Tim Adler at DHD broke the story that Curzon Artificial Eye, the arthouse distributor/exhibitor, is building a cinema inside Waterstone’s flagship Piccadilly store in the UK. Trade magazine The Bookseller says more Curzon/Waterstone’s bookshop cinemas are planned. The exhibition chain already runs one cinema in Wimbledon out of an HMV record store. HMV owns Waterstone’s. Ross Fitzsimons, group strategy director of Curzon Artificial Eye, says 20 more HMV joint ventures are planned over the next five years. Waterstone’s declined to comment.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/curzon-opening-cinemas-in-bookstores/
I think this is brilliant. With everyone rushing to proclaim the death of bookstores, it’s about time someone tried a little old fashioned marketing strategy. Small art house theater playing actual good movies plus bookshop plus coffee shop? What’s not to like? And how soon can we get on in the U.S.?
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