We're still a little heartbroken over yesterday's news that HBO has left us high, dry, and movie-less on the National Mall this summer. Seriously, HBO, was it that much of a financial burden? You couldn't have just trimmed back Alan Ball's fake blood budget for season two of The Sookie Stackhouse Soap Opera Hour? I think that would probably have covered it. They may have sacked the best of D.C.'s outdoor film series, but that doesn't mean that we're without options. An abundance of them, it turns out. So to soothe those wounds from yesterday, we present as comprehensive a list as we can come up with at the moment of places where you can see movies outside this summer. If we've missed anything, please add them in the comments.
* NoMa Summer Screen: Summer movie programs are usually heavy on summer blockbusters and family classics. One of the nice things about Screen on the Green was that they could always be counted on to throw a few curve balls into the mix, so it's nice to see NoMa's series not just doing the same old thing. They're screening nothing but music-related films, and not just biopics, either. In fact, most of the selections are documentaries, and excellent ones at that, such as Buena Vista Social Club, I am Trying to Break Your Heart, Scratch and Dig!. Every Wednesday starting June 10 at the New York Avenue Metro station.
* Crystal Screen - Superheroes: There's an admirable geekery at work in the commitment to completism on display in this series, which shows every film, in sequence, in each of five different comic book hero film franchises. Mondays starting on May 4 at 18th and Bell Street, across from the Crystal City Metro station.
* I ♥ the '80s" Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival: Nineteen '80s classics will be served up, spanning from The Goonies to Ferris Bueller. Actually, make that 18 Meatballs is from 1979, but I guess most of us saw it during the '80s. Fridays beginning on May 4 at Gateway Park.
* Riverfront Reel: Also getting in on the '80s action is the Capital Riverfront, who, you may remember, chose their selections via internet poll back in February. The results are in, and it appears that my attempt to initiate a write-in campaign for Blue Velvet has failed miserably. There's some overlap with the Rosslyn festival, but not too much. Thursdays Wednesdays starting June 4 at the Plaza behind the U.S. DOT located at New Jersey Avenue & Tingey Street SE.
* Comcast Outdoor Film Festival at Strathmore: This festival, like most of these, is free, but they will be asking for donations, and all proceeds benefit the NIH Children's Charities. All of the films are big hits from last year, except for Singing in the Rain. One screening every night from August 14-21 on the lawn at Strathmore.
* Bethesda Outdoor Movies: Stars on the Avenue: Bethesda will screen five movies between July 28 - Aug 1 at the corner of Norfolk and Auburn Avenues in Bethesda. They have yet to announce this year's line-up, but last year's was an eclectic mix ranging from The Wizard of Oz to An Inconvenient Truth.
* Divas Outdoors at the Hillwood Museum: The Hillwood Museum continues its popular screenings of films aimed at the GLBT community with two screenings this summer. On May 29, That Touch of Mink, and on June 12, How to Marry a Millionaire. Admission is $15, which also includes admission to special exhibitions at the mansion.
* Outdoor Movies on Rockville Town Square: A theme-less mix of nine movies, focusing mostly on family-friendly fare. Saturday nights starting on May 17 at Rockville Town Square.
* Columbia Lakefront Festival: A five film series from the last couple of years: Transformers, Kung-Fu Panda, Mamma Mia, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Ghost Town. Fridays and Mondays from June 19-July 3 at the Columbia Lakefront.
* Montgomery County Agricultural Fair: A family-oriented selection every night during the fair, August 8-16.
* Movies Under the Stars: The Village at Shirlington: They have yet to announce this year's lineup, but last year saw stuff like Shrek 3, 27 Dresses, Spiderman 3, and The Bourne Ultimatum. Typically every Wednesday in July on Campbell Street in Shirlington Village, in front of Guapo's.
* DPR's Family Movie Night Series: The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation usually holds a Family Movie Night series on a rotating schedule at the city's various recreation centers starting in late June. A screening from last summer at the Stead Recreation Center on P Street near Dupont Circle is pictured above. This year's series has yet to be announced, but we've got a call in to DPR to see what's in the works, and will update when we get more details.
Source: http://dcist.com/2009/05/screens_on_other_greens.php
