Do you have any drive-in movie theaters where you're at?
Are they open?
I saw on a program this morning that Jurassic Park & Jaws were the top two shown in recent times.
I’d love to see Jaws that way but it is not playing…yet
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@lucillelucillelucille You would ruin Jaws for everyone when you blew the horn every time Robert Shaw appeared :D
There is one about ten miles away in Concord CA, and another in Oakland. The one in Concord closed because of the pandemic but reopened in May with social distancing rules.
The one in Oakland is still only used for swap meets.
To answer the question…
I laughed recently when Boris Johnson announced a raft of changes upon easing the lockdown.
One was the reopening of drive in theatres, I was like, is this 1962?
There are a handful in the Atlanta area, none near me. Last time I was at a drive-thru was something like 2005
There are two within about 30 miles.
There is also one in Cape Cod, where we used to go on vacation.
The last time I was at a drive in was more than 30 years ago.
I was going to add that my local high school just had their graduation at a drive in, last night. It made national news. It looked like a lot of fun, more fun than a regular boring graduation ceremony. Kids were sitting on top of their cars, there were fireworks and light sticks and the cars had all kinds of fun stuff on them.
@jca2 _ I wonder if that was the story I watched? They presented the diplomas with a mechanical “hand”.
We have one left about a 15 min drive from my house.
@lucillelucillelucille – I remember WHERE we were (i.e. which drive-in), and I remember WHO I was with, but I sure don’t remember WHAT the movie was.
@lucillelucillelucille actually it was an old SUV. I backed into the space, opened the back door (it flipped up), and we lay down on the back of the cargo area.
@elbanditoroso – I went to see “Legend” in an old RV once.
It kind of looked like a UPS truck.maybe it was,idk
He used lawn chairs for more seating. I saw a friend go out the side door in one when the driver took a hard turn.:D
We all pressed our faces against the windshield to get a better view. That made it difficult to drink a beer.
That pile of junk was a riot!
Yours sounds more comfortable though.
We have one open within a 30 min drive, but we never go. Mostly it’s families.
When I was growing up there were two in my area. When I had my own family, we always looked for them when on vacation. I think they’ve started showing drive in movies in one of our municipal parks this summer.
The last movie I might have seen was a dud called “The Rocketeer” in Warren, NY.
@janbb -They have set up portable screens near my place but it’s just not the same.
They do show “Jaws” and other movies on the beach during most summers. Probably not this year.
There is an old Chinese restaurant here in MA that is opening some kind of drive-in movie theater in their parking lot due to the C19 stuff. There are a few still left around here, but most have closed.
I was a projectionist at one in the 1990s. It was one of those old-school dual-projector setups that required me to switch to the opposite projector every reel. Then you’d have to rewind each reel before setting them back. Films would break all the time, and the cars would get pretty rowdy.
I think the closest one is 45 minutes away. I think the other is an hour in the opposite direction. The closer one is playing three movies: Chance, Mighty Oak, and The Short History of The Long Road.
I don’t feel like dealing with a movie theatre bathroom at a drive-in. I’m guessing they are not the cleanest. I can watch a movie on my screened in patio and it’s just fine for now.
If I had a large lawn I would love to do a drive-in for friends. Set up a screen and have a few people over they can use lawn chairs or their car.
No near me, but in my state there are a couple.
Even though my first movie-going experience was at a drive in, I’m not a big fan.
They remind me of baseball. If I want the experience of going to Fenway Park to see the Sox play (the food, the crowd, the history, the uncomfortable seats), I go see a game in person. But, if I really want to watch the game and pay attention to the plays, it’s a better experience on TV.
Same goes for drive ins vs. indoor theaters.
@lucillelucillelucille Meh, I’m more comfortable at home in the air co. Plus all the movies are old.
Now back in the day we had several closer to home and we sat across the street (without paying, college ya know) and watched and tuned in our radio (around the early 90’s.)
Not here in Utah that I know of.
^^ It is! You can get a blow up screen or project onto the side of the house if the house is white.
Great question! I’ve only attended them, I‘ve never hosted one. I googled a little and it seems if you rent the equipment for a movie night it comes with some sort of sound system.
I also found this DIY, and I figure I could use my Bluetooth speaker for my phone. https://youtu.be/61PJKAddzvU
We have friends nearby who don’t have a large lawn but they have a screen and a projector attached to a computer, and they stream movies onto the screen. The kids sit on logs and watch things while the adults sit around a fire and hang out. It’s nice.
@JLeslie My uncle set up a projector at his house and it’s wonderful. Around a nice patio and firepit. He’s an IT guy so it’s awesome.
I think I’ll park on my neighbor’s front lawn and watch his large tv through the window. XD
There used to be one in my hometown; however, it was taken down & a posh housing development replaced it. It seems that now the closest one is about 60 miles away. It’s way out in the country up near the mountains, so NOT very convenient.
With all the social distancing, they are reopening any that survived the cinema run. I think I read that there used to be 5500 across the US. Not sure how many are left. There are several around Atlanta, but I won’t drive in the traffic there. I think that there is one up in SC as well, but it is too far away to even consider it. I haven’t been to a movie theater since 1990 when I could discovered that I could stay home & watch any movie I wanted to see on my TV & popcorn didn’t cost $5/tub!!! I think that Garth Brooks is planning on performing at any of the ones that he can schedule in order to maintain the social distancing requirements…you won’t even need to get out of your car.
Because of drive in movies making a comeback, the two highest grossing films this past week were Jurassic Park and Jaws. Both are decades old, but both are movies that the whole family can watch, and are kind of exciting, fun movies. I just heard it on the radio a little while ago.
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