Exhibition Responds to Swine Flu

The Cinema Exhibitor's Association has released a statement regarding swine flu to its members. Here's an extract:

It is obviously important for exhibitors to be prepared for the problem, without overreacting or indicating to the public that they think cinemas are in any way more vulnerable than any other place of entertainment where members of the public gather. Our recommendation to members at this point is therefore that they simply track official information.

In Mexico, key film releases are being delayed due to the outbreak. How far will this spread? Talking to my mother the other day, she was recalling how cinemas would close in some summers in the late 1940s in New York City due to polio epidemics. So we've been here before right?

Either way, things look gloomy with a very hot summer predicted by the Met, a global pandemic and the recession grinding on. Here's to rain, jobs and swine flu becoming the new bird flu.