An outdoor movie screening to benefit food pantries is set for Long Island, just as drive-in theaters reopen in California.
The summer season in the Hamptons, which usually kicks off with a host of parties and benefits, is starting off in a different way this year: with a socially distanced drive-in movie event that will benefit food pantries on the East End of Long Island.
The brainchild of Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade helicopter service, the two-night fundraiser — which will screen the new Kenneth Branagh-directed Disney+ fantasy film Artemis Fowl — is taking place at Bridgehampton's Hampton Classic Horse Show grounds on June 12 and 13.
"It's certainly the first live movie event in months. I think it will really be the first [event] anybody here is doing," says Andrew Saffir, founder of The Cinema Society, whose co-hosts include actor Bob Balaban and producer Jane Rosenthal. Adds Saffir, "People don't always think of the Hamptons as an area of need, but the food pantries here are seriously depleted." (Tickets start at $125 per vehicle, at flyblade.com/movie.)
While indoor movie theaters remain closed in New York and California, both states are allowing drive-ins — which have driven IFC's The Wretched to $1 million at the box office — to operate at partial capacity. In Southern California, a handful of outdoor theaters dot Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara counties. They include the Mission Tiki (missiontiki.com) in Montclair; the Van Buren (vanburendriveintheatre.com) and the Rubidoux (rubidouxswapmeet.com) drive-ins in Riverside; the West Wind (westwinddi.com) in Goleta, near Santa Barbara; and the Paramount in the L.A. County city Paramount (paramountdrivein.com), which reopened May 29 and has been playing Trolls World Tour and The Wretched. Check theater websites for safety procedures, including required distance between vehicles (typically 6 to 9 feet).
This story first appeared in the June 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
