Bosses at one of Britain’s oldest cinemas have been left red-faced after discovering the 100-year-old theatre was used to shoot a PORN FILM.
Chiefs at the Phoenix Cinema are said to be reviewing their guidelines after a five-minute x-rated clip was shot during a private screening at the venue.
The XXX flick ‘Partygirls enjoy watching a live handjob’, shows a woman perform a sex act on a naked man while six clothed females watch from the iconic red velvet cinema seats.
Barrister James Kessler, deputy chair of the Phoenix Cinema Trust, claims he does not believe the porn film was a pro shoot but rather a hen party which turned raunchy.
He said: “I was sorry to discover that a hen night party which took place at the Phoenix some years ago was not conducted with decorum and am embarrassed that a video of the occasion was put online.
“I expect those involved may feel embarrassed too. The trustees will be considering what can be done to avoid such events occurring in the future.”
The video was posted on hardcore porn site CFNMwave, which caters to a sub-genre of sex tapes called ‘Clothed female, naked male.’
The cinema, in East Finchley, is the second oldest cinema in Britain, having first opened its doors in 1910, and its patrons include screen icons Ken Loach, Michael Palin and Maureen Lipman.
Educating Rita actress Maureen said: “You rent out your premises to a film company and take it on trust that the company is not going to shoot a pornographic film in East Finchley.
“It’s not going to be the porn centre of Europe, is it?
“So I’m not getting my knickers in a twist, that’s for them to do! I’m going to try to get the film actually.
“I hope the Phoenix was looking majestic. I’d like to know which seat this went on in, because I don’t want to sit there.”
Cinema executive director Elizabeth Taylor-Mead insisted the venue would “never ever knowingly allow a hire for a pornographic film”.
The Phoenix has featured in several other films over the years, including a 2009 John Lennon biopic and the 1991 film End of the Affair.
