Shelia North Sine FM presenter of Book It! Shelia North interviews the mysterious mind behind Phantom Cinema also known as Mr. Phantom. The independent cinema project opened its doors on 31st of October to a sold-out crowd upstairs at the Brewery Tap.
Tell me about Phantom Cinema. Firstly, why ‘phantom’? Are you planning to only show scary films? No, not at all. The ‘phantom’ part is about operating on the fringes and only appearing once a month. We will be showing horror, sci-fi, action, drama, musicals, westerns, crime films - whatever we think is good and would like our audience to see. Who’s involved and what brought you together? Jon Kelly, Donald Lownes-Sanderson and Paul Bareham are the main protagonists, although Ian Blaylock at Doncaster Brewery is hugely important, the fourth musketeer. We met at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield and decided that it was time that there was a place in Doncaster to watch and discuss interesting and unusual films. Phantom Cinema is the result. Do we need another cinema in Doncaster? We already have Vue, and… er, Vue. We’re not trying to compete with Vue. We’re not offering the same thing. A town
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with one cinema is like a town with one horse. Where’s the choice? Your first film is Cabin In The Woods. Why did you choose that particular film? As we’ll be opening our doors on 31st October it seemed appropriate to kick off with a horror film, but Cabin In The Woods also embodies what we hope Phantom Cinema will come to represent. It’s smart, it’s different, it’s entertaining and it doesn’t do what you expect it to. I understand you’re showing Fahrenheit 451 later this year. Something tells me that The Sound of Music isn’t turning up at Phantom Cinema any time soon. You can turn your telly on almost any day of the week and find The Sound Of Music somewhere, so you don’t need Phantom Cinema for that (we’re not against it, by the way - one of us has ‘My Favourite Things’ as his ringtone). Fahrenheit 451 is a fascinating film by a great director, adapted from a critically acclaimed and best-selling book with a star cast. It’s not a difficult or obscure film. In fact, it’s a bit of a masterpiece, and we want people to see it.