We risk losing a magnificent iconic community venue. Kensington does not need any more empty luxury flats being bought up by foreign investors. Hear from the leaders of this campaign just how they feel about the imminent closure.
http://youtu.be/czyi8SvcHto
With the largest screen in London, a beautiful Art Deco exterior, stunning marble staircases (see end of video) and a mosaic floor in the foyer as the best cinema in London for premieres (already this year it has hosted Sir Ian McKellen in Mr Holmes and Sir Alan Rickman and Dame Kate Winslet in A Little Chaos), special events or just the best family night out! Sir Ian McKellen just interrupted his enjoyment of a Mahler prom at the Royal Albert Hall to sign this petition as he feels so strongly about it!
When we went to hand in the petition on Thursday 27th August at 4pm at DCMS, we were very disappointed that minister John Whittingdale was unable to meet us. So we plan to visit Greg Clark at DCLG next week once we have invited all the public figures who have been kind enough to sign our petition (and found which day suits them best), including man of the moment Benedict Cumberbatch and his parents, actor Timothy Cumberbatch & actress Wanda Ventham, those knights of the theatre & film Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf signed at the Royal Albert Hall during Mahler 6), Sir John Hurt (I first saw Alien at the Kensington Odeon), Sir Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard to you), two different Doctor Whos, Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoy, three members of the Star Wars cast, namely Darth Vader himself, Dave Prowse, Kenny Baker (R2D2) & Jeremy Bullock (Bobba Fett), not to mention the two greatest guitarists in the world, Jimmy Page of legendary 70s British rockers Led Zeppelin,
http://pic.twitter.com/qiXF2fJesQ who wrote a letter to the council & posed for a selfie with campaigner & film director/composer Paul Wiffen outside the Odeon last weekend when he came down especially to sign the petition & astronomer
http://pic.twitter.com/BPVKvUid1n Dr Brian May of Queen (who featured it on his Soapbox and Twitter feed) both of whom live close enough to walk to watch films at the Odeon, Brian's wife Anita Dobson of Eastenders' fame, supermodel Elle Macpherson (and supermum) who brings her kids to the Odeon regularly (as did the People's Princess Diana with Wills and Harry, of course), Jeremy Clarkson's big crush Kirsten Scott-Thomas, Narnia's White Queen Tilda Swinton, fashion designer Bella Freud and father and son combination James and Jack Fox and last but not least Richard "Four Weddings" Curtiss who gave a magnificent headline quote to the Evening Standard on hearing that it was to be demolished, "London will be a lot less fun without the Kensington Odeon!"
http://twitter.com/wiffen/status/635260713435574272/photo/1
Benedict Cumberbatch & his parents have been part of this campaign since 2011 as has the now MP for Kensington & Chelsea, former Deputy London Mayor, Victoria Borwick aka the Lady Borwick!
I shall return here to inform you who has accepted our invitation.
I am also inviting the Evening Standard (who have been marvellous) and their brand new TV channel London Live (who have interviewed me live on air and outside the Odeon), the Independent (also good), the BBC London news team (who have been absolutely appalling and didn't even mention the Kensington Odeon in a piece on old cinemas under threat on their website recently), the much better ITV London Tonight (who covered our Batmobile march from the Odeon to Kensington Town Hall) and the national press (who have been even worse than the BBC in covering this) to witness the press conference before we go in and the news when we come out (I shall be demanding the announcement of a public enquiry there and then as The Odeon is now screening its last film on August 31st!).
I'd like to invite all of you wonderful people who have signed this petition to join us next week outside DCLG in Mar too! Please sign now to Save The Kensington Odeon for all Londoners to enjoy for another 90years.
**This petition total includes 20,000 people who have signed a physical petition to 'Save the Odeon Kensington'**
