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The State Capital Museum’s Movies at the Mansion and Tumwater’s Screen on the Green begin tonight, while the City of Lacey’s summer film series has two more Saturday nights to go.
Grab a chair – and a blanket or a sweater, because this is the Northwest version of summer – and head outside for a flick.
CLASSIC FLICKS
Movies at the Mansion – the museum’s sophisticated series – offers classics that aren’t often seen on big screens or small, plus free coffee. The series runs every Friday in August and will kick off with "Citizen Kane."
“We try to pick things that are entertaining and engaging, films that maybe people can rediscover,” said museum manager Susan Rohrer.
With that in mind, the museum staff takes into consideration whether a film is shown a lot on cable channels and whether it’s been shown recently in the local community.
“Since we started doing this, we noticed some other local groups showing classic films,” she said. “We’ve inspired people.”
Also important is that a film not be too loud (which eliminates musicals) and not have content that would be offensive to modern audiences.
A popular example is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” “That’s a film we wanted to show,” she said, “but the portrayal of the Asian-American character is so unacceptable that we can’t show it.”
Now in its fifth year, the series has become a tradition, especially in the South Capitol neighborhood, where the museum is located. “I started getting inquiries in April,” Rohrer said.
“We’ve had people coming on dates to the movies and bringing picnics, and people hosting dinners in the neighborhood and then taking everyone to the movies,” she said. “And kind of like when people set their chairs out on Capital Way for a parade, people set chairs up sometimes on Friday morning on the front lawn.
“I’ve had people from the East Coast say to me, ‘What are all these chairs doing out, and how come no one takes them?’”
Because there are five Fridays in August this year, the museum is offering a fifth movie on the Friday before Labor Day.
"It will be interesting to see how we do with that holiday weekend Friday,” Rohrer said. “And it’s the full moon.”
Note for pessimists: In case of rain, films are shown in the Coach House.
FOR FAMILIES
Tumwater’s Screen on the Green brings recent films to an inflatable screen at Tumwater Valley Golf Course just after sunset.
“We just pick recently released films,” said Kathryn Baria, Tumwater’s recreation coordinator. “We find things that are family friendly and suitable for a wide variety of people to watch.”
Because sunset is so late at the height of summer, the first film is usually rated PG-13.
That’s true of this year’s first offering, “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.” The film will be the same edited version shown on airplanes, rather than the theatrical version. “I haven’t seen the edited version,” Baria said.
The films are shown rain or shine.
