Free outdoor movies return to pier
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
SM PIER With fall quickly approaching, the Santa Monica pier remains a spot to relish a few remaining summertime activities.
Beginning tonight at 7 p.m., locals and visitors can bring their blankets, picnic baskets and popcorn to the sixth annual Santa Monica Drive-In at the Pier movie series.
The five films in the series will run weekly through Sept. 19 and are free to those who pick up tickets on the Wednesday before the screening.
“When we started the movies at the pier six years ago it was an instant hit,” said Ben Franz-Knight, the executive director of the Pier Restoration Corp. “The last time there were free movies shown on the pier before that, it was back in the ‘40s.”
The Pier Restoration Corp. co-produces the Drive-In series with Arts Fighting Cancer, a nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to organize arts-related events to benefit those battling cancer. The event will offer folding chair rentals for $5 and treats including kettle corn and hot dogs. All of these proceeds will benefit the Cancer Relief Fund.
As in past years, a maximum of 5,000 tickets will be available free of charge on the Wednesday prior to the film screening. Tickets are available at the Santa Monica Visitors Center on Main Street, the Convention and Visitors kiosk on Ocean Avenue, the Convention and Visitors cart on Third Street Promenade and Vidiots movie rental store on Pico Boulevard.
In past years, the movie audiences have averaged at around 3,000 people, and the ticket system is maintained to make sure that moviegoers can stretch out and relax.
“We want the event to be safe and also have enough room for people to be comfortable,” Franz-Knight said.
This year’s films range from the heart-warming, with tonight’s screening of “Akeelah and the Bee,” to the classic, with “Casablanca” showing on Sept. 5. The Drive- In organizers switched the films in September from Tuesday night to Friday night so that it would be easier for families with children to make it out for the event.
“We targeted the Friday nights to the families who need to be able to justify coming out to the pier at night,” Franz-Knight said.“It’s important that we make it as accessible as possible.”
Tonight’s film, a family-friendly flick about a girl from South Los Angeles who competes in the famous Scripps National Spelling Bee, will open with a real-life spelling bee moderated by the film’s director, Doug Atchison. The competitors are middle schoolers from Edison Middle School in South Los Angeles and participants of the Los Angeles chapter of a national afterschool program called After School All Stars.
The 20 competing students devoted their after school time to train for tonight’s event, their first public spelling bee. In exchange, they will compete for the grand prize of a $250 Target gift card.
“Generally speaking, with middle school kids, if they’re not really interested in something, they’re not going to willingly participate in it,” said Ana Campos, the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter. “The kids were interested in preparing and studying for this voluntarily.”
Campos said English is the second language for most of the students participating in tonight’s spelling bee. The movie rings true for the students, as many of them live in the same area as the film’s title character.
“It’s important for our kids to be able to see that there are other young people who grew up in their community who have excelled,” she said.
The After School All Stars program, founded in 2002 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, provides on-campus afterschool activities to middle school-aged children.
The other movies shown on the pier will have corresponding interactive events as well, although some are surprises and some are still in the planning process.
“We always like to have a little extra flair to get the evening going,” Franz-Knight said.
Although 3,000 people camped out in front of a 20 by 30 foot screen can get cramped, organizers said that the crowds have traditionally been happy to share the space, often singing along to well-known songs in the movies or reciting lines.
“First and foremost, it’s a really respectful audience,”said Franz-Knight.“Santa Monica is a great community and everyone here really loves to celebrate that community.”
A full list of ticket locations, film screenings and dates can be found at www.santa-monicapier.org
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.