A Hobart institution where family and friends come together to enjoy a film on the big screen.
Our Interview
Originally published 28 August 2019.
If it’s been awhile since you last went to Village Cinemas, we would recommend you visit. Why not make dad’s day this Sunday the perfect excuse?
Village Cinemas are now fully licensed, plus they have a host of new hot food and new fancy seats for every movie, not just Gold Class.
Hello Hobart sat down with Marketing Manager Kim and movie buff staff member David to chat all things cinema. We will say that the more you get to know the faces behind the popcorn stand, the more you fall in love with how passionate this team is.
‘The movies is a place where you can actually sit back and truly relax. You don’t have to get up for food and you switch off by putting your phone away’, tells Kim.
‘For Father’s Day, there are lots of movies that will suit most dads. Currently screening at the moment is the new Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the newest Fast & Furious’, says David.
As avid film aficionados, we had to ask what the duo’s favourite movie of all time is. ‘I love the Emperors New Grove. It has a great cast and I have loved it since a kid’, said David (the HH team also love this movie).
‘Whereas, I love Home Alone. I always put it on when I am putting up the Christmas tree’, tells Kim.
The most popular movie that the team has ever witnessed was the last Avengers movie. ‘We opened at 8 am in the morning and had every single screen going’, said Kim. David even confessed to us that he was one of those people lined up to watch it.
Village Cinemas obviously does things right when it comes to treating staff well too (besides the free movie bonus!). We were introduced to Phil behind the candy bar, who has been a friendly face for 40 years!
‘I remember when we used to have to change the individual reels and set them up. We would have to stick the reels together when they arrived in Hobart. It was always a nervous time when you first played it to make sure the characters weren’t walking on the roof!’ laughs Kim who impressively has worked at Village for 23 years.
David tells us that he loves his job, he particularly loves talking to customers about the movie they are going to see and what they think will happen. The team also enjoys seeing children coming to the movies for the first time and their reaction when they get inside and see the screen.
The new additions to Village include an increased menu. Hot food offerings include hamburger sliders, pizzas, tacos and of course your traditional cinema snack favourites. The team tells us that they very much still love the popcorn, particularly after being surrounded by the smell all day! There are even gourmet popcorn offerings made at their Melbourne Jam Factory location – think Oreo and salted caramel.
And new movies that are coming up?
‘October sees the launch of the new Joker film with Joaquin Phoenix, which is being heralded with as much suspense as that of the Health Ledger version. In December you will also see the final Star Wars and for Disney fanatics, Frozen 2 is also coming out.’
The Hello Hobart team admitted that they have a guilty pleasure of a love of skill testers at the cinemas. ‘I often drive home and I have the jingle in my head. It’s catchy, but also hard to get out’, laughs David.
If you aren’t sure what to get dad this Father’s Day, an Experience Card might be a good solution, particularly if dad is a picky movie buff. These bad boys can be used for food and tickets, starting from $30.