It was the end of an era as the Film Festival said a fond farewell to the ABC Cinema. Tonight was the last ever screening in the huge 850 seater main auditorium, and what a way to go out.
The latest of the Lottery funded films, Beautiful Creatures, had its World Premiere and almost everyone involved in the film was there. All the actors, including the three leads, Rachel Weisz, Susan Lynch and Storm (the dog), were there and the crowd was very enthusiastic. This could have been because every aunt, cousin, and friend of every member of the Scottish production crew had been invited along and it meant that a cheer went up at nearly every name which rolled past on the credits.
The party for the film was held at the Java Club in Leith and plenty of money and effort had been spent transforming the venue. A huge 25ft tall banner featuring the lovely ladies dominated one wall of the dance floor and slides of Storm were projected on all walls. They even went as far as writing "you are wonderful, gorgeous, perfect" on the bathroom mirrors.
The food was oriental (for no apparent reason) with plenty of sushi and noodles to complement the normal buffet finger food, whilst drinks on offer included cocktails like "Hair of The Dog".
Rachel Weisz didn't put in much of an appearance, and neither did Lizzie Francke (obviously saving herself for the final day). Unperturbed, Susan Lynch launched herself at the dancefloor, sporting a very fetching brown cowboy hat, and also at Storm, who looked bemused. Storm was the undoubted star of the evening and was the centre of attention all night, with people admiring his fine glossy (not acrylic) coat.
Who said the British film industry's gone to the dogs?
