Hollywood Comes to Town in a Dome
Film
By Olayiwola Adeniji

http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/10/03/20021003art01.html

A few months ago, the news filtered out that Rothmans was about to unfold a new entertainment package which will be a kind of response to what operates on the international scene. This generated some excitement since it would be a kind of second coming after the success of its Mega Groove of 1997. But after the initial excitement, there came a rather disturbing silence from the facilitators.

The fear was that the brand might have decided to look elsewhere. Late last week, however, signals began to emerge that the long awaited event was about to kick off later this month. And on Monday, it became more reassuring at a well attended press conference at Tiberios Caesers Bar and Restaurant in Victoria Island.

Coming less than a week after the second edition of the Lagos Cinema Carnival organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) and Mainframe Productions, it is an important step in the direction of helping to revive the cinema going culture among Nigerians. But while the CORA initiative was about showcasing some of the best productions in the land and the continent, the Rothmans bit has an international dimension which by its conception is aimed at helping to create standard for local producers and also avail Nigerians the opportunity to see some of the latest films and stars from Hollywood.

Jigna Bhatt, the lady who directs the Rothmans affairs in the country said the deal is real. Feelers from the venue of the briefing indicated that the event had to be postponed to ensure that nothing goes wrong by the time the party begins. According to a source who preferred anonymity, "this is a big show and we don't want to be messed up by avoidable errors and so, we had to take our time. We are set for the big take off now and that is why you are here."

According to her, the new package that has been code-named Experience It! is an idea, a technology which is the first of its kind not only in Nigeria but the entire continent of Africa. She said her organisation is set to make another big impact on the nation's entertainment scene by getting involved in an aspect that has received the least support in terms of corporate sponsorship. "A segment of the entertainment industry that has not been developed is the cinema, which over the years has almost become non existent. Hence, the industry has been bedevilled by piracy of both compact discs and video cassettes, resulting in poor quality output". Such second rate movies, she said, almost always robs the movies of the full flavour that is usually associated with it which is why Rothmans is coming with the idea of Experience It!

But what is it about? Bhatt said it is a unique international concept in entertainment that was first witnessed in Germany and Switzerland known as "Rothmans Experience it Cinema Tour" designed to deliver complete cinema experience. "It is essentially an event that will take place in a huge dome like structure comprising of a cinema lobby and theatre. "For a country where the cinema going culture is being talked about more in the past tense than the present, this might provide the ample opportunity for a revival. Bhatt is of the opinion that by the time the event takes off, the industry will never be the same again because then, many Nigerians will begin to see the possibilities that can be made available in the industry. What more, the country is blazing another trail on the continent in the area of entertainment.

The cinema theatre will definitely be different from what many Nigerians are used to even when the industry was at its thriving best. With Experience It!, the theatre will be equipped with a state of the art 35mm film projection unit to deliver superior picture quality which is complemented by digital surround sound system providing voice and sound track quality that is second to none. "In addition, it has sufficient capacity to comfortably accommodate 500 people seated in an air-cooled environment. The cinema lobby has been designed to international standards offering a wide range of snacks, drinks and popcorn."

The Rothmans Experience It Cinema Tour will feature in the space of 12 weeks some of the most current Hollywood movies on the big screen and it will afford Nigerians and all cinema buffs the luxury of seeing their all time favourite stars on a huge 12 by 6-meter screen.

In order to ensure that many Nigerians from different parts of the city have a good feel of the event, the tour will be hosted by six cosmopolitan cities across the nation and these include, Ilorin, Lagos, Kaduna, Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt for the first phase. Next year, other cities will follow suit. Tickets which will go for N500 upwards, will be sold at Box office in the respective venues from Mondays to Thursdays on each of the designated show weeks while movies will run from Fridays to Sundays of the same week. A total of four newly released top ten Hollywood movies will be shown in the course of the tour and a maximum of three movies will run daily. According to Bhatt:

"All the movies have been carefully selected to reflect the modern man's good taste for action, adventure and wit... All the selected movies have recorded tremendous box office successes in the United States and the United Kingdom... Great care has been taken to guarantee 100 per cent viewing pleasure to our audience through the provision of adequate security and safety measures, including crowd control. We are limiting tickets to 500 per show and it access is restricted to adults only 18 years and above at all levels."

Speaking in the same vein, Shola Makinwa, Media Relations Manager for the event said that apart from plain clothe security men and members of the Nigerian police, other private security experts have been contracted for the whole duration of the show. "We are conscious of the calibre of people that will attend the event at the different venues and the sophistication of the equipment that will be in use so security is high on our priority. We have already in the country, expatriate professionals who will effectively handle the cinema equipment. We promise that wherever the dome berths, it will be a fun-filled time."