If you can’t go to the movies, why not recreate the magic of Winnersh?
A MOVIE-LOVING eight-year-old boy from Reading has recreated his local cinema by using his favourite video game Minecraft.
Talented William Morgan began building Showcase Cinema de Lux Reading during lockdown because he missed making regular film trips with his family.
After toiling away on the complex digital build for weeks, the talented gamer has finally put the last brick in place.
The extraordinary digital build includes the full exterior of the cinema and a series of interior designs, including the concession stand and one of the 14 cinema screens at the Winnersh location.
William completed the build using Minecraft on his Nintendo Switch, which allows users to use blocks to build structures inside a virtual 3D world.
His unique creation caught the eye of the bosses at Showcase Cinemas, who invited William and his family to a movie of their choice as their guests, as a thank you for paying homage to Showcase Cinema de Lux Reading.
William said: “I missed going to Showcase so much because they have the biggest screens and really comfy seats.”
Dad Tim added: “William really missed going to the cinema during lockdown, so decided to focus on the next best thing – building the cinema himself.
“He is absolutely over the moon that
Showcase love his creation as much as we do. We had a great time visiting recently and can’t wait to be back again soon.”
Mark Barlow, UK general manager for Showcase Cinemas, said: “We’re thrilled to see William’s incredible recreation of our Winnersh cinema. His digital version of the cinema is extremely close to real life and William has shown a huge amount of talent to pull it off.
“When William began building, the cinema was closed due to the national lockdown, but we are delighted to now be back fully open.
“We have been in touch with William and his family to thank them for the incredible tribute to our Winnersh cinema and were delighted to welcome them as our guests, with William able to enjoy his digital masterpiece in real life.”