This month, outdoor movies will be presented in Shanghai at the Jameson Outdoor Cinema Festival. Ferris Bueller? At the cinema in China? That’s right, Jameson are bringing a whole load of your favorite films including Reservoir Dogs, Cinema Paradiso and Stand By Me to Fuxing Park at the end of this month. Outside. In the warmth. With a Jameson in hand. And all in the comfort of your very own director’s chair.
Down at Whisky Live this weekend we caught up with the man with the outdoor cinema plan the Jameson Brand Ambassador Andrew Mitchell to give us the low down.
Andrew, so what’s this Jameson Outdoor Cinema Festival all about?
It’s very simple, we’re bringing films to the people, to the masses. Jameson, since about 1998, has been really heavily involved with the film industry all over the world and we thought it’s about time we brought it to Shanghai.
So this is the first time in Shanghai?
It’s the first time we’ve done anything film related in this city. If you go down to Sydney, for example, you’ll have Tropfest going on the summer; Jameson’s is heavily involved in that. There’s also Flickerfest going on in Melbourne, you’ve also got Movies on the Square in Dublin and Dublin International Film Festival, plus the Belfast Film Festival and so many others that are going on around the world and we just thought that it was time that we brought it to China as well. So, we’re starting off just with a little outdoor cinema to soak up the rays during the day with outdoor cocktails and popcorn, bob’s your uncle.
Okay, so is this mostly championing international cinema or local cinema?
It’s mostly international cinema for the moment but we hope to expand upon this year after year and we’re, basically, going to grow it and make film our staple diet for the year. So we’re going to start off with international films with the likes of Stand By Me and Reservoir Dogs.
So who decided the final list?
Well, ourselves. We got a little committee together, myself and the PR agency, we thought about our target consumer, who it is we’re looking for, what would they be interested in seeing, something a little bit light-hearted, sometimes a little bit darker, with Reservoir Dogs, for example, something to suit all, but most of all something that isn’t too serious, because that’s really our reflection of the brand. We like to think of ourselves as serious in the making but not so serious in the drinking, so we kept that in mind when we put together the final short list.
Do you imagine this is going to become a regular feature or just a way to dip your toe in the cinema water?
It’s definitely a dip of the toe because it’s small, it’s only going to be over the course of the weekend, which probably makes it that little bit more interesting and exciting, given that it’s a small number of people, we’re looking at about 250 per showing and 6 showings over the course of the 3 nights, so about 1500.
We’re going to get bigger, definitely, we’re going to get better at it, have no doubt we’ll be back next year with something even more interesting and perhaps, with a little bit of a twist, we might bring some more international films, a little bit more underground, the idea being that we, Jameson, traditionally support the film industry from the industry out, rather than from consumer and customers in. So we’ve been a brand that’s been supporting film for almost a decade now, but from the directors, the actors and the producers side rather than from the viewer.
The idea being that we are a creative kind of brand, an outgoing and sociable brand. So for next year we can expect something bigger, something better and perhaps something a little bit more interesting and intriguing in terms of our film list as well.
And the kind of people you want to come and see these films… are you hoping for local people, foreigners or just anyone who wants to go along and watch a movie?
Anyone that wants to come along. We’re looking for a mix, the biggest and best mix that we can. We’re targeting about 10 bars in Shanghai that are going to be running the promotion to actually sell the tickets in the first place, it’s very simple, if you buy two drinks you get a ticket on the promotion night, very simple, very easy. For the moment we’re probably going to be targeting a 50/50 split, but of course as time goes on and as we start to grow we’ll start focusing more and more on the Chinese consumer. The initial idea is that outdoor cinema isn’t something that’s really in the Chinese people’s repertoire, it’s not really something on their mind so we’re going to be targeting Westerners to try and fill in and communicate this through to their Chinese friends over time.
What’s your own favorite movie of all time?
For hard, tense action probably Mississippi Burning, pretty good film. In terms of funny, I think Stand By Me, which is probably one of the reasons that it’s in there. And then…
I said ‘movie’ not ‘movies’ – any Chinese movies?
Infernal Affairs is pretty good, that might even feature next year, you never know. It was on the list but just didn’t quite make the last six.
The Jameson Outdoor Cinema Festival
Where: Fuxing Park (Nanchang Lu & Yandang Lu)
When: May 29-31
2 screenings per night: 7pm / 10pm
What: Friday May 29 – The Commitments / Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Saturday – Moulin Rouge / Reservoir Dogs
Sunday – Cinema Paradiso / Stand By Me
How: Grab a load of friends, go to selected outlets across Shanghai, have a couple of Jameson & Gingers each and get a free cinema ticket! Once you have the golden ticket, simply log onto www.jamesonwhiskey.com and follow the Globe (our events icon) to book the film(s) you want to see. Seats are limited, so be quick!
Excerpt from “Films in the park with Jameson…” by Urbanatomy (with Jack Barry). Read full article at: http://shproto.urbanatomy.com/index.php/i-ahearts-shanghai/85-i-love-shanghai/1459-films-in-the-park-with-jameson.
Hidden among quiet woods of maple trees and poplars boldly illuminated with neon road signs is the Maple Leaf, an outdoor theater that somewhat belies its bucolic name and setting. For this is not the sort of place to find open-air performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream but rather eardrum-rattling screenings of the latest Hollywood blockbuster: yes, it’s a drive-in cinema and is now the first of its kind to provide 3-D movies in China, according to general manager Gu Haiqiong.
As the humidity recedes and it’s finally safe to go outside for ten minutes without your shirt turning into a dishcloth, the city’s outside events are flourishing.
