DUBLIN’S NEWEST cinema complex opened last night with a ringing endorsement from actor Brendan Gleeson.
Echoing remarks he made in a warm-up speech for US president Barack Obama in College Green last May, Gleeson said the Point Village Odeon would give a “huge lift” to the local area at a time of recession. “The biggest enemy is morale. Ultimately, there is no point in moaning and whining all day long about it,” he said.
The cinema will open to the public tomorrow with a showing of Gleeson’s new film The Pirates! Band of Misfits at a fundraising gala for children’s charity the Jack and Jill Foundation.
Some 850 guests will attend three screenings of the film.
The animated film made by Aardman Studios, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, features Hugh Grant as the voice of the pirate captain and Gleeson as a “Dublin pirate with the mentality of a four-year-old”.
Gleeson recorded his part in a Dublin studio remote from the rest of the cast and crew. The Odeon is the latest major development in the Point Village to open following the O2 and the Gibson Hotel.
Developer Harry Crosbie decided to persist with the 250,000sq ft development, which is on seven floors, despite a protracted legal battle with the proposed anchor tenant, Dunnes Stores, and the reluctance to date of other tenants to commit to it.
He is hoping that those retailers will be tempted by the opening of the cinema to take a punt on the location. “Everyone is waiting for everyone else and somebody has to take the plunge,” he said.
“Normally you would open a complex like this all at the same time. Because these are tough days, we’re opening it sequentially bit by bit.”
