Latest news with #Odeon
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
This luxury hotel is on the market for just $1 — but there's a catch
A property developer who sunk $4.3 million into the doomed renovation of a historic Grade II-listed hotel is now selling it — for just a DOLLAR. Na'im Payman purchased The Royal Hotel in Kettering, Northants., back in December 2020 for $3 million and has since spent an extra $1.4 million doing it up. Advertisement But the businessman now says he has run out of funding to complete his dream project of turning the complex into a wedding venue, restaurant, nightclub and café. 10 Payman purchased The Royal Hotel in Kettering, Northants., back in December 2020 for $3 million. howsold As a result, property-hunters are now being given the chance to snap up the Victorian landmark for the 'unprecedented' guide price of just $1 — with no reserve. The 43-bedroom hotel has hosted the likes of Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens during its rich 147 year history. Advertisement Your money could get you the main hotel building, featuring a grand ballroom, a billiard room with a stunning glass dome, former bar and multiple function spaces. 10 Payman says he has run out of funding to complete his dream project of turning the complex into a wedding venue, restaurant, nightclub and café. howsold However it comes with a catch — as potential buyers are warned it will cost at least another $1.4 million at least to finish the project Payman started. Payman said: 'It is with great regret that we're selling the Royal Hotel in Kettering. Advertisement 10 Property-hunters are now being given the chance to snap up the Victorian landmark for the 'unprecedented' guide price of just $1. howsold 'This hotel has held a particularly special place in my heart, given its prominent role in the town and the deep affection the local community has for it. 'I had truly hoped we would be able to restore it in a way that honoured its legacy and served as a catalyst for the revitalisation of Kettering's town centre. 'To date, we have invested nearly $1.4 million in refurbishing parts of the property, identifying features of historical significance, preparing applications and drawings to bring our vision to life, and fine-tuning the branding and digital identity. Advertisement 10 The 43-bedroom hotel has hosted the likes of Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens during its rich 147 year history. howsold 'This included plans for a boutique cinema—especially timely following the recent closure of the Odeon—and in response to strong community demand for such a facility. 'The property showed great promise as a popular venue for weddings and events, complete with a mini-spa, bridal salon, co-working spaces, café and restaurant. 10 Potential buyers are warned it will cost at least another $1.4 million at least to finish the project Payman started. howsold 'Unfortunately, despite my best efforts over the past year, I have been unable to secure the remaining funds required to complete the project. 'We had an investor willing to lend $4 million but they pulled out, so we have run out of time and money. 'As a result, I have had to make the very difficult decision to sell. 10 Payman said: 'It is with great regret that we're selling the Royal Hotel in Kettering.' howsold Advertisement 'I sincerely hope that someone who shares our vision for the future of the Royal Hotel will step forward to purchase the property and carry the project through, rather than see it converted into apartments. 'To support this, we are more than happy to share all drawings and heritage reports we have developed, in order to assist the new owners in delivering this project both swiftly and successfully. 10 'We had an investor willing to lend $4 million but they pulled out, so we have run out of time and money,' Payman said. howsold 'I anticipate it would still cost at least $1.4 million to see the vision through and hope potential buyers will see the amazing potential it still holds.' Advertisement The hotel was rebuilt in the Jacobean style in 1878 by the Duke of Buccleuch, who sold it to brewers Pickering, Phipps and Co in 1896. Charles Dickens stayed in the hotel in 1835 as a reporter for the Morning Chronicle covering the Northamptonshire elections. 10 The hotel was rebuilt in the Jacobean style in 1878 by the Duke of Buccleuch. howsold The hotel's name changed in 1844 when Queen Victoria stopped in room 12 on her way to Stamford, Lincs. Advertisement Previously used by the Home Office to house migrants, building work started on the ballroom to transform it back to its former glory. 10 Charles Dickens stayed in the hotel in 1835 as a reporter for the Morning Chronicle covering the Northamptonshire elections. howsold All the bedrooms were stripped back to allow the interiors to be remodelled with attempts to preserve the historically important Victorian architectural features. As well as a large basement nightclub, the hotel has commercial storefronts and a café facing the Market Place. Advertisement Estate agents Howsold say on their property listing: 'A truly unique opportunity to acquire and re-imagine one of Kettering's most iconic buildings. 10 The hotel's name changed in 1844 when Queen Victoria stopped in room 12 on her way to Stamford, Lincs. howsold 'The Royal Hotel, a Grade II listed, late-Victorian landmark, is now available for purchase, offering a substantial footprint in the town's primary commercial centre. 'With proposed architectural plans available, the Royal Hotel offers the chance to create a modern hotel and premier events venue, restoring a treasured piece of local heritage to its former glory.' The auction takes place on July 31 and offers can be made at
Sky News
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
How to get cheap cinema tickets at Odeon, Vue and Cineworld
Why you can trust Sky News In 2024, the average price of a cinema ticket was £7.73, but at many cinemas, you can end up paying significantly more. Odeon Luxe, Everyman and Picturehouse Central offer premium experiences, with fully reclining seats and enhanced audio and visual - but it comes at a hefty price tag of up to £20 per ticket. But there are a few ways around this... Money blog: Follow the latest 2-for-1 for a year Meerkat Movies has been a staple of the movie ticket-saving scene for years now. If you buy any insurance through the Compare the Market website, you can get 2-for-1 tickets every Tuesday and Wednesday. While the easiest way to qualify for this is to use the site to buy insurance, you can also buy it by purchasing the cheapest travel insurance policy available. At the time of writing, a single trip policy covering one day's travel in the UK (which I'm not actually going to be taking), would cost £1. Purchasing this then makes you eligible for Meerkat Movies. Bank switches Lloyds Bank currently has an offer where, if you switch banks to its Club Lloyds account, you will get either six free Odeon or six free Vue tickets. There is a bit of small print to be aware of though - the account is fee-free as long as you meet its £2,000 a month minimum pay-in - there's a £3 a month fee (rising to £5 a month from 2 June) if you don't. Check your work benefits If your work is signed up to some kind of employee benefit system (Perks at Work being quite a common one), you may find you can purchase cheap tickets through that. This will give you an instant access code you can use to buy your ticket. However, it's worth double-checking any of the offers below to see if they come in cheaper. I've previously paid £10 for an e-code, only to realise I could have bought the ticket via a different scheme for less than that. Odeon Cinema Amazon Prime If you already pay for Amazon Prime, then you'll already have a way to buy cheap(er) tickets. You can buy two standard tickets for £10, or two recliner tickets at an Odeon Luxe for £15. However, this offer is only available Monday to Thursday and can only be used once a month. Vodafone If you are a Vodafone or Voxi customer, you can get two standard tickets for £8, or two Luxe tickets for £13. This offer can be used at almost all Odeon cinemas. If you're with Vodafone, you can use the offer once a week, while Voxi customers get it once a month. MyOdeon If you sign up for a MyOdeon account, you can get cheaper tickets all day Monday, and on some selected screenings Tuesday to Sunday. Odeon says you'll always get cheaper tickets by booking online than you will at the box office. OdeonKids With this offer, families can attend OdeonKids screenings for £2.75 per ticket, and adults pay kids' prices at a number of selected cinemas. ScreenUnseen This one could go either way (I speak from experience having once got stuck watching a 2.5-hour-long Western film), but if you like a lucky dip, you can spend £6 on a ScreenUnseen showing at Odeon if you are a member. It's £7 if you're a non-member, and a further £1 if you book at the box office instead of online. The catch is, you don't know what you are watching until the lights go down - unless you are able to solve some very cryptic clues they post online. Silver Screenings If you are aged over 60, you can bag a £3.50 ticket to select screenings - plus Odeon says you'll even get free coffee, tea and biscuits before the movie starts. Vue Sky Cinema subscribers If you are already paying for a Sky Cinema package, log into your app and you'll find two free tickets every month to use at a Vue cinema. O2 priority O2 and Virgin Media customers can buy two tickets for £9 (it used to be £6, but like everything else, the price has gone up) or four for £18, which they can use at any Vue location. MightyMornings If you have children aged between four and 12, you can get tickets for them for £2.49 for some showings after 10am. They must be accompanied by an adult. Cineworld and Picturehouse Cineworld and Picturehouse belong to the same group, so any offers can usually be used across both chains, but make sure to read the small print. Tesco Clubcard You can double the value of your Tesco Clubcard if you put your points toward cinema tickets. So £1 clubcard means £2 to spend at Cineworld. Three Mobile If you're with Three, you can claim a £3 adult cinema ticket for any 2D movie once a week via the Three app. This is valid any time on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Child and adult screenings Cineworld Movies for Juniors costs £3.99 for kids and accompanying adults if you are going on a weekend or school holiday. However, it is rarely brand-new releases. CineSeniors
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
NYC restaurateur Keith McNally spills the beans in memoir
"You are not the kind of girl who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar. You are at a bar talking to a guy with a shaved head. The spot is either the Odeon or Lucky Strike. All might come clear if you could just slip into the bathroom and do a little more Bolivian Marching Powder. Then again, it might not." - heavily cribbed from "Bright Lights, Big City" by Jay McInerney. If you were in New York in the 1980s, it was hard not to know about Keith McNally's restaurants and night spots. The Odeon's neon sign shone out from the cover of that '80s time capsule "Bright Lights, Big City," fer Chrissake. Working as a drone at magazines like Spy, Andy Warhol's Interview and The New Yorker - where McInerney worked briefly as a fact checker and upon which he modeled the unnamed publication in his breakout novel - I was not habitually familiar with Bolivian Marching Powder nor the interior of McNally's restaurants, but they were an unmistakable part of the media-sodden landscape. A 2004 profile in The New York Times christened McNally "The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown," but not all of his hot spots were Downtown. He was really helping to invent a new kind of nightlife. As the Studio 54 days turned gradually to the Club Kids epoch of the late '80s, each of his restaurants became stylish scenes, sometimes turning hundreds of tables a night. Unfortunately, if you are a budding nightlife impresario or McNally wannabe, you will find little instruction in McNally's recent memoir, "I Regret Almost Everything" (Gallery Books, $29.99). For instance, McNally, 73, attributes the success of The Odeon in Tribeca - his first restaurant, with his brother Brian and his first wife, Lynn Wagenknecht - to "being in the right place at the right time." "Through no intention of our own, The Odeon quickly became the epicenter of the downtown art scene with Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel mixing with the likes of Anna Wintour, Lorne Michaels and the cast of 'Saturday Night Live,'" McNally writes, also name-dropping Harold Pinter, Joseph Heller and Edward Albee as customers at The Odeon, which opened in 1980. As Times critic Pete Wells has written, McNally's restaurants are not known for their inventive cuisine. McNally's original Pastis restaurant "took almost everything from the stodgiest, least trend-conscious sort of French cafes and brasseries," Wells said in 2019. Two years earlier, in a lukewarm review of Augustine, Wells noted, "By unanimous consent, atmosphere is Mr. McNally's great, unrivaled strength. ... He excels at building rooms that evoke vintage Paris - not exactly the real Paris, but the city the way you remember it a year after taking a vacation there." In his memoir, it's true, McNally never sings the praises of sourcing local produce or explains the precise crumb a baguette should have. He does stress the importance of a restaurant's having "the right feel": "At its best, the right feel can transport a customer like nothing else." He speaks of his meticulousness in designing a restaurant's interior, down to the inches of a two-top table and international trips to buy fixtures and furnishings. But "I Regret Almost Everything" is not about the day-to-day of the restaurant business. (By his count, McNally has opened 19 restaurants.) Rather, it is a lively, plainspoken narrative of his rise from working-class origins in Bethnal Green, London, through turbulent personal times. He opens his book with his suicide attempt in 2018, having swallowed dozens of sleeping pills he'd been stocking up. On the first page alone, he refers not only to his thwarted attempt - his young son, George, discovered him - but also his rocky marriage to his second wife, Alina, and the 2016 stroke that left him partially paralyzed and with speech difficulties. He travels back and forth in time from this moment, recounting his parents' unhappy marriage, his acting career as a teenager and young man, and an affair with the older playwright Alan Bennett. He went to New York at 24 with ideas of being a filmmaker, but ended up working his way up in restaurants from busboy at an ice cream parlor to general manager at a fashionable Greenwich Village restaurant. When he quit in a dispute, he, Wagenknecht and his brother decided to open their own restaurant, choosing Tribeca because it was the only area they could afford. The rest, as they say, is history. Throughout this journey through his life, McNally is good company, with a dry sense of humor and the instincts to rein in his ego - not shying from naming names (like an account of his Instagram feud with James Corden) but also not sparing himself. He's also a font of useful aphorisms about life: "I often think that the best thing about having sex with someone is being able to stretch your legs the full width of the mattress when the other person gets up." Though restaurant owners will not find a recipe for success in these pages (or any recipes at all), they will find a eventful, heartfelt tale. And Balthazar, one of McNally's most successful restaurants, opened in in SoHo in 1997, did share the following food and cocktail recipes below. Bon appétit ! Le Balthazar 1 ounce Belvedere Vodka 1 ounce Grand Marnier 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce simple syrup 2 ounces Champagne Taittinger Brut NV In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, Grand Marnier, lime juice, simple syrup and ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Top with Champagne and garnish with a twist of orange peel. - Balthazar Restaurant Balthazar Salad For salad 1 head of Romaine lettuce 1/4 pound of mâche 1 head of frisee 1 head of radicchio 1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, preferably on a mandoline 1/4 pound of radishes, thinly sliced 1/2 pound asparagus 1/4 pound haricots verts 1 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 pound ricotta salata 1 Hass avocado, sliced into 6 wedges 1 raw beet, julienned Zest of 1 lemon 3 slices of brioche, toasted and pulsed in a food processor to a fine crumb For Lemon truffle vinaigrette 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup lemon juice 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup black truffle oil Tear lettuce leaves and mix with sliced fennel and radishes. Blanch the asparagus and haricot verts in boiling water until tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to ice bath, then drain. Add asparagus and haricot verts to other greens. Separately, combine vinaigrette ingredients in a jar, shake and dress salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the salad among 6 plates, topping each with a slice of ricotta salata, a wedge of avocado, some julienned beet and lemon zest. Finish with a pinch of bread crumbs, and serve. Serves 4-6. - Balthazar Restaurant Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Daily Mirror
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I watched 28 Days Later at the cinema - and there was one major flaw'
Ahead of the upcoming release of 28 Years Later, I took a trip to my local Odeon to watch the original movie, 28 Days Later. But there was one major flaw that I couldn't take my eyes off With 28 Years Later set to land in cinemas on June 20, I decided to catch up on what had happened in the previous films, so I'd be perfectly up to date and ready for the action. 28 Years Later will see Marvel's Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Killing Eve alum Jodie Comer star as survivors living in the UK almost three decades after the rage virus took over, resulting in terrifying attacks from the infected - aka zombies. This apocalyptic thriller will show Comer and Taylor Johnson find ways to survive in their respective groups as they discover a mutation that has spread to not only the infected, but other survivors as well. But before 28 Years Later, there were two films that showed the effects of the rage virus on the UK. In 2002, the first film in the series, 28 Days Later was released and starred Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy and Bond girl Naomie Harris. It showed the first month of survival following the accidental release of the highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus. The film was a huge success and has a rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and was named the second-best zombie movie of all time by Stylus Magazine in 2007. It's followed by the first sequel, 28 Weeks Later, starring Jeremy Renner and Rose Byrne as Brits begin to return to the country believing that the virus has died out. Spoiler alert: It hadn't. As a huge zombie genre fan, when I first saw the trailer for 28 Years Later I was immediately hooked. I'd heard of the prequels, but hadn't been able to watch them as they weren't available on streaming sites. Luckily, my local Odeon cinema began showing reruns to help get fans up to speed, so I went along to watch 2002's 28 Days Later. Popcorn at the ready, seat reclined and trailers watched, the film began to play. But seconds later I had to ask my partner if this was a joke. The first scenes are set in a dimly lit room as a group of animal rights activists infiltrate a laboratory in Cambridge which houses abnormally aggressive chimpanzees. I could barely see a thing - and not because the scene was dark, but because of how pixelated the movie looked. I realised that since the film was released in 2002, cinema hadn't made the advancements it has today. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! Watching 28 Days Later on the big screen was a huge culture shock for someone so used to watching things in IMAX or super HD, crisp scenes allowing me to see every hair on an actors head. I was immediately confronted with how much cinema has changed in 25 years. Once I got past the poor quality, I had to give Danny Boyle - the director of the film - his dues. With excellent storytelling and the terrifying realisation that even in an apocalypse, women's safety is still at risk because of men. With Boyle set to take on the upcoming sequel, I've already booked my ticket.
Daily Mirror
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and wife swoon over each other at 28 Years Later premiere
Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and his director wife Sam Taylor-Johnson looked as loved up as ever 13 years later from their wedding at the 28 Years Later film premiere Aaron Taylor-Johnson and director wife Sam Taylor-Johnson had their arms around each other as they attended the glitzy world premiere of new zombie sequel 28 Years Later. The horror is the third film in Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic series - with 35-year-old Aaron taking a leading role in the threequel. He is playing a character named Jamie, who is a scavenger that is married to Jodie Comer's character Isla. However, the actor only had eyes for his real-life wife as they attended the premiere at London's Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on Wednesday night. The actor, who is among those said to be in the running to play James Bond, wore a pinstripe waistcoat and trousers along with a dark coloured shirt. He was joined by his 58-year-old wife who looked radiant in a white dress as she joined him on the red carpet. Aaron and Sam have been married since 2012 and they met on the set of her 2009 film Nowhere Boy - a biopic about John Lennon. Casting of the film began in September 2008 - and Sam and Aaron began dating soon after they wrapping filming the project. They tied-the-knot in 2012 and became parents together when they welcomed two daughters, born in 2010 and 2012. Aaron is stepfather to two further daughters that Sam shares with her ex-husband, 61-year-old art dealer Jay Jopling. She looked proud of her husband as he led fellow cast members and director Danny into a screening of the hotly anticipated film sequel. The first in the series, 2002's 28 Days Later, followed Cillian Murphy's character Jim who awakens in hospital to discover the world has fallen to a zombie virus. A sequel followed in 2007, 27 weeks later, but none of the original stars returned. This new sequel is tipped to be the beginning of a continuing trilogy of films, with Cillian due to return as his character, Jim. Jodie Comer was also at the premiere on Wednesday night and shimmered in a glamorous, silver, summer gown. With her hair styled in a sleek bob, the Killing Eve star was spotted joking and laughing with her co-stars on the red carpet. She was mirrored by actress Emma Laird, 28, who plays a character named Jimmima in the new movie. Emma also opted for a shimmering silver dress for the premiere. And fellow stars Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes, who are playing characters named Spike and Dr. Ian Kelson respectively. An official synopsis of the new film paints an enticing plot for the new film. It reveals: "Twenty-eight years after the Rage virus escaped a medical research laboratory, survivors have found ways to exist amidst the infected. "One group lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When a father and his son leave the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, they discover the secrets, wonders and horrors of the outside world." Screenwriter Alex Garland, who wrote the first two films in the series, has previously explained that he turned to a classic British film for inspiration while writing the third installment in the 28 franchise. He told Screenrant last year: 'I ripped off this film called Kes, a very unexpected thing to rip off in a zombie movie. The script I delivered and Kes, both focused on the experience of a young lad and because I am ripping it off, I wanna direct people to the source material." He added: "It's a very wonderful film, very moving film, and I've stolen from it.' Kes was a 1969 British coming-of-age drama directed by Ken Loach and based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by Barry Hines. The story follows a working class teen called Billy who finds and cares for a fledgling kestrel which he trains in the art of falconry. The tragic story ends, however, with Billy's half-brother killing the bird in a fit of rage - leaving Billy bereft and devastated. There are plans for 28 Years later to lead to two further films, with a sequel titled 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple already set for release in January 2026.
