There are to be drive-in movies at the Majura Park shopping centre this Friday and Saturday and for the next month-and-a-half.
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It's been prompted by the coronavirus lockdown, which has kept conventional cinemas shut, and it marks the return of watching films from cars.
The Starlight Drive-in closed in 1993 - though its sign survived as an iconic piece of schmaltzy Hollywood-style Canberra history.
The sign stood at the entrance to the drive-in movie venue at Watson from 1957 until the venue closed. It then stood like a monument to the past for almost another decade before it was blown off its footings in a storm in 2012. It then went to a Fyshwick depot where it languished until a public appeal got it restored and placed back at its original site, albeit without the neon billing of pictures which was such a jolter of nostalgia.
In the return of drive-in at Majura Park this weekend, four films will be played on Friday and Saturday. They are Playmobil: the Movie and Snatch on Friday and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Blade Runner 2049 on Saturday.
To go, you book your ticket online at the shopping centre's website. The screen will be on top of shipping containers. You park your car - it's not clear if spaces are allocated or first-come-first-served. The sound then comes through the car radio on a radio channel.
Food can be ordered and gets delivered in a contactless way. There is also a candy store (sweet shop), which will also deliver to the car window.
The return of the drive-in is a collaboration between Majura Park shopping centre, which is owned by Canberra Airport; Park-In Pictures, which runs a drive-in movie theatre in Brisbane; and Screencraft Canberra, a TV and video production company based in the city.
The sales pitch says: "Come and enjoy a wonderful and nostalgic experience in the comfort of your car, bring your own snacks or support our food operators that have been doing it tough, and have a safe night out for the family.
"Screenings this weekend will be complemented by Vietnamese food from Ms Ba Co, with the weeks to come to include Zambrero, Oporto or Subway."
Steve Gilbert of Park-In-Pictures said, "Canberra is my old hometown, so I am really pleased to bring Park-in-Pictures with top-rating movies, a huge screen, great food and atmosphere to the local community."
Canberra Airport's head of marketing Melissa Evans said, "Together we saw a great opportunity to provide fun and entertainment for the community at a time when we are all doing it tough."
When the Starlight sign was renovated and put back in its place, ACT Environment Minister Mick Gentleman recalled visiting the cinema as a child in pyjamas and playing in the playground when the movie got boring. He also remembered going as a young man and watching the 1974 movie Stone about an undercover policeman in a bikie gang. It fired his enthusiasm for motorbikes.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
