Food and film (by Nils Moen)
I’ve wanted to work in the film industry since I first saw Star Wars. I guess I was
eight or nine years old. By the time I was at university I was studying film production
and writing film reviews for the student newspaper. The paper gave me one free
ticket each week and I would save up any spare cash to go to the cinema again.
The cinema near my university was a normal multiplex, and that’s where I made a
discovery ... cinema food is really bad. I mean, it’s seriously unhealthy and totally
over-priced. The choice at my local cinema was: plastic sweets, dusty popcorn and
a bucket of fizzy drink. That was it. Personally, as a cash-poor student who also
wanted to keep his teeth, I used to hide my own food in my rucksack. No-one ever
told me off, but perhaps the cinema staff were being kind to me (the skinny boy with
a notebook who came three times a week).
So why do cinemas do this? The answer is, of course, money. Cinemas aren’t really
in the business of selling films, they’re in the business of selling popcorn. Film
studios take a percentage of tickets sales, but the cinemas are allowed to keep
most of the money from food. For example, a box of popcorn is about 85% profit
and food overall gives around 40% of the profit for a cinema. Selling salty popcorn
makes perfect sense because this makes customers thirsty and then they spend
more money on drinks.
Some companies are trying a different approach. Recently in America I tried one of
the many ‘Fork and Screen’ AMC cinemas, which aim to serve a proper meal during
the film. Customers sit at tables with cinema seats. The food is nothing
extraordinary — mainly burgers and chips — but the price is the same as in a
standard restaurant. I’m afraid the price was the best thing about it. To begin with,
the food arrived just before the start of the film. The sound of cutlery and eating
ruined the first half an hour for me. And then the waiters came round to (very
politely) take drink orders. ‘Would you like a drink, sir?’ ‘No, I want to watch the film.
Go away!’
So can food and cinema ever mix? Well, Edible Cinema is one example that
succeeds in an interesting way. When the audience arrives they are given a small
tray containing eight closed boxes. During the film, a light at the side of the room
tells you when to open and eat the contents of each box. Edible Cinema aren’t
trying to fill your stomach, or even give you a tasty snack. The food is weird, even
shocking, and is designed to make you think about the characters’ emotions or the
scenery. This is not a cheap night out (tickets were £38 and I had to eat some
dinner at home afterwards) but I’ve been talking about my Edible Cinema
experience for months now, and I’ve been watching social media to find out where
their next screening will be. If you’re a ‘foodie’ or a cinema fan, I recommend giving
it a try.
Read the article and write A, B, or C in blanks
Example: Nils regularly went to the cinema when B.
A he lived near a multiplex B he was a student C he was eight or nine
1 When he was at university, Nils
the food at the multiplex.
A wished he could afford B didn’t want to eat C must have tried
2 Nils used to
at the cinema when he was at university.
A have a part-time job B watch all the science-fiction films C break the rules
3
of a cinema’s profits come from food.
A More than half B Almost half C Most
4 Cinemas sell popcorn
.
A because it’s cheap to make B because it’s easy to serve C to make people buy more drinks
5 Nils compares Fork and Screen’s food with
.
A normal restaurant food B normal cinema food C home cooking
6 Nils found the
at Fork and Screen distracting.
A food smells B noise of people eating C cinema seats
7 The aim of Edible Cinema is to
.
A see a fun performance B eat a proper meal with the film C have an interesting experience
8 The food at Edible Cinema is deliberately
.
A unusual B tasty C easy to eat
9 Overall, Nils thought that Edible Cinema was
.
A a bargain B worth the money C too expensive
2 Read the article again. Mark the sentences T (true) or F (false).
Example: Nils used to be a full-time film critic. F
1 Nils didn’t always have to pay for a cinema ticket when he was a student.
2 Nils is grateful to the staff of the multiplex near his university.
3 Cinemas and film studios don’t have to share money from ticket sales.
4 Nils thought the food at Fork and Screen was over-priced.
5 The service at Fork and Screen was polite but distracting.
6 Only ‘foodies’ will enjoy Edible Cinema.
