This is your very own Shadester sharing a drink with Nigel from the Odeon who has been awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours list. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving projectionist, well done mate!
(An MBE is a Member of the Order of the British Empire , a sort of arcane school prizegiving we Brits have. I now know three recepients and they certainly gained them on well deserved merit.)
The Odeon Leicester Square is an iconic building and the spiritual home of the Royal Film Premiere. There is even a “Royal Spot” used to light the royalty as they take their seats in the front row of the Circle. Two rows in the central section of normal seating are replaced by armchairs to give them more legroom. A breakdown is absolutely out of the question at a royal premiere, so traditionally a second print has been projected at the same time with the douser closed (i.e. the light path closed off) so that in the unlikely event of a film snap the show can continue with the briefest of interruptions.
