Saturday night will be an all singing, all
dancing affair when Grease is screened as Guernsey’s first ever
drive-in movie.
The musical film is a late change to the
schedule after the distributors of I Am Legend refused the event a
performance licence.
Organisers had planned to show the Will Smith
blockbuster at Salerie Corner on the 27 square metre mobile screen
that is being brought to the island for this year’s Midsummer
Magic.
However it is bigger than the 24 square metre
that the distributors would allow I Am Legend to be shown on.
Midsummer Magic is sponsored by Sure, which has
spent more than £100,000 on the event over the past four
years.
Head of PR Steve Smith said the company said
the late change to the schedule was unfortunate, but was sure
Grease would be a popular choice.
“As sponsor we have been working hard with the
organisers to try and resolve the licence issue. Unfortunately the
distributors are not going to change their decision, but the show
must go on. We will still have 13 great films over the five days,
and we will make 100% sure that the line-up is every bit as good as
in previous years.”
The license issue has also affected some of the
films that were scheduled to be shown at Cobo from Sunday. High
School Musical 1 & 2, which were due to be on Monday afternoon,
and Tuesday’s matinee Finding Nemo will not now be shown.
“We have some great family films lined up to
replace these, and for Tuesday night we are also now showing Blades
of Glory, with Will Ferrell, which we are sure is going to be
enormously popular,” he said.
The 200 free tickets for the drive-in movie
were snapped up within an hour of going online.
Islanders who have not yet collected their
tickets for Saturday can pick them up from Sure’s offices in Upland
Road. Anyone who already has one but is unable to attend can
contact the company on
magic@surecw.com, and they can then
be reallocated.
What is happening at Midsummer Magic?
We’ve got the drive-in movie on Saturday
evening, which is the first time an event like this has been staged
in Guernsey, and then the big screen will be moving to Cobo where
we will have three films a day from Sunday through to Wednesday.
There will be family films every afternoon, starting at 2.30pm and
5.00pm, and then an action film in the evening from 7.30pm. So
there’s plenty for everyone, young and old, and it promises to be
another great event.
Why has the Midsummer Magic line-up changed?
The original line-up for Sure’s Midsummer Magic was chosen by
the public in an island-wide poll back in May, and since then the
organisers have been working with the various distributors of the
films to get the necessary public performance licences. However the
conditions of these licences vary from one film to another, and
even come down to the size of the screen.
For instance with the drive-in, we would actually have been
fine to show I am Legend if the screen we were intending to use had
been about a foot narrower. To most people that probably seems
crazy, but unfortunately that’s the situation. Ironically though,
it has worked in our favour, because now we are going to have an
even bigger screen, nearly twice the size of the one we had planned
to use.
What are the changes?
We’ve managed to line up Grease for the
drive-in screening, which is always a big hit. We’ve also changed
three of the 12 films at Cobo, but the replacements will be every
bit as popular. Instead of High School Musical 1 and 2 and Finding
Nemo, we will now be showing Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the
Lost Ark, Hoodwinked, and Blades of Glory starring Will
Ferrell.
Won’t people be disappointed?
No they won’t be. The line-up that we have
secured is every bit as good as the original one, so no-one will be
disappointed. It’s going to be five days of great big screen
entertainment, and fun for all the family.
Why make the changes so late?
Sure was only made aware of the issue at the
end of last week. We are not actually the organisers of Midsummer
Magic, we are the sponsors and we have spent more than £100,000 in
the last four years to help create one of the highlights of the
local events calendar. Our priority has been to make sure that this
year’s event is every bit as good as in previous years, with no
last minute hitches. That is why we took the decision with the
organisers to change the line-up and let everyone know as soon as
possible.
Do you still expect big crowds?
Yes we do. The drive-in is the first time this
has been done in Guernsey, so it’s hugely exciting and it’s going
to be lots of fun. Grease was actually the second most popular
choice in the voting, so it’s the perfect alternative to I am
Legend. And we’ve still got a cracking line-up in the 12 films at
Cobo, so there’ll be fun for everyone.
How do I get tickets?
All the screenings at Cobo are free, and
there’ll be plenty of other attractions so bring a picnic and come
on down to the beach for some cracking entertainment.
The drive-in is also free, however because of
space we have to restrict the numbers and all the tickets were
snapped up in less than an hour. However on Saturday we will be
giving away any that have not been collected at the Sure High
Street shop, first come first served.