London’s film lovers are to be treated to the ultimate pop-up cinema experience this Spring as classic films including Strangers on a Train, American Werewolf in London and Blade Runner are aired in one of the city’s most evocative settings – Charing Cross disused Underground station.
The events, organised by Underground Film Club, will see the disused station transformed into a cinema complete with popcorn stands, hotdogs, and directors’ chairs, with three days of screenings celebrating the Capital’s rich cinematic history, the role that the Underground has played and the boost that the Night Tube will give to the Capital’s cinema industry.
Underground Film Club is the latest offering from outdoor cinema specialists Rooftop Film Club. Since its inception in 2011, co-founders Gerry Cottle Jnr and Nick Frow have entertained over 250,000 film-loving Londoners on spectacular rooftops across the city, as well as launching London’s only commercial drive-in cinema, Drive-In Film Club at the iconic Alexandra Palace.
The station has been shut since 1999 when the Jubilee line that it served was extended to the Docklands. The platforms and concourse have since been closed to the public, but have been hired out for film productions, including the making of Paddington, which also appears on the bill.
The screenings, supported by the British Film Institute, are part of the series of ‘Firsts for the Tube’, that includes the recent photographic exhibition at Westminster station and other unique events taking place on and around the Underground network ahead of all-night weekend services on the Underground commencing on 12 September.
Just over 100 seats are available for each screening, and tickets can be purchased through www.undergroundfilmclub.com
Special prize tickets will also be made available through TfL’s Facebook page and through several newspapers over the coming weeks.
Gareth Powell, London Underground’s Director of Strategy & Service Development, said:
“The introduction of the Night Tube, which will cut journey times and open up new possibilities across the night time economy, is a historic step in our modernisation of the Underground and a real ‘first’ for the Underground that will boost jobs and benefit the economy by hundreds of millions of pounds.
These screenings will engage London’s many film-lovers in the possibilities that the Night Tube will bring and highlight the role that the Underground plays in supporting the city’s cinema industry.”
Gerry Cottle Jnr from Underground Film Club said: “
We are very excited about London’s first 24 hour Tube – a service that will be hugely beneficial to the film industry.”
“Charing Cross disused Underground station has been the location for some of the most famous film scenes of the past 20 years – so what better way to celebrate Night Tube coming than to enjoy a weekend of cinema in this iconic setting.”
The Night Tube is set to transform nighttime journeys across London for millions of people, cutting journeys by an average of 20 minutes, with some cut by more than an hour.
The new services, initially serving the Northern, Piccadilly, Central, Victoria and Jubilee lines, will also boost jobs and help maintain London’s status as a vibrant and exciting place to live, work and visit. London’s night-time economy will be opened up to a host of new opportunities, with the Night Tube supporting around 2,000 permanent jobs and boosting the economy by £360 million.
As the most visited city in the world, London will be joining just a handful of other top world cities, including New York and Berlin, which also provide Underground services through the night.
Source: TFL
