Big Changes For Event Cinemas George Street In Sydney?

By Erin Free

The big, bright, garish multiplex that sits boldly and without apology amongst the fast food joints, bars and office blocks of George Street is not exactly a hub of high culture to rival The Sydney Opera House or The State Theatre, but when word came blasting out ten or so days ago that the complex was set to be razed, the hearts of many local film lovers likely rose up into their throats in a collective gasp of horror. It was widely reported that the Central Sydney Planning Committee had approved a $690 million project that would see Event Cinemas George Street demolished to make way for a new high rise…just what Sydney needs! Another high rise building! The proposed building is shooting for a height of 270 metres, and is said to feature both residential and commercial elements, with a public restaurant and bar on the 80th floor (!!!), a childcare centre, various retail allotments, 507 apartments, and a “new, boutique cinema.”

Most reports understandably assumed that the description of a “new, boutique cinema” hardly fit the current cinema complex, meaning that Event Cinemas George Street was set to go. Along with this, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, the project’s developer, Mirvac, even said that its approved proposal included the demolition of the existing cinema complex. Many film lovers took to social media to voice their sadness and disappointment at the apparent end of what was once Sydney’s movie strip. “Weirdly emotional about the end of George St cinemas,” penned Marc Fennell. “I have vivid memories of my mum taking me on the train to see Disney movies there as a kid. As a critic, I spent more hours in that building than any other. I fell in love with movies there. It will be missed.”

Many punters had strangely mixed feelings about the hulking cinema complex, admitting that it was, well, kinda gross, but that it also had much pop cultural significance for Sydneysiders. Hundreds of movie premieres had been held there, with everyone from Vin Diesel and Keanu Reeves through to Willem Dafoe and Viggo Mortensen having trudged up its natty red carpet. Sydney City Mayor Clover Moore, meanwhile, appeared to be rubbing her hands together in glee about seeing the back of the old movie barn. “It’s still special to go out to the movies, but the way we do that is very different to when cinemas on this site were in their heyday,” Moore, likely pouring a glass of chardonnay at the time, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “New cinema developments at Broadway and Central Park are indicative of the change to a model where theatres seat a smaller audience, in a more intimate setting. There will still be a cinema, but it will be housed in a more impressive building, alongside bars and a restaurant, retail and childcare.” Hey Clover, haven’t we seen you helping open various Mardi Gras Film Festivals at this very cinema to packed 800 seat theatres?

So that appeared to be it then. FilmInk was getting ready to post its own love-to-hate-it paean to Event Cinemas George Street when further word filtered out about the future of the site. In an official statement on Instagram, the Event Cinemas brass claimed that their slightly dog-eared multiplex would actually not be falling victim to the wrecking ball. “It’s been reported in the media that our cinema at George Street is closing, however this is incorrect – there are no plans to close,” the cinema posted. “While we have been temporarily shut due to COVID-19, the doors will be re-opening with upgrades made to the premises. We’ve upgraded our big-screen V-Max theatres, now with daybeds, luxury seating and full recliners, and we’ve introduced a new marketplace candy bar as well as contactless self-service technology. We can’t wait to welcome you back so you can experience it for yourself when we are able to reopen our doors.”

So there seems to be a little conjecture about what’s happening with Event Cinemas George Street. Will this massive new development just be built over the top of it? Or will it be razed completely, and replaced with a hipper, Palace Cinemas-style affair? Will Event Cinemas George Street reopen as further COVID restrictions ease, and then get demolished when work eventually begins on the new development once all of the presumably lengthy paperwork has gone through and all of the right wheels have been greased? There are different answers coming from different quarters. FilmInk, however, has no qualms about which answer we prefer. Yes, Event Cinemas George Street is a pretty soulless example of the modern multiplex, but it’s also the last remaining link to the area’s past as Sydney’s hub for movie going, and that’s why it would be so sad to see it go.

In the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s, George Street was home to three major multiplexes – The Hoyts Entertainment Centre (which mostly sat where Event Cinemas George Street is now), The Greater Union Cinema Centre (part of which is still featured in the current multiplex) and Village Cinema City (anyone remember that horror trek up the stairs to Cinema 6, which was about the size of a standard lounge room? Well worth it, however, if the movie awaiting you there was Se7en or Goodfellas) – making it the prime destination for cinema viewing. In the early 1990s, Dendy also opened a small multiplex on George Street, where this writer saw Reservoir Dogs [ED: you sure it wasn’t Like Water for Chocolate?]

Before that, there were the single screen cinemas, The Rapallo (where this writer saw Grease…I think) and The Paramount (where this writer saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark), which were demolished to make way for The Greater Union Cinema Centre. Around the corner in Pitt Street were The Lyceum Theatre (demolished and rebuilt as The Wesley Centre in 1991), The Greater Union Pitt Centre (a three screen “miniplex” where this writer saw everything from The Breakfast Club to Schindler’s List) and The Ascot Theatre (where this writer saw Mad Max 2). Prior to these cinemas were a whole host of others now lost to history. If you wanted to see a movie, the area was a literal smorgasbord of choice.

Always at its centre, however, was The Hoyts Entertainment Centre, with its massive central staircase, rows of arcade games, and odd little nooks and crannies. There were the hours wasted in the curious book and collectible shop in the foyer, and – way, way before you could watch movie trailers at your leisure on YouTube – a bank of television screens (complete with metal railing) showing glimpses of all the movies headed to the cinema screen in the near future. Ages could be spent there waiting for the trailers of Escape From New York, The Empire Strikes Back and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. These kind of fond memories would be there for many movie lovers, and though Event Cinemas George Street is a wholly different beast from the Hoyts of old, the presence of the oddball ghosts of the past can still be felt there.

Now, however, the centre of Sydney is a near pop cultural wasteland, with cinemas and theatres operating solely on its fringes at Circular Quay and Broadway. Sure, Event Cinemas George Street – looming, booming, cavernous and wholly without character – might not exactly be a place to hold dear to your heart, but if it goes, so will a lifeline to Sydney’s cinematic history.

If you liked this story, check out our opinion piece on cinemas reopening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. And click here for an amazing in-depth look at The Hoyts Centre of old.