(Image: CHS)
Seattle lacks the warm evenings that have made outdoor movies in the park a summer tradition in many places around the world. But we’re no fools. We wouldn’t persevere if it wasn’t still fun. The secret, of course, is cuddling. Or wine. Or cuddling with wine. The Capitol Hill opportunities for summer cinema in the park begin this week. Grab a bottle and get ready to cuddle. The summer schedule is below.
Volunteer Park — Seattle Asian Art Museum Bollywood Outdoor Film Series:
This summer, the Gardner Center presents three evenings of Bollywood film outside in the Volunteer Park Amphitheater. The series is presented in partnership with Tasveer, www.tasveer.org.
Visitors are invited to arrive beginning at 8:45 to enjoy the sunset and dance to Bollywood music. Picnics are welcome. Films will begin at dark, likely near 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.
In case of rain, movies will be shown in the Stimson Auditorium at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Food is not permitted in the auditorium.
Cal Anderson — Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s Road Trip! Cinema in the Park:
Fasten your seatbelts for the ultimate summer escapes! We’ll be rockin’ down the road with these movies guaranteed to get you movin’ and groovin’ without having to leave “the hill.”
Come early to enjoy music with 12HR NOTICE DJs and the Shopping Cart Soundsystem!
All screenings are FREE and start at dusk (around 8:30 pm) at the southeast corner of Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.Hot popcorn, cold drinks, candy and other concessions will be for sale on site. Limited lawn chair rentals available. Donations to Three Dollar Bill Cinema happily accepted. Proceeds benefit Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s efforts throughout the year to provide voices and visibility for the LGBT community through film and video.
CHS, by the way, is a community sponsor of the Cal Anderson series. Watch for the crow on the big screen! There are other movie in the park events from time to time — we’ll check on whether 2012 will bring another bike-in movie to Cal Anderson in August. Groups have also been known to hold guerilla screenings here and there or put other spaces like the future Broadway Hill Park lot to work. Let us know if you have anything planned.
2012 CAPITOL HILL OUTDOOR MOVIES
Friday, July 20
Volunteer Park: Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) — Directed by Satyajit Ray, 1977, 129 min. This comic-yet-tragic historical drama features two men lost in chess games, as the British make moves to annex the kingdom of Awadh
Friday, July 27
Volunteer Park: Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Planners) — Directed by Maneesh Sharma, 2010, 139 min. When ambitious Shruti and goof-off Bittoo become business partners as wedding planners, all is song and dance until some feeling intrude
Cal Anderson: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure — When Pee-Wee Herman’s sweet ride is stolen, he hits the road in hot pursuit, encountering the wildest cast of characters this side of the Alamo in this wacky comedy-adventure that put director Tim Burton on the map. (1985, 90 min.)
Friday, August 3
Volunteer Park: Delhi Belly — Directed by Abhinay Deo and Akshat Verma, 2011, 103 min. Mis-delivery of a gangster’s package means big trouble for three guys sharing an apartment in this comedy thriller full of raunchy humor.
Cal Anderson: Viva Las Vegas — Elvis Presley sings & dances his way through Sin City as racecar driver Lucky Jackson, with his eye on two prizes: red-hot swimming instructor Rusty Martin (Ann Margaret) and victory in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. (1964, 85 min.)
Friday, August 10
Cal Anderson: The Wizard of Oz — Follow the Yellow Brick Road over the rainbow with Dorothy, Toto, and the whole gang in this queer-beloved classic of timeless fantasy, catchy songs, and must-have shoes. (1939, 101 min.)
Friday, August 17
Cal Anderson: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert — Three outrageous drag queens from ‘down under’ embark on an unforgettable outback journey of a lifetime, with the music of ABBA to guide their way through thick and thin. (1994, 104 min.)
This was a terrible movie! This is equivalent to showing a movie like “Dumb and Dumber’ series to a non native speaker of English and spoiling their impression of Indian movies on them.
Show something like ‘lagaan’ if you have to show a Bollywood movie.
Other choices:
1. Kahaani
2. Metro (life in a city)
3. 3 Idiots
4. Parineeta
5. Dil Chahta Hai
6. Rang De Basanti
7. Wake Up Sid
8. Rockstar
9. Jodhaa Akbar
10. Sholay
My (Indian) boyfriend tried to introduce me to the beauty of Bollywood movies by showing me “Lagaan.” Three plus hours of people playing cricket is not a good representation of the genre. It took me 2 years to watch another Indian movie.
Who is going to clean up these after dark parties? And these movies are not all “G”. One being NR. Although innocuous today, is this the direction we should be going with our parks? I’d vote no.
In other words, parks have traditionally been open spaces set aside for all to safely enjoy and relax. They were not set up as entertainment venues. Buy concert tickets if you want to be entertained. And who is going to clean up the park after these events, anyway? I’d bet nobody in particular and only haphazardly at that.
Oh, get over yourself. This is a complete non-controversy, quit trying to make it anything but. The movies that take place at Cal Anderson consume about 1/3 of the total area of the park (at most, and this is not counting the Bobby Morris fields as part of it), leaving the rest for people to do as they please. Although I doubt there are many children running around the parks at 930pm or later anyway.
This is no different than a group of people setting up a volleyball net in the middle of the park, effectively closing that space off to others. Actually, it is different, because in the case of these shows there is money being raised for a good cause, and a community-building that goes along with them (you’d understand if you saw the screening of Footloose last year). I hope they do more events like this throughout the year, because they’re one of my very favorite things that happens on the Hill.
I was disappointed by Pee Wee’s at Cal Anderson last night. The group of guys behind us talked loudly and inappropriately throughout the movie, even after I politely asked them to be quieter. I don’t think anyone wanted to hear about their skills at oral sex, particularly my 11 year old daughter.
To top it off, my friend had her bag stolen with her car keys in it.
Pretty lame night, unfortunately.
Wow. Really? That’s what the permitting process is for — for people like you who get all up in arms about a mass of people safely enjoying an event in a public park.
And as far as film ratings go — the MPAA is a joke.
And third of all.. have you been through the city parks at night? Want to talk about safety? Bring it.