The Jewish Chronicle

Where to meetmonroe and the apes

The London Film Museum is launching its second venue with a display of iconic stills

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THERE CANNOT be many 85-year-old Bafta winners who spend their time hanging pictures on walls in renovated basements. But such is Leslie Hardcastle’s dedication to a ground-breaking new film project that the former controller of the Museum of Moving Image can be found undergroun­d in a Covent Garden building overseeing the installati­on of historic images.

The iconic but latterly derelict Flower Cellars market site has been transforme­d by Jonathan Sands, chief executive of the London Film Muse- um, and a small team of dedicated workers that includes Hardcastle.

Following the success of his work with industry veteran Rick Senat to transform the main LFM site in the former Country Hall building on the capital’s South Bank, Sands has now repeated the trick.

The new venue glistens with contempora­ry touches and the promise of exclusive, specialist exhibits. Its main inaugural display will feature almost 150 examples of the most recognised film images in the world, taken by photograph­ers from the renowned Magnum Photos agency.

Never exhibited before in Britain, the collection includes images of Charlie Chaplin directing Limelight, and stills from films including Rebel Without A Cause, The Seven Year Itch and Orson Welles’s The Trial.

Among the most striking images is one taken by Jewish photograph­er Eve Arnold of Marilyn Monroe practising her lines in the Nevada desert ahead of a scene with Clark Gable in The Misfits. Arnold’s original Rolleiflex camera will also go on show alongside scripts, costumes and props from dozens of movies.

Hardcastle, who describes the team working on the project as “like a commando group”, stresses that the Covent Garden branch of the LFM is not really a museum. “Visitors will be part of a conversati­on here rather than just hearing a lot of noises. It is not a museum in a true sense. Museums do not change, but we can adapt everything.

“What Jonathan has done proves what can happen with enthusiasm and talent.”

Among the obstacles to overcome in the renovation of the site were the requiremen­t for specialist air-conditioni­ng and temperatur­e controls to protect the exhibits, and the obvious need for security provisions. Such has been the scale of the rebuilding that flat screens will be erected to show visitors just how much work has gone into the project.

Revolution­ary technologi­cal methods will also be employed. Film fans will be handed ipads with speciallyd­eveloped apps as they enter. At each image they can scan codes to view in-depth informatio­n on the films, actors and direc-

The contempora­ry design of the cellar means Sands and his team can adapt the space to the exact requiremen­ts of any future exhibition. As well as the main display space, there are side-rooms for smaller exhibits, halls suitable for hosting launches or

 ??  ?? Ondisplay:evearnold’simageofma­rilynmonro­eontheseto­f Themisfits in1960. Below: Charltonhe­ston( left) during
Ondisplay:evearnold’simageofma­rilynmonro­eontheseto­f Themisfits in1960. Below: Charltonhe­ston( left) during
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 ?? PHOTO: DENNIS STOCK/MAGNUM ??
PHOTO: DENNIS STOCK/MAGNUM
 ??  ?? Sands: hoping for 100,000 visitors
Sands: hoping for 100,000 visitors

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