San Antonio, Texas: Slab Cinema Presents Outdoor Movies in San Antonio, Texas
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The following is information about the outdoor movie producer Slab Cinema. We love them and all the great work they are doing for their community with outdoor cinema! Their official website is: http://www.slabcinema.com/
Why is it called Slab Cinema? The outdoor movie project officially started in 2004, when Michael Berrier, one of the owners of La Tuna, called us with an idea of a use for the giant concrete slab in the parking lot across the street from the ice house. Until then, we'd been creating spectacle on St. Mary's street, in the parking lot of our since demised video store, Planet of the Tapes.
Our very first outdoor movie show at La Tuna was the 1959 campy movie, Bucket of Blood. We used a borrowed projector from Larry and Ruth at El Sol Studios. There was no external sound, only what came out of that projector. You had to sit within five feet of the machine to hear.
In the beginning, it took about an hour each night to set up the screen: first corrugated plastic and later a spandex sheet we'd tie to a metal frame. One of our happiest days was when Ruth Polston and Mike Looney surprised us with a permanent Kilz painted plywood screen we wouldn't have to take down after each show. Our video and sound equipment progressed too, now we have two self-amplified speakers and a lot of lumens.
In 2008, the La Tuna Slab was sold for development and we found ourselves looking for a new venue. The City of San Antonio was interested in creating more community events downtown, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship: the Movies by Moonlight in HemisFair Park collaboration was born.
At La Tuna slab, all of our films were independents or from the public domain. At HemiFair we are able to offer a fun, versatile catalog for our outdoor movie events. We will post the 2009 schedule as soon as we know what's playing. However, on December 20 we will have a special holiday screening of It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story.
See you at the movies.