‘We don’t need another bar’: St Andrews film fans take on Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake
In the center of St Andrews, the New Picture House (NPH) independent cinema, with its 1930s facade and distinctive pointed roof rising above nearby restaurants and houses, has stood relatively unchanged for the past 94 years.
The Grade B listed building is open every day of the week and has three screens. It has been showing blockbusters and independent films, as well as plays, community events and festivals, for almost a century.
But it will soon close its doors and be replaced by an upscale sports bar run by two celebrities – golfer Tiger Woods and pop star Justin Timberlake – and local opposition is growing.
In the days following the announcement last October, a online petition against the plans collected thousands of signatures. Last month, a peaceful protest, jointly organized by St Andrews Film Society and St Andrews Film Festival, saw film lovers flock to cinemas in a bid to stop screenings of films such as Mean girls And American fiction were sold out, in an attempt to demonstrate to the owners that the cinema was financially viable.
However, both owners have indicated they plan to move forward with the project. Plans by Woods and Timberlake, who have already collaborated to launch a restaurant and entertainment brand, T-Squared Social, in New York City’s Manhattan, outline their goal to convert it into a gastropub with sports and golf simulators at television, leaving one screen for new theatrical releases. The plans were approved by one of the directors, David Morris, who said declining ticket sales meant the cinema was no longer viable.
“The news of the closure was devastating for everyone in St Andrews,” said Ash Johann Curry-Machado, president of the St Andrews Film Association, who is 22 and in his final year of studying film at university. “The NPH is a crucial pillar of our community, and that’s why we all came together, because the cinema really means a lot to all of us.
“As our only cinema it is imperative that we protect it at all costs as we simply have no alternative that does not involve traveling to Dundee or further afield. If the NPH is experiencing financial difficulties, it is our duty as a community to improve them and reach a broader audience, not just give up altogether.”
The film association and its supporters were in discussions with councilors and MSPs about the issue, he said.
Among those supporting the petition are many who praise the NPH for careers in film and the arts.
“It fills me with such despair to see yet another venue in Scotland where culture is public and accessible being threatened with closure, especially in a small town with a thriving student population,” says writer and director Cat Macleod, who graduated in English and movie. from St Andrews University in 2011. “(Another bar) is the last thing the city needs.”
Freelance art critic Dominic Corr still lives in St Andrews, where he grew up, and said his first experience of the NPH was seeing Disney’s Mulan in 1998 with his father.
“NPH provided the opportunity to experience film with peers and the community of university film students, families and older audiences, away from the heavily commercialized trappings of larger cinemas in far-flung cities,” he said.
But some locals support the development. A woman who asked not to be named told the Observer: “It is a private company and as far as I am concerned the owners can do whatever they want with it. It’s exciting that this place is being talked about next to big celebrities like this.”
NPH owners did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for T-Squared Social said the venue had not been viable for years, with an occupancy rate of less than 10%.
“T-Squared Social’s involvement not only makes it possible to maintain a cinema offering in St. Andrews, but also the building itself, through the delivery of a mixed cinema, dining and entertainment offering.
“We have listened to community feedback and will soon be able to announce our revised proposals before submitting a planning application to Fife Council.”