Lewes Forum thread

Do you always stay up so late Lewes Cinema ? vetting films for joe public ?

The "expert"is apparently Catlin

Ok - if that's the case then Coun. 'Catlin' aka Stephen Wischhusen operated his cinema company into bankruptcy many years ago owing £1000's.
Is that an appropriate person for the council to be quoting as an advisor on the viability, practicality and particularly profitability of cinema?

I'm feeling more inclined to support the Town Council every time I read one of Lewes Cinema's posts.

I just want a 'proper' cinema in Lewes, with nice seats, decor, food and films most nights of the week!

...and one that makes a profit that is going to be re-invested into the community.

The incident to which Lewes Cinema refers happened twenty years ago. The Compoany was a properly constituted corporate body with a £10,000 share capital which had perhps, for too long tried to keep rural cinemas alive. It also spent time and money keeping alive the Dome Cinema Worthing, which is still open today, and was in part the moving body responsible for its being listed . I was a director, a chartered accountant was the Company Secretary and a third party did the book-keeping. On the day the Receivers were appointed, the book-keeper committed suicide. The receivers continued to run the company for aabout a year before selling off the remaining leases and closing it down. I was never barred from being a Director, nor required to give evidence. It is worth noting that I continued to work in entertainment until 2000. Recently when the 528-seater Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley attained its centenary I was extensively featured in its published history as the person responsible for introducing the Art House policy it pursues to this day. I have worked at the famnous Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green, the Grand Theatre Swansea, the Arts Theatre in London. Managed the Wyndham's, New, Criterion and Piccadilly Theatres in the West End, for the late Donald Albery, worked for the Briitish Film Institute, Shipman and King Cinemas and before that 38 year period started, if you want pre-history, I did a lot of television as a teenager, appearing on "Tuesday Rendezvous" with the Beatles, Huw Wheldon's "All Your Own" and William Hardcastle on what must have been the Home Service when my treatise on Victorian Gothic Melodrama was published by Gordon Fraser. BBC Radio 4 produced a 50 minute documentary about me in 1991 which was repeated twice. Any thing else, just ask.

I've kept out of this so far, but I have to say that Catlin's informative post suggests that the picture so far presented might just be a little skewed, and not in his favour either.

I'd love a cinema in town, but only if it's better than staying at home and watching my very extensive DVD collection on a large screen with a great sound system and a very comfortable seat. That's the competition in most cases, I'd guess, and it's always going to make running such an enterprise quite hard. We've got a hard core of noisy cinema-goers here, but the truth is that they probably don't agree on the niche films they want to see and you'll end up with tiny loss-making audiences.

Excellent, I am really warming to this. Clearly Mr Wischhusen has an impressive CV and a wealth of experience in the entertainment industry. I am sure that he will be successful in bringing about the profits that the residents of this town deserve.

Thank you for your support of the Town Council's initiative. It really is the expertise of the 25 years old Lewes Film Club which will be used and we must not lose sight of that. The Film Club is a partner of the Town Council and that is my understanding of the situation.

I just want Lewes to have its own cinema..the Odean in Brighton is very unpleasant and costs an arm and a leg to get to and to get in.
Still like the idea of cake and tea in a china cup, not cake and tea in a china cup at the same time you know what I mean.Some if us don't have big TVs so the cinema is a bit special.

Bastian, what is wrong with cake AND tea in a china cup? You can always use a spoon.

Mr Wischhusen, please you are far too modest. All credit must go to you. In 12 months time I hope to be celebrating your success and sharing the profits (as a member of the community of course). I also look forward to many enjoyable evenings of film viewing in the comfy new seats.

Lewes Cinema, I see on here and in your release you mention how there's little by way of profits. To be clear, I assume whatever salary is taken by yourselves (if any) is counted as a business expense for the company, which would affect it's profitability? Or are you saying that there are years where there's no money even to pay any salaries? If I understand right, the council is planning for it to be run by volunteers, so any salaries would count as profit from their perspective.

I don't like the way this decision was made, and agree there are some wildly optimistic financial projections going on, but equally, I don't think you're doing yourselves any favours with very public, very personal attacks like the one you just made on Catlin. I can't help feeling that approach, which you've done before on here, has played a big part in what's happened.

I for one hope for a decent cinema akin to Duke of Yorks rising up in Lewes; somewhere that sells beer, cake and has proper seats. I'm 6'5" and refuse to sit on plastic school chairs or be crammed into a sick-smelling rip-off hovel like Odeon

I think what most people want is a decent cinema in Lewes - with comfortable seats a decent sound system and current releases as well as more art house stuff. If that can be provided by the town council with all profits ploughed back, then I'm quite happy for them to run, using whatever providers they choose. Would Lewes cinema be happy to run the venture for the council on a voluntary basis ? Doubtful. There is a profit motive involved and I think they should find another venue in Lewes to do it. Quite frankly I think they have been less than honest about their accounts on here - one post says a small profit, the next says a loss, maybe transparency about their accounts would help. I also think they have had a fantastic deal from the town council so far - they have not had to pay for repairs to the building, upkeep, business rates, etc - just an hourly rate for the time the venue is used. Frankly many businesses would love that sort of deal !!

The personal attacks that LC have made on Catlin are really unacceptable though and will have lost them supporters.

This?

A very public spirited post Stargazer, but these are only balances. As a small company LC is exempted from posting full profit and loss accounts, but these show how the balances are obtained, and therefore very important, because, hyperthetically, five hundred thousand pounds could pass through the accounts but until one knows what went where, the balances alone prove very little.

Well I for one have no problem with the town council running the cinema. It can't be that difficult; after all it's not sprocket science. (It is actually.ed).

Ed - I think Rosebud was being ironic.

Thank you Southover Girl. I've been having so much trouble with my editor recently. He's SO pedantic ! If anyone knows of a better one ? ( Huh !! ed).

Rosebud is right - it really isn't that hard to run. I had a friend who ran a cinema club in the uptairs room of a pub (seated about 100) and was always sold out. All profits went back into the club. It had a unique atmosphere - lots of squishy old sofas. home made cakes and of course, beer on tap. She also used to run outdoor screeninga in her back garden - projected onto the plain back wall of a neighbouring house.

Maybe Lewes Cinema should approach the Elephant or the Con club to do something similar ? Maybe on the alternate weekends to the ones proposed by the council ? Then at least Lewesians would be able to go to the cinema every weekend ?

Lewes Cinema is not a club - and what's being proposed is not a club either. Lewes Film 'club' is not a club in the traditional sense as it opens to the public and trades as a cinema - selling tickets commercially.
It's very easy to screen a few DVD's and not pay commercial rates for the screenings (by not declaring admissions), but running a cinema which is open to the public is quite another matter.
I too have friends who have run the type of thing you are talking about BB and I also know the legitimate side of things that others do.
I believe you already can go the cinema every weekend in Lewes as my friends at the Lewes Cinema screen on alternate weekends to the club. The cinema screens all year round (almost) and the club screens from Sept to May.

It's not rocket science, but then neither is running a sweetshop, and Caitlin didn't do an especially brilliant job of that, which is perhaps a better guide than a long CV.
Surely the current operators should be offered the chance to bid for the contract and match the service that the council is suggesting, at a more reasonable rate to the town. Or is there another reason that the council wants them out?

£10-£20 an hour to rent The All Saints? Maybe if the council charged proper commercial rates to businesses then they could have avoided this bizarre situation.

In answer to your question Blondie..........ATTITUDE !!!!!! As a small girl I was taught that the meek shall inherit the earth. And so be it.

I suggest that if the Town Council is to meet with Lewes Cinema, as I believe it may, that personal attacks and such like, which do not seem to have answered many questions, cease forthwith. In fact all discussion should now cease by non-members of either organisation until such meeting has taken place. It might then go forward in a state of reasonableness, which it hasn't done so far. Post all the views you like, but stop the atttack on both sides, please

Democracy at work.

This isn't a democratic issue. The owners of the building (council) have decided to terminate the 'lease' of one of its business tenants (LC). Let's remember that LC were not running this as a non profit making community venture, but as a business venture from a community centre. They were able to make a profit because they were not paying business rates or commercial rents. I think the town council has been fair to them, given them due notice and a chance to respond and is now proposing to run the same service with better facilities and any profits being ploughed back into the community. What's not to like ? LC is perfectly free to set up in another venue in competition and then the people of Lewes actually get a choice of cinemas and a film club - isn't this what capitalism is all about ?? Lewes cinema might want to get the chamber of commerce involved - they support the small business in this town I believe - but losing your rented premises is a hazard of running a business and I'm sure has happened to many. I sympathise with LC, but if I was them I'd be looking for new premises immediately and getting it running asap to keep continuity going. I'm sure there is room for both and it would mean a greater choice of current films for Lewes residents on hopefully more weekends.

Democratic in the sense that this is a forum and people should be allowed to say what they think on this or any other issue. Apart from that I agree wholeheartedly with all of your points.

Lewes Cinema are just pi**ed off because they'll no longer be getting the excellent rates for hire of premises that they've been enjoying for years now. They only pay for the two hours or so that the film is shown, despite booking up the hall for the whole of Saturday afternoon and on into the night. Meanwhile, the centre is running at a loss.
It's meant to be a community centre. I'm glad that the profits will finally be going back into running the centre, not into the pockets of bullies.

The dedicated people who originally set up and ran All Saints would be turning in their collective "graves" at the thought of a business setting up shop on friday, saturday and sunday of every other weekend throughout most of the year. Shady's right; it was and is meant to be a community based arts and youth centre and although the criteria for hiring the hall have changed over the years the ethos should remain the same. I hope that my three young children and I will be able to carry on enjoying film at ASC into the distant future........under a different regime.

Frankly, the only real issue is who actually wants to go sit in a drafty room to watch crappy films you can download for free and watch on a far superior home cinema set-up in the comfort of your own home? Cinema is dead, long live internet piracy!

If you read the "Observer" on Sunday, you will have noticed a chart and comment which stated that last year was a bumper one at the UK Box Office with takings of £1bn for the first time. Yet Lewes Cinema made a loss?????

Does this mean that Intrepid theatre (who hire All Saints) are also at risk of being taken over by the council for being a commercial company? Could they also help towards the deficit.

Oh do read the town council's own comments. It is trying to keep money in the community, I feel quite sure other hirers are not affected, but why not do as the town council asks - any queries refer to them, do not pre-jusdge any situation unless you know the facts. And you won't find many of those on hear - just very personal opinion!! (And that includes mine!!)

Ooops. Bad spelling day. Shoould read "You won't find many of those on here! Obviously influenced by reading too much on here!

I have read them and understood them to mean that anything that potentially generates an income was fair game for council take-over. As Intrepid pay two directors out of their company there might be chance for the council to chuck them out and make a few quid by operating Intrepid themselves. If I've understood the councils intentions correctly they want to reduce the deficit at the All Saints and see potential income in some activites, is that right?

Call in at the Town Hall and ask them! Best way and straight answer!!