Cinema museum to make a scene

THE original sets from Star Wars, costumes from Superman and the iconic Rank gong are all part of an ambitious new museum devoted to cinematic history.

The Movieum was to open overnight in a sprawling 1860sq m space in County Hall in London. Visitors will be taken behind the scenes of the British film industry with a display of more than 4000 original props and sets from films such as Gladiator, Thunderbirds and Elizabeth, as well as classics made in Britain in earlier decades.

Exhibits will trace the history of Pinewood Studios, where Dirk Bogarde, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and David Lean made some of their finest films, as well as bring to life the specialist departments working behind the camera, such as special effects, makeup and wardrobe.

The organisers expect between 250,000 and 500,000 visitors a year, judging from the success they had with an earlier County Hall exhibition on Star Wars, which attracted about 200,000 people over eight months.

The opening comes almost a decade after the British Film Institute closed the doors of the Museum of the Moving Image, primarily because of rising costs.

A BFI spokesman expressed interest in the museum, particularly as MOMI's collection is languishing in a storeroom. It is believed some of the objects could now be loaned to The Movieum.

Jonathan Sands, one of The Movieum's directors, said he had the lease on the County Hall space for 25 years. "The Star Wars exhibition proved to us the ... location could work," he said.

Many exhibits are being loaned by artists who were involved with making them, as well as the studios. While films such as Star Wars and Batman were made possible by Hollywood studios, they feature in The Movieum as they were made in England.

The museum's emphasis is on interactivity. Mr Sands said visitors could make a mock film and actors would help people to take their own screen test.

The original throne from Elizabeth, which starred Cate Blanchett as the monarch, will be displayed for visitors to sit on within a setting of the sumptuous palace that they saw on screen.

The technology that allowed Superman to fly over London will be adapted for the 250 different film titles in which visitors can choose to star. "It puts the visitor in the actual film using special effects," Mr Sands said.

- The Times