There are just over five weeks to go until Ely’s new Cineworld cinema is opened to the public – and Ely Standard reporter Seb Pearce was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes look ahead of its big launch.
The new city cinema – the company’s 83rd in the UK – will boast 954 seats, three 3D screens and a Baskin-Robbins ice cream counter but, for now, is still an active construction site.
Builders and contractors in high-visibility jackets and hard hats are scattered around the site and the story is the same inside.
The foyer, which in five weeks’ time will be filled with film fanatics, is a shell, with only a few workers laying the cinema’s sparkling floor tiles in view.
“The floor will reflect up onto the ceiling,” says general manager Matt Shaw. “You’ll only find flooring like this in our cinemas.”
While the foyer may still be coming to life, the cinema’s auditoriums are ready to go.
We’re shown into screen three, which is kitted out with 155 padded red seats and a special disabled viewing platform – the only thing missing is the screen.
“We have the screens rolled out and installed from the top,” says Matt.
“We can’t do that at the moment because the room has to be 20 degrees so that the screen can be stretched over the metal framing.”
Cineworld will bring 30 new jobs to Ely – but there’s bad news for anyone wanting a job at the new cinema.
“We’ve already filled the 30 positions,” says Matt. “We had over 200 applicants come to our open day at the Maltings last month.
“We have a great range of ages coming to work here and we will give all our staff the proper training before they start later this month.
“The vast
Matt then directs us to the projector room, where there isn’t a roll of film in sight.
“Everything is digital now,” he says. “We control it all through a computer meaning if, for any reason, we need to stop the film we can just pause them.
“We have brand new projectors in Ely, so we’re very lucky.”
Cineworld will welcome its first customers on May 12 and Matt expects it to a busy summer at Ely’s first multi-screen cinema.
“We have ‘Alien:Convenant’ showing during the launch weekend but after that we have Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ and ‘Baywatch,’ so it’s going to be an exciting time,” he said.
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