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James King Writes: Cinema Not In The Cinema

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James King | 22:05 UK time, Sunday, 14 February 2010

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At Uni I was once dragged to a sing-a-long screening of that old camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. When I say dragged, I mean it. Hanging out with a load of male Computer Science students dressed in stockings and suspenders was hardly my idea of fun.

It started badly. I was one of the few audience members dressed 'normally' so I immediately felt awkward. I was also sat next to a guy, all six and a half feet of him, who looked so disturbing in leather and lace that he should have been the subject of a documentary on Five.

But as the film went along - with lines being shouted out, dance moves being busted - I actually started to enjoy it. Science geeks dressed like Pussycat Dolls is still hardly my ideal night out but I can at least now see the point. It just makes the cinematic experience more memorable. With anodyne mutiplexes springing up on industrial estates across the country, a bit of novelty is always welcome.

Since Rocky Horror I've been to a sing-a-long Sound Of Music (lots of surprisingly hot women dressed as nuns) and, of course, at Radio 1's Big Movie Weekend my movie choice of Goldfinger brought tuxedo-ed fellas and their Bond girls to Bradford's National Media Museum.

And have you heard about that Secret Cinema idea? Don't worry if the answer's 'no'. Otherwise it wouldn't be that secret would it? It's like Aliens In The Attic being a film without any aliens. Or an attic.

It's essentially a pop-up screening at a location that's only revealed by text or message a few hours beforehand. And it's not just the setting that's a surprise - the film is too. It can be a bit of a faff when it comes to planning your diary but it can also pay off.

Gus Van Sant's dreamy skating pic Paranoid Park was a particular fave, screened in amongst the half-pipes of a central London boarding area a few years back. Just before Christmas it was Bugsy Malone - and fancy dress to boot.

Sometimes the sheer act of going to the multiplex is as boringly predictable as Matthew McConaughy's acting choices. Quirky screenings bring back the buzz, the unpredictability and a real community feel. And if it's Rocky Horror, the chance to slip on a pair of fishnets.

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