Sally Devine is a 23-year-old student of American Studies at the University of Sussex. She is about to spend the third year of her degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I chose Sally because she recently attended the premiere of ‘Sex and the City 2’ at the Duke of York’s, a blockbuster that is a departure from the usual films the cinema shows. I wanted to find out more about this and how a historical, art-house cinema presented one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
On ‘Sex and the City 2’, the most recent film Sally has seen at the Duke’s
“Sex and the City 2! There were four of us who went to the screening, which was like a fully blown premiere, on the night it opened. We were going to have cocktails at the Duke’s, but they were £6.50, so we took our own drink in. The Duke’s really went to town; they put a cut-out of a Cosmopolitan cocktail on the roof, they had a red-carpet and everyone was getting their photograph taken, it was a very glamorous occasion. It was mainly women- we counted and there were only three men in the audience and they were either gay or very, very understanding boyfriends. There were Chippendale-type, muscley male models who greeted you at the door and they had a little bowtie and just trousers on and girls could have their picture taken with them on the red carpet.”
On her experience of a late-night screening
“My fondest experience was probably when my boyfriend Tom and I went to see ‘Raging Bull’ on Valentine’s night. I was quite drunk and really enjoyed it but I fell asleep on the sofa upstairs. That was the first time I had been to a late-night screening and it was really cool. If you are going to dinner, or you’re going for dinner and drinks it’s nice that you can go to the cinema afterwards and you don’t have to reschedule your plans. I love that they have the sofas on the balcony upstairs because you feel as though you’re at home.”
On why she loves the Duke’s as a cinema
There’s nothing quite like the experience of being at the cinema especially if you’re watching a really great movie, you don’t really want to watch it on a pirate copy, it’s not the same. The good thing about the Duke of York’s also is that they re-screen old films and it’s that cinematic experience again with something that is an epic. It’s great that you get the choice of all these films, old and new, because not everyone is into new movies. Some people might like just older films or a particular genre. The Duke’s accommodates everyone and this keep with the cinema’s vibe.
If there’s a film I want to go and watch I will choose the Duke of York’s if they’re showing it, so I’d say about once or twice a month. I really like the rustic feel of theplace, its individualistic vibe. I like the bar, I like that it’s old and that it’s such a grand relic of Brighton. “
In Conversation: Sally Devine 2010
In conversation series:
Interviewer : Lucy Westcot
Interviewee: Sally Devine
Date : 5 July
Sally Devine Audio
Background
Sally Devine is a 23-year-old student of American Studies at the University of Sussex. She is about to spend the third year of her degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I chose Sally because she recently attended the premiere of ‘Sex and the City 2’ at the Duke of York’s, a blockbuster that is a departure from the usual films the cinema shows. I wanted to find out more about this and how a historical, art-house cinema presented one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
On ‘Sex and the City 2’, the most recent film Sally has seen at the Duke’s
“Sex and the City 2! There were four of us who went to the screening, which was like a fully blown premiere, on the night it opened. We were going to have cocktails at the Duke’s, but they were £6.50, so we took our own drink in. The Duke’s really went to town; they put a cut-out of a Cosmopolitan cocktail on the roof, they had a red-carpet and everyone was getting their photograph taken, it was a very glamorous occasion. It was mainly women- we counted and there were only three men in the audience and they were either gay or very, very understanding boyfriends. There were Chippendale-type, muscley male models who greeted you at the door and they had a little bowtie and just trousers on and girls could have their picture taken with them on the red carpet.”
On her experience of a late-night screening
“My fondest experience was probably when my boyfriend Tom and I went to see ‘Raging Bull’ on Valentine’s night. I was quite drunk and really enjoyed it but I fell asleep on the sofa upstairs. That was the first time I had been to a late-night screening and it was really cool. If you are going to dinner, or you’re going for dinner and drinks it’s nice that you can go to the cinema afterwards and you don’t have to reschedule your plans. I love that they have the sofas on the balcony upstairs because you feel as though you’re at home.”
On why she loves the Duke’s as a cinema
There’s nothing quite like the experience of being at the cinema especially if you’re watching a really great movie, you don’t really want to watch it on a pirate copy, it’s not the same. The good thing about the Duke of York’s also is that they re-screen old films and it’s that cinematic experience again with something that is an epic. It’s great that you get the choice of all these films, old and new, because not everyone is into new movies. Some people might like just older films or a particular genre. The Duke’s accommodates everyone and this keep with the cinema’s vibe.
If there’s a film I want to go and watch I will choose the Duke of York’s if they’re showing it, so I’d say about once or twice a month. I really like the rustic feel of theplace, its individualistic vibe. I like the bar, I like that it’s old and that it’s such a grand relic of Brighton. “