Last updated at 11:17, Saturday, 25 February 2012

Oscar weekend, and throughout Los Angeles there’s a euphoric buzz of expectation.

But does it extend to Cumbria?

Safe to bet not too many this side of Beverly Hills will stay up through tomorrow night to watch live coverage of statuette presentations.

There’s a whiff of ambivalence in the breeze here. Mild interest, maybe. But not life and death, edge-of-seat anticipation – not in the way a Carlisle United game presents.

Cinema attendance is, if not in panicky decline, at least static in Cumbria. It’s an uphill struggle for cinemas to make a healthy profit.

Film-lovers bemoan the loss of the independent picture house. More complain of too few larger cinemas screening new releases.

But in the main, movie-fans admit to waiting for TV and DVD releases – cheaper, more convenient, closer to the fridge.

So what’s the real state of cinema in this county, where a round trip of 50 miles and heavy expenditure isn’t uncommon, should an Oscar-winner present itself?

Stuck in the chicken and egg scenario. In a business of supply and demand, none is sure which faded first – supply of great films or commercially viable demand for them.

Result? Stalemate. Independent picture houses closing. New multi-screens too scarce to mention.

Poor Oscar. One more victim of the use it or lose it formula.

First published at 08:56, Saturday, 25 February 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk