STARTING WITH TRANSFORMERS ONE WITH
Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm
DEAF, DEAFENED AND HARD-OF-HEARING CINEMA-GOERS TO RECEIVE VIP FIRST, CAPTIONED, VIEW OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES THEATRICAL RELEASES IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK.
In collaboration with the FDA (Film Distributors’ Association) and UKCA (UK Cinema Association) and in association with the BDA (British Deaf Association), Paramount Pictures are seeking to further improve the relationship between cinema and the c. 18million people in the UK registered as Deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing.[i]
The aim of the partnership is to increase the number of captioned screenings, ensuring they are scheduled at different times throughout the week, while also raising deaf awareness among front-of-house cinema staff, including offering introductory British Sign Language (BSL) training. Training sessions are already taking place across the country with cinema staff, delivered by BDA’s experienced trainers, and Yvonne Cobb, Celebrity Ambassador for BDA. Yvonne is a TV cook and presenter who is best known from BBC One’s Morning Live.
In addition, beginning with Transformers One, starring Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm, participating cinemas will be given an exclusive preview screening on October 10, 2024 with captions, a day ahead of the film’s national release.
Paramount Pictures will also offer similar ‘caption only’ previews for subsequent releases; Gladiator II, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and into next year with The Smurfs Movie.
Andy Leyshon, Chief Executive, FDA commented: ‘We should all be striving to improve accessibility and enhance the audience experience in cinemas, and this initiative from Paramount is a great further step forward that will hopefully lead to a much better offer in this area as we progress. We also know that there is a general increase in audiences choosing to watch captioned content either on mobile devices or at home watching TV/PVOD or SVOD content – 61 percent of 18–24-year-olds and 13 percent of 50–64-year-olds[ii], equating to over a quarter of the population – suggesting that captioned shows are now more likely to be accepted by general audiences, not just the deaf community.’
John Fletcher, VP & Managing Director, Paramount Pictures UK: ‘We know that cinemas are already working to improve the experience for their deaf community, which is fantastic, but we wanted to work with our exhibitor partners to do more.’
Yvonne Cobb adds: ‘The deaf community wants to enjoy the cinema, wants to trust this environment, and wants to enjoy new cinema releases. All we need to do is make a few simple changes to accommodate them.’
Jaz Mann, Head of Community for BDA, who led on the initiative with Paramount: ‘It’s such a rarity for us to be first to see films, before hearing people! Congratulations to Paramount on leading by example – hopefully other distributors will follow their lead!’
Phil Clapp, Chief Executive, UKCA: ‘Our joint goal is to make the cinema experience even more accessible for deaf audiences, from the moment guests enter the cinema to the moment they leave, and for all cinemas to be a place that the deaf community knows it can rely on.’
In-person training for front of house staff took place across the country on the following dates:
- 13th September – Queens Film Theatre, Belfast
- 16th September – Odeon Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza
- 17th September – Vue Manchester Printworks
- 18th September – Vue Edinburgh Omni
- 24th September – Showcase Bristol
- 25th September – The Light, Sheffield
- 30th September – Everyman Kings Cross
- 1st October – Vue West End
- 2nd October – Cineworld Leicester Square
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Contact:
For all enquiries, please contact Jane Bennett at Paramount Pictures UK on Jane_Bennett@paramount.com
[i] Royal National Institute for Deaf People ‘Not 12 million, but 18 million: why the number of people classed as having hearing loss in the UK has increased’ RNI:D (10 June 2024) https://rnid.org.uk/2024/06/why-the-number-of-people-with-hearing-loss-has-increased/
[ii] You Gov ‘When watching TV shows or movies in your native language, do you generally prefer to have the subtitles on or off?’ (23 February 2023) https://yougov.co.uk/topics/entertainment/survey-results/daily/2023/02/24/9a34f/3
