An Evening in the Cemetery…with Popcorn

Cemeteries are sad, dismal places, right? Then why were thousands of Los Angeleans blissfully marching towards the tall iron gates of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, carrying picnic baskets and gearing up for an evening out with friends? With all the fancy clubs and bars down the street, what could possibly make visiting a cemetery such a fantastic way to spend a sacred weekend evening?

The only logical explanation is the official kick off of Cinespia’s 2009 season of screenings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

On Saturday and Sunday nights from May through September, classic films such as Clockwork Orange are projected onto a large wall of a mausoleum that holds the tomb of Rudolph Valentino, Hollywood’s first cinematic male sex symbol. As the films are played, movie goers sit on top of blankets, drinking wine and munching on snacks while nestled between unusual headstones and oddly shaped monuments dating back as far as the days of the Civil War. Each week, a different DJ spins before and after the event. This is the idea behind Cinespia’s Cemetery Screenings in the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This year’s season kicked off with Cool Hand Luke and the beats of Small Town Talk spinning before and after the movie.

Unveiled in 2002 by John Wyatt, an LA set designer, the cemetery screenings were initially tested out on a handful of movie buffs with Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train as the guinea pig. The event was a huge success and has quickly grown from a few dedicated movie fans to a sea of thousands. The 2009 season is already proving to be a success, as Saturday’s screening reached capacity and people were turned away at the door. That didn’t keep crowds of disappointed movie fans from setting up their blankets and picnic spread in the parking lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of the movie through the fence.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the “resting place of Hollywood’s immortals” as the official website refers to it, is a star studded cemetery containing the remains of many stars and filmmakers who were key components in the birth of Hollywood. An influential part of Hollywood’s past, the cemetery has been used in many films such as LA Story, Hot Shots, as well as in an episode of the television series Charmed. Hollywood Forever was also the inspiration behind the hit HBO show Six Feet Under. Many of the people behind the creation of the films screened by Cinespia are buried underneath where the masses sit to enjoy their evening entertainment. Even though some believe it to be haunted, the cemetery is a key destination of visitors from all over the world who come to pay respects to stars such as Cecil B. Demile, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglass Fairbanks. Located near the heart of Hollywood and entombed with ancient cinematic history, the cemetery is the perfect venue for the Cinespia screenings.

Gates for the screenings open at 7:00, with movies starting around 8:30, however lines usually start to form hours before the event begins. Tickets are available at the door for a suggestion donation of $10 and there is parking available on the cemetery grounds for $5. Food, drinks, blankets and pillows are welcome, however, the cemetery does not allow tall chairs, dogs, or barbeques.

Make sure to check Cinespia’s official website for upcoming cemetery screenings. The next screenings currently listed on the site are:

May 23: To Catch a Thief
May 24: Dazed & Confused
May 30: Sleeper

http://www.cinespia.org/

Words by Nicole Pajer, photos by Zoetica Ebb