'Gatsby' Director Luhrmann Likes Soundview Cinemas

(This story was posted by Joe Dowd; it was written and reported by Adina Genn.)

“Great Gatsby” director Baz Luhrmann introduced his new film to a Port Washington theater filled with VIPs by giving a shout out to Plainview's Dara and Jordan Desner, the owners of the brand new Soundview Cinemas.    

Barely opened two weeks, Soundview Cinemas now has the distinction of being the first movie theater ever to screen Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby.”  

“I have screened the film at events and special preview screenings but never actually in a real movie house, never actually in a real cinema,” Luhrmann told the crowd.  

“When I was a little boy, my dad had the local cinema for a while,” he added. “I was really just bowled over to come in and see how much detail was put into this cinema. You can tell it’s a cinema that is being realized out of the love of movies. So Nassau County is very lucky to have this cinema house back.”  

The Gatsby screening helps put both the fledgling Gold Coast International Film Festival and Soundview Cinema on the map. It is the kind of coup that extends beyond the Desner’s wildest dreams. They had struggled with logistics for nearly a year to open the theater, overcoming complications that arose because its location, Soundview Marketplace, was in foreclosure.

Happy to put that struggle behind him, Desner said he was “blown away” by Luhrmann, whom he described as “a pretty amazing man.”

“He was informed about every aspect of the theater,” Desner said, adding that Luhrmann even offered pointers to the theater’s projectionist. “He was very impressive.”

Desner said he would likely do more work with the film festival.  

The theater is showing a sneak preview Thursday at 10 p.m. in both 3D and regular. Beginning Friday at 12 p.m., it will show every hour for the next week.