The Celluloid Embassy ... #99

Todays image is for Imran who works at the Embassy ... I met his delightful mother while in Australia last week ... and our conversation progressed to the fact that her son had gone to see the world and got as far as Wellington when affairs of the heart slowed him down and amongst other things also fell in love with our city.

The Embassy Theatre in the background, is New Zealand’s grandest picture palace and was fully refurbished inside and out just in time for the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King. In the foreground is "The Tripod"

Built in 1924, The Embassy is a Wellington icon and landmark situated at the head of New Zealand’s most famous entertainment precinct – Courtenay Place – drawing people from throughout the region and beyond to see all the latest movies in a real cinema environment that is lost in the modern multiplexes.

The Embassy was fortunate to not succumb to the demolition ball like most other picture palaces and fortunately had retained many fine features such as marbled staircases, wrought iron handrails, original tiled foyers and exquisite plastered ceilings despite many upgrades over the decades. With this to build on, the refurbishment included a new; giant cinemascope screen and state-of-the-art sound system, luxury seating, stylish environs and a restoration that is faithful to its origins of the last century yet sympathetic to the new millennium making this the ultimate cinema experience.

Living up to its reputation as being more than just a cinema, within its stylish foyers, the Embassy houses Blondini’s Café & Bar – Wellington’s pre-eminent live jazz venue which draws big crowds on the weekends for something that is both special and unique as it overlooks the nightlife of Courtenay Place.

The Tripod
Weta Workshop was commissioned by Wellington City Council to design and manufacture a public art sculpture as a tribute to the New Zealand Screen Production Industry.
The finished sculpture was installed on the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace, in the heart of Wellington's entertainment district, in November, 2005. The tribute is a film camera on a tripod that appears to be composed from a collection of recycled mechanical parts including a video game console, toasted sandwich maker, radio and railway sleepers, with the camera made from an engine block and a hairdryer for the view finder.
Described by Richard Taylor as an out-of-control giant robot running amok in the city of Wellington, he says it symbolises the ingenuity and unbounded imagination that the New Zealand screen industry thrives on. "We wanted to pay tribute to the New Zealand screen industry's number 8 wire attitude and ability to create with whatever is at hand,".