I know that there are “chick flicks” that can change a girl’s life. I know this because I have seen “Princess Bride”, “A League of Their Own”, “Breakfast at Tiffanys” and “The Color Purple” dozens of times. I’m sure that there are “guy movies” that do the same, but aside from sitting next to my brother when we first saw “Star Wars”, I had never really experienced it before last week. That’s when I watched my son watch “Davey Crockett” for the first time. The look on his face was amazing and I loved how excited he got during the movie. It was amazing. When I told some friends about it, the guys all had Davey Crockett stories to tell, from owning the cap to having the birthday party to playing Frontiers Men for hours. It was really cool to see how a movie like that was a timeless Guy Movie. Very cool. We showed “Davey Crockett” at an event and even my techs wrote on their paperwork, “Davey rocks!”. After a quick poll of my guy friends and family, here are ten others that the guys all love. Keep them in mind for a great “Boy’s Night” event. And between us, girls will love them too! Top Ten Movies for Boys; “Rocky”, “Hoosiers”, “The Dirty Dozen”, “Terminator”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Aliens”, “Jaws”, “Rebel Without a Cause”, “Diehard”, “Pulp Fiction”, “Usual Subjects”. Is that 11? Enjoy!!
Let’s Hear it for the Boys!
August 1st, 2009summertime, and the living are…
July 7th, 2009First of all, my apologies for being remiss in my blogging duties. We have almost 30 events booked for July and have been happily crazy getting everything ready. Summer time = busy for us though, and we LOVE summer! It would make sense to give you all some great ideas for a summer bash movie party with a surfing or beach theme (I’ll do that soon) but I must admit that long summer nights put me in the mood for… Zombies! I know, whatever, but I love horror movies in general and the zombie genre is one of my favorites. I think summer puts me in a zombie mood because the best scenes are always the outdoor slow-chase scenes. Plus the sun sets later (8:07 in LA tonight) so you end up out later and there’s finally a tiny chill in the air and it’s fun to cuddle up and scream a little. C’mon, you know it’s true! I’m not the only summer zombie fan by the way, there is a group in Seattle who is going for the world record Zombie Walk this month. Good luck Freemont! Wish I could join you. So in that vein (get it?), here are my top seven Zombie Movies for your summer viewing pleasure. And here’s a quick event tip for you – rent a fog machine and give yourself a little ground cover for your horror movie party, the crowd will… eat it up! Top Seven Zombies; “Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “Shaun of the Dead”, “Plan 9 From Outer Space”, “C.H.U.D.”, “Re-Animator”, “Pet Sematary”, “The Serpent and the Rainbow”. Was that 8? Oh well, I told you I was a fan! Now get outside and have some fun!
In the jungle
June 21st, 2009Now I like art films as much as the next gal. “The Bicycle Thief” is perfection, “8 1/2″ is exquisite, “Blue Velvet” should be required viewing for anyone over the age of 18. However, I will say, in this public forum that sometimes, nothing beats a good monkey movie. I was going through my movie library yesterday and I noticed that we have nearly a full shelf full of simian-related films. Naturally, the entire , “Planet of the Apes” oeuvre, with a special nod to “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” with Ricardo Montalbon. Then we move on to the classic “Tarzan” of course, but I also love “Greystoke, Legend of Tarzan” with Christoper Lambert (sigh). “Every Which Way But Loose” is awesome and who doesn’t love Clint with Clyde?! “Project X” with Matthew Broderick (sigh) is a good one too. I have to give a shout out to “Monkey Shines” too, in case you are in the mood for a creepy monkey movie. Animated monkey favorites include “Curious George” with Will Farrel and Drew Barrymore doing voices, and one of my latest favorites, “Space Chimps”. And, best for last, “King Kong”! “T’was Beauty that felled the Beast”. Best last line in a movie too. The remake was odd but watchable, but the original is worth seeing again. So, in case you are looking for titles for your next jungle madness party, think about some of these great monkey movies. And frozen bananas dipped in chocolate would be a perfect treat for your audience! (sigh)
Musicals – You know you love ‘em!
June 10th, 2009I myself am a musical theater queen from way back, so watching the Tony’s on Sunday really put me in a musical mood. Now, I know that some people say they “hate musicals”. My friend Jonny says it bugs him that someone always turns to the audience and sings, “…can’t you see?”. However, I know that deep down there is something about a good musical that appeals to everyone. In the mood for a boy’s night with the fellas? “West Side Story”. Girl’s night with your BFF? “Chicago”. Poker night? “Guys and Dolls”. Garden club fund raiser? “Little Shop of Horrors”! Yes, I could do this for hours. Seriously though, movie musical events are awesome, be sure and hand out copies of the song lyrics so everyone can sing along, throw in some glowsticks and you have yourself a party they’ll be singing about for years! Call us today for more ideas! My Top Six Movie Musicals, besides those listed above; “The Wizard of Oz”, “Moulin Rouge”, “Grease”, “Hair”, “My Fair Lady”, “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Footnote – look for my natterings on animated musicals in an upcoming blog!!
Everything old is new again!
June 4th, 2009Choose the correct answer to the following question; You know you’re old when -
a) the classic rock station plays every song from your Prom
b) a magazine features a “retro” spread and the outfit is one you wore in 11th grade
c) you overhear people talking about this great old movie they saw, and it’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”
Answer – All of the above!
So fine, I’m a dinosaur and I don’t really care. The cool thing is that the beloved 80′s are back with a vengeance and 80′s movies are very popular. A word of warning about this genre, if you choose a movie from the 80′s that hasn’t been remastered yet, they are a bit dark so if you are showing them outdoors, make sure you are in a super dark venue or upgrade your projector. The 80′s trend has been particularly fun for me because I get to see people enjoying some of my favorite films for the first time, something I love to do. A lot of these movies are now classics in their own right and will pull a big audience just for the title. Add an extra like food or make it a fundraiser for your favorite charity and you have yourself a big fun party! So pick your high school favorite, ask your parents (oy!) or give us a call and we’ll get you a great list of 80′s flicks for your next event. Here are my Top 8 80′s movies, enjoy! “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Ghostbusters”, “Top Gun”, “The Princess Bride”, “E.T.”, “The Breakfast Club”, “This is Spinal Tap”, “Tootsie”. Also, please assume that it goes without saying that the “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” movies made in the 80′s not only defined a generation, but are some of the greatest ever made!!
Stay-cation movies
May 16th, 2009Things being what they are these days, more and more of us will be staying close to home this summer rather than jetting off to far flung locations. I don’t know about you, but I happen to LOVE far flung locations! So here are a few ideas for some movie nights that will make you feel like you have visited greener pastures, even if only for a few hours. Craving the bustle of the big apple? Hire a vendor to sell hot dogs and peanuts and show “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Or “Ghostbusters”. Or “Tootsie”. In the mood for Gay Paris? A wine and cheese buffet goes perfectly with a screening of “An American in Paris”. Or “French Kiss” (one of my favs!). Or “Ratatouille”! If London is more your cup of tea (sorry, I’ll stop doing that now), I would do a fish and chips picnic and show “Notting Hill”. Or “A Fish Called Wanda”. Or “101 Dalmatians”. We just did a show for a school group who’s class trip to Mexico got canceled. They had a taco bar and horchata fountain and showed “Nacho Libre”. Just pick your dream destination and we’ll find you a movie to match. You’ll have a great time and you won’t have to worry about finding someone to feed your cat while you’re gone! Bon Voyage!
Mail Bag!
May 4th, 2009Today, I will answer some of the awesome questions that come to us via email. This will be a new feature here at the OAP blog! Fun!
Dear Open Air Prod,
Hi, I’m with a small non-profit organization here in Northern California and we wanted to have a movie night for our organization. Do you give any discounts to non-profits and do you work up by Marin County? Thanks!
Hi, we love working with Non-Profit organizations and happily offer a discount for your events. We can help get you a price break in other ways too, like weeknight events, multiple shows or linking to us on your website. We absolutely do work up North quite frequently and we do not charge travel to any events in California. Thank you!
Dear OAP,
I want to do an event at our country club, do you have any suggestions?
Hi, Country Club events are always well attended and a lot of fun. You have so many options at a venue like that! We can set up almost anywhere, if there is a golf course you can have the movie night there and let the guests picnic on the grass. If you have a pool, we can either set up the screen on the deck and you can have “reserved pool seating” for the kids or we can float the screen and everyone sits on deck. Let us know if you would like us to come do a site visit and talk more about your options!
Dear OAP,
I am excited for our movie night series this summer at our college, but am having a hard time picking movies that will draw a crowd. Any suggestions?
Um, sure! Top Five College Movies; “Old School”, “National Lampoon’s Animal House”, “Rudy”, “Revenge of the Nerds”, “Real Genius”.
Call or email today with your questions!
My Techs
May 1st, 2009While I would like nothing better than to spend every summer night inflating giant screens and running movie events, I do have to rely on a little help once in a while! My crew of techs is fantastic and they run a fantastic event. All the techs on my team right now are audio gurus; sound engineers for studios or live concert venues. Most of them came to us with video background too, and some even had outdoor event experience. I think nearly all of them learned about the screens while working for us here at Open Air, and I’m proud to say that all of my lead techs are returning this season! The things that each and every technician have in common however are an eye for detail, a talent for trouble-shooting, and an obsession for first class customer service. We are getting ready to train our new group of techs and they all come to us with these qualifications too. How lucky am I?! It’s looking like it’s going to be a great season with a great group of Technicians. Book your event today and enjoy! Top Five Job Movies; “9 to 5″, “Office Space”, “Working Girl”, “Desk Set”, “High Fidelity”
Off and running!
April 27th, 2009Tra la, it’s almost May! The high season for outdoor movie events is upon us and we here at Open Air Productions are getting geared up for a great summer. We are booking up dates and getting familiar with new equipment and our bets are all in on which movies will be the most requested this year. it’s like our little version of the Superbowl Pool. I have “Kung Fu Panda” and “Bolt”, but may get beat out by “Wall-E” at the last minute. We’ll keep you posted, let us know if you have any guesses too! I’m hoping we meet lots of new people, have lots of fun and learn some new cool stuff this year. That’s what it’s all about, right?!
