and, just like going to the movies to see it, a great unifier.
So here’s an idea – if we can’t go to the cinema to watch his spy capers, why can’t he come to us?
Christmas is on the horizon and, if we’re being honest, the probability is it won’t be the usual jolly affair. Wouldn’t it be great, then, if the new Bond film Nic ola was released as the Dov e
Christmas Day movie?
To hell with Mary Poppins (again) or Paddington ( meh) or Die Hard 38 or whatever number we’re up to – what if we could all watch 007’s latest escapade together after the Queen has done her traditional turn?
We could dim our living room lights and close the curtains, stock up on snacks, turn the telly up loud.
It would be a shared experience for the country and for family and friends who can’t be together and almost – almost – like being at the cinema again.
Except without those funny cup holders built into your chair.
I know what you’re going to say. And yes, we might all have to chip in to help the film company recoup the losses incurred by not giving Bond a cinema release. But come on, it’s worth a try surely?
If 007 can’t rescue Christmas then I don’t know who can.