Outdoor cinema pioneer George Wood shares the story of his lucky leg break with Sophie Farrah...
People often travel to seek out inspiration, but it wasn’t until George Wood, founder of the UK’s leading open-air cinema The Luna Cinema, ventured all the way to the other side of the world that he found it.
“I was in Australia and I went to an open-air cinema on Sydney Harbour and I remember thinking what a brilliant idea it was – I’d never sat and watched a film under the stars before, and I realised then what a different experience it was. It was so sociable.”
“I remember saying ‘Why don’t we do this in England?’ and of course, all my Australian mates said – ‘because your weather’s rubbish!’”
Back home, the idea was quickly forgotten as he embarked on a career as an actor, with appearances in Oliver! in the West End and became the host of the UK version of TV’s popular Disney Club. But one fateful day, on his way to a theatre to perform, everything changed.
“I got knocked off my scooter on the Elephant and Castle roundabout. I broke my leg, badly, and the doctor said that I wasn’t going to be able to work for six months.”
Not one to just sit around and relax, he rang his local park, Dulwich Park, from his hospital bed, and asked if they’d ever hosted open-air cinema.
“They asked me if that was what I did, so I said ‘yes – that’s exactly what I do!’.”
In the summer of 2008, balanced on crutches and with one leg in plaster, he invested his life savings in a screen and projector and staged his first al fresco film, Some Like it Hot. Despite the lack of marketing budget, it was a sellout.
“Life’s all about being in the right place at the right time,” he says.“The truth is if I hadn’t had the accident, it probably would have been one of those ideas that I’d have sat on and then someone else would have done it. I often say it was the luckiest leg break in the world.”
In his second year, he ran a season of 15 screenings and managed to secure Leeds Castle as a venue. From there the business quickly started to grow.
“The Australians might have more reliable weather, but we’ve got castles and abbeys and historical sites and amazing parks,” he explains. “When we got Hampton Court Palace, that was the turning point. Very quickly all the big venues woke up and took notice.”
There is something undeniably special about watching a film under the stars, with the birds flying overhead, and at Luna, you can bring your own picnic too. Of course, if it’s a balmy summer evening that helps, but even in the drizzle, there’s a certain sense of camaraderie that kicks in. Come rain, come shine, it feels like so much more than just a movie – it’s an experience.
“In a normal cinema it’s just you and the film and you don’t want to be aware of other people around you, but open-air cinema is a very communal experience, and the rules are completely different,” he explains.
“The audience cheer, they laugh, they clap, they sing, they dance. They even share picnics. The experience of being there and watching the audience enjoying it – that’s why I still do it, and that’s the thing I love most.”
Last year, The Luna Cinema celebrated its 10th birthday. It has screened shows in Westminster Abbey, Lulworth Castle, the Tower of London, and many more historic sites, as well as local venues like Chiswick House and Gardens, Battersea Park, Fulham Palace and Wandsworth Park.
“You can stick a screen up anywhere, but my goal has always been to get the best venues.”
The other challenge is choosing the right films – “everyone seems to have an opinion!”
Some of this year’s big names include Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman and A Star is Born. The Favourite will be shown at one of the film’s locations, Hatfield House. Mary Poppins Returns comes to Victoria Tower Gardens, under the shadow of the Houses of Parliament (the setting for the film’s climax), and The Young Victoria will be screened at Kensington Palace to mark the 200th anniversary of Victoria’s birth at the Palace.
“Also, Queen has actually played at two of our sites – we’re going to be at Cardiff Castle and Knebworth House, showing Bohemian Rhapsody on the exact spot where Freddie performed.”
All well as recent box office hits, Luna also screens an eclectic mix of classics, such as Pretty Woman, Top Gun, The Big Lebowski and Moulin Rouge.
Of the thousands of screenings, which has been the most popular?
“It has got to be Dirty Dancing. Swayze has an effect on people, audiences scream when they see him. I remember when we first screened it and Swayze walks in at the end to The Time of My Life, the audience got up and danced and cheered and sang along.
“Two thousand people all stood up at Hampton Court Palace and danced to a film that they’ve probably seen a dozen times before. I’ll never forget it!”