CINEMAS have been hitting the headlines this week due to them feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic - but do you remember when the Essex Boys gala premiere took place at the Southend Odeon?
The 2000 crime film was directed by Terry Winsor and starred the likes of Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson.
The flick was loosely based around the triple murder of Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate and Craig Rolfe – three drug dealers who were shot dead in a Range Rover on December 6, 1995, in Rettendon.
Farmer Peter Theobald and his friend Ken Jiggins found the three men, who had been shot at point-blank range, the following morning.
Had an integral role - Charlie Creed-Miles played Billy Reynolds in the Essex-based 2000 film and was involved in numerous scenes shot in Southend
Jack Whomes and Michael Steele were convicted of the murders on January 20, 1998, after an Old Bailey trial and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Essex Boys film was filmed in various locations, including on Southend’s Marine Parade.
Loosely based around real-life events - Essex Boys was released in 2000, five years after the Rettendon murders
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At the gala premiere - writer and director Terry Winsor promotes his film at Southend’s Odeon cinema
Scroll down to see more snaps of the gala premiere held at Southend's Odeon cinema.
Actor - Billy Murray starred in The Bill before playing Perry Elley in Essex Boys and went on to feature in EastEnders
Making a film - large parts of Essex Boys were filmed in and around Southend and Canvey
A-lister - Sean Bean at the gala premiere of Essex Boys at the Odeon cinema in Southend
The scene in Rettendon - the Range Rover, which contained three dead bodies, is removed by police in December 1995
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Hollywood star - Jude Law travelled to Southend with ex-wife Sadie Frost to see the Essex Boys gala premiere
United - Sean Bean (centre), writer and producer Jeff Pope (left) and writer and director Terry Winsor at the gala premiere of Essex Boys, held at the Odeon cinema in Southend
Family outing - Ray Winstone, his wife Elaine McCausland (left) and daughter Jaime headed to Southend’s Odeon cinema to catch the Essex Boys gala premiere
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