WTOP Report Provokes Anger Among Area Cyclists
Goodbye Fixie, Hello Tweed!
Committee Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill
Burger-pocalypse at BGR
D.C. Area Pedestrian Safety Could Be Worse
HBO has pulled out of its annual sponsorship of the popular Screen on the Green outdoor film festival on the National Mall.
"HBO has released the space (on the National Mall)," said Cindy Doninger, executive assistant to HBO vice president of corporate affairs Suzanne Pinto. Pinto's office has run Screen on the Green for years.
According to Doninger, the cancellation of Screen on the Green had to do with financial issues involving the premium cable network's sponsorship of the event. HBO is still doing its annual summer film festival in Bryant Park in New York City this year, but the D.C. version won't be happening this summer for HBO.
Whether another sponsor comes forward to resurrect the festival is an open question, but considering the short time frame, we're not optimistic that this summer's Screen on the Green can be saved. HBO has partnered with AOL to sponsor the event since 2001, and was the sole sponsor before that.
We Love DC first reported that the event had been canceled.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Noooooooooooo!
HBO, why are you trying to kill our summer? How wretched!
Bring back Screen on the Green!!!
Join the facebook group "Save Screen On The Green" and contact Susan Pinto (Suzanne.pinto@hbo.com 212.512.1904).
DO IT!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=80684335035&ref=nf
Join the Save "Screen on the Green" in the District of Columbia Facebook Group at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80853048390
Together, we can save SOTG! We all have memories and experiences that we can use to convince someone to aid our restoration of a landmark event.
Wow, so Rosslyn can have an outdoor film festival this summer, but DC will be without? What the heck is this world coming to?
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sad
I gasped in horror at this news... I love sweating my ass off for the sake of a good flick. How could you HBO? If True Blood Season 2 gets canceled this summer I'm totally unsubscribing.
wow, this is really sad.
Do they still do the outdoor film shows in Bethesda? They used to show them in the summer near the Medical Center Metro.
Yep - and there's a series at Strathmore in August as well
Last summer, yes (at Strathmore). It's skewed toward a very kid friendly queue of films and draws the requisite crowd (and horrible pop/teen friendly pre-show music).
Buck Fethesda.
Sure. Gimme three condoms and some roofies.
I'll be right over!
If ever there were a time for a consumer campaign, wouldn't this be it? A coordinated barrage of emails to Suzanne Pinto's office from angry HBO-subscribing DCers, threatening to cancel their service unless HBO brings back Screen on the Green?
Guess I need to get my rooftop movie series for this summer in gear. Perhaps HBO would like to sponsor me. It'd be a lot cheaper for them: all I need is a new digital projector plus a case of PBR for each event.
I'm in. You may need more than a case of PBR (but I prefer Natty Boh). Thanks for inviting me!! That's awesome! :)
I prefer tallboys of PBR. Thx!
Add this to the Free For All moving indoors and summer is starting to look a bit grim...let's hope the Zoo doesn't cancel its summer concert series...
Theres the NoMa Sumemr Screen. www.nomasummerscreen.com
:(
So NYC gets a festival and DC doesn't...
This should be interesting.
I suspect it may be a symptom of "HBOver", as many industry folks now refer to HBO.
Does this event involve more effort than producing Fort Reno? They manage fine with no corporate and minimal NPS support. It doesn't seem like it would involve that much production, cost, or effort.
Doesn't it cost a fortune to acquire the film rights to screen for such a large amount of people? Fort Reno just rounds up some skinny dungareed slackers out of the Velvet Lounge mens room and chucks them up on stage for nothin'
{I kid, I kid!}
Are they showing anything that not on the brink of public domain? If the cost was so hight you wouldn't see this play out in neighborhoods all over the region.
The cost is production -- screen, equipment, PA, security, cleanup... again, not that different than Ft Reno
Are they showing anything that not on the brink of public domain?
Unless you're proposing a film series of nothing but ancient silent movies and training films orphaned by their corporate creators, the term "public domain" does mean what you think it means.
The other thing SotG requires that Ft. Reno doesn't: a union-member projectionist who is certified to run 35mm, plate-loading projectors. They're not cheap.
Going here will show you the list of films that HBO and Time-Warner Cable are showing at the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival (most of the films at the NYC venue were part of SotG):
June 15: The Sting
June 22: Breaking Away
June 29: Gold Diggers Of 1933
July 6: Dog Day Afternoon
July 13: How Green Was My Valley
July 20: Harold And Maude
July 27: The Defiant Ones
August 3: Kramer Vs. Kramer
August 10: The Magnificent Seven
August 17: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
While SotG wouldn't have shown every film here, this list is far more interesting and varied than the proposed Rosslyn and Navy Yard fests, as well as recent years at Strathmore.
How sad that HBO is showing DC people the fickle finger of fate on this one.
Okay, no sweat. Let HBO take their marbles and go home. There are so many free outdoor film festivals around here, that the loss of Screen on the Green can be well absorbed by the nine others.
Only one of those nine others that you listed is in D.C.
I believe the claim was that they are "around here". No one said they were all in DC.
jeez, what are you, on parole or something? swallow your hipster pride, get on the metro and go take in a movie in a municipality that isn't a festival of suck.
who knows, maybe your mind will open just wide enough to lose the elitist attitude (unlikely, but always possible).
@adamsmorgan, color me underwhelmed. It's not like I suggested going to Richmond, Annapolis, or Baltimore.
The majority of the non-District venues are easily accessible by Metro. Crystal City's festival is at its station. Four others are within short walking distance to Metro, including Rosslyn (0.2 mi), Rockville (0.4 mi), Strathmore (0.5 mi), and Bethesda (0.6 mi). Shirlington is accessible by bus from Pentagon, Pentagon City, and Ballston. Alexandria's venue is bus-accessible from King St and Pentagon.
So I can only wonder now, how long until your internship/pageship/education/parentally-funded vacation runs out and you are forced to return - (alack!) - to le taudis outre-périphérique whence you slunk? I'll be sure to post my regrets at your departure.
Masonic, I think I love you. That is quite the apt characterization of "adamsmorgan" and all his brethren. Also, based on your name, I believe we're neighbors. It's meant to be! So au revoir, mon chéri, illegitimum non carborundum .
Charmed, I'm sure. Near SW2, par hasard?
Masonic, all things being relative, yes, that's a fair description of my general neck of the woods but I'm a bit closer to a jolly (or chipper?) Roger.
And circumlocutions fail us in 5...4...3... :)
Suffice it to say, I'm rive droite and assez perplexe. :|
Oops, I posted that as a new comment instead of as a reply....Take Two....
It's entirely possible that I misinterpreted (or mis-googled) SW2. But if I have not, you may be familiar with the PX, the "speakeasy" which flies a pirate flag, located above Eamonn's Dublin Chipper. I'm in that general direction from (what I believe to be) the Masonic structure and the stone in question. :)
Ah, I was unaware of their vexillological standard, but I am familiar with said bar, though I've never actually been. (And indeed, you interpreted correctly.) :)
Actually, there's a major bright side to this news - a little bit less wear and tear on the Mall. I'm all in favor of canceling ALL activities every few years to give the grass a chance to grow back (Folklife Festival, Federal agencies, solar houses, etc). It needs to lay fallow sometime!
Indeed. In fact, over the past few years it became more like 'Screen on the Brown'. But it was our brown, you know?
Sometimes literally.
LAME, HBO
So sad.
--although I'm all the more appreciative of having seen Superman last year at the final(?) SotG.
If sponsorship is the problem then I'll nominate Budweiser or Captain Morgan. That way we can bring booze back to the mall. This news of no free films on the mall will surely bring about a CHUD uprising. CHUD's love free movies. The only time me and Mrs. CHUD can catch a movie is if we sneak in one of the duplex's. The CHUD kids will suffer the most. The Morlocks are another story. Them white-haired freaks only come out during Duanne Allman concerts and claims they's cousins. There is plenty of time to find a new sponsor and get a new film series going. The best money to be made is selling wine-in-a-box. CHUD wine.
I know! Let the Washington Psychotronic Film Society take over the series. That would add a whole new level of awesome to a Washington tradition.
For what its worth, I agree with all of you who way that Strathmore and Bethesda's film series just isn't the same. SOTG needs to be saved, and some smart company or organization should scoop up this opportunity (hello, AFI?)
Somehow, I don't think "the Nation's front yard" is quite ready for "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story."
Consider the city saved.
Noma Summer Screen is still going on this summer. This years theme is Music in Pictures, movies about bands and musicians. Starts June 10th. See for more info...
www.nomasummerscreen.com
Also Stead Park in Dupont will probably also do "Screen on Stead" again this year.
I am currently seeking final funding for a replacement to Screen on the Green; "Tripple-X on the Steps".
By showing pornographic films on the steps of the US Capitol I hope to screen such classics as “The Congressman and the Bent-Over Page”, “Horny Interns II, III, and IV”, and ”Let me Introduce my Bill”
That should dovetail quite nicely with the summer shooting sprees east of the river that they're calling "Spleen on the Green."
Half Price for Gut Wounds.
I'm sure Vivid Entertainment would sponsor a "Goo on the Green" government-themed pr0n series, including, "Bone of Contention," "The Law Firm and the Law Flaccid," and "All The President's Shaved Panda Amputees."
I would pay to see those!
Noooo!!!!
This outdoor movie series is part of the reason why me and my girlfriend got together. This is awful!!!
SOTG is the highlight of the summer in D.C. This is very sad news.
I guess this means no more HBO dance.
http://dcist.com/2007/07/17/do_you_do_the_h.php
heh, back to one of my earliest semi-rude comments on the blog. good times.
is this how HBO asks for some government bailout?
seriously i'm still thinking about this. this is one of the few good things about DC in summer. heck, in DC ever.
i've been to the series up at Strathmore...it's just not the same as seeing the Capitol all lit up in the background on a beautiful summer DC evening. it's not even about the movies. it's about the experience, hanging out with friends and strangers, and wine, and foods, and yes, doing the HBO dance. and sometimes old movies when you can hear them and when your bum isn't asleep.
Why does HBO hate America?
Because they're fat, lazy, and stupid?
Join the facebook group "Save Screen On The Green" and contact Susan Pinto (Suzanne.pinto@hbo.com 212.512.1904).
DO IT!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=80684335035&ref=nf
You might want to merge your group with the other two (one of them already larger than yours) that have already formed. This seems to happen anytime someone tries advocacy via Facebook ...
How do we petition HBO?!?! They must pay for this heartbreak
I copied this from an email I got from the Riverfront Connections newsletter:
Outdoor 80's Movies Schedule Announced
You voted for your favorites and the results are in! Thanks to all who helped choose the 80's movies to be shown at our outdoor summer movie series. Join us every Thursday night, beginning on June 4th, at the plaza behind the US DOT at New Jersey Avenue, SE and Tingey Street (Navy Yard Metro) to see the movies you voted for!
June 4 - Back to the Future
June 11 - The Princess Bride
June 18 - Ghostbusters
June 25 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
July 2 - Caddy Shack
July 9 - Breakfast Club
July 16 - E.T.
July 23 - Top Gun
July 30 - Dirty Dancing
August 6 - BIG
Stay tuned for more details on nightly 80's giveaways, dress-up contests, karaoke, bike-in movie nights, and food and drink specials.
I'm so glad the Navy Yard area folks are doing this again...I went last year when they were doing baseball themed movies (with free peanuts handed out! and Wii Home Run Derby on the big screen before the movie!) and it was SO FUN, and hardly anybody came. The only thing I'd suggest next year is that they turn the volume down a little bit (I am no crotchedy old grandma, but it actually hurt my ears!)
E-mail campaign! Let's start one!
Somebody pick an e-mail address to target...
Wait.. wait.. wait..!
What about Divas Outdoors at Hillwood?
They're screening How to Marry A Milliionaire and That Touch of Mink.
May 29th and June 12, I believe.
PLUS they do a best picnic spread contest.
Not to fear, Wolf Trap has got you covered. We’re offering our own Screen on the Green type gatherings this summer, but we’ll let you bring your own food and drink (alcohol included.) Wolf Trap is screening the Wizard of Oz with live score accompaniment from the National Symphony Orchestra on July 24, and The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers in HD with live score accompaniment, and full chorus on August 28 and 29.
The George Washington University presents “Films on the Vern: From Reel to Real”
Wednesdays, July 8 – August 12
GW’s Films on the Vern Outdoor Movie Series will showcase real people or events that have affected the world in which we live. Movies will be shown every Wednesday night from July 8 through August 12, 2009 at 8:30pm on GW’s Mount Vernon Campus Quad, with the exception of the last film on August 12, which will be shown at GW’s Outdoor Pool on the Mount Vernon Campus. For all the movies, the rain location is the Eckles Library Auditorium. GW’s Mount Vernon Campus is located at 2100 Foxhall Rd NW, Washington, DC 20007. All movies are FREE and open to the public. Visit http://gwired.gwu.edu/mvcl/whamv/fotv for more information. Mount Vernon Campus Life: 202-242-6673, mvcl@gwu.edu
It's entirely possible that I misinterpreted (or mis-googled) SW2. But if I have not, you may be familiar with the PX, the "speakeasy" which flies a pirate flag, located above Eamonn's Dublin Chipper. I'm in that general direction from (what I believe to be) the Masonic structure and the stone in question. :)
It's time for YOU to help save 'Screen on the Green'. Take a minute to send an e-mail to some of the largest regional and national companies in America. To take your stand:
1) Go to http://www.foogli.com/SOTG.html.
2) Try the link; it should open up your e-mail program. Click SEND.
3) If that doesn't work, copy the subject, body, and e-mail addresses (into the BCC line) into your e-mail client and SEND.
Our Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80853048390.
It's time for YOU to help save 'Screen on the Green'. Take a minute to send an e-mail to some of the largest regional and national companies in America. To take your stand:
1) Go to http://www.foogli.com/SOTG.html.
2) Try the link; it should open up your e-mail program. Click SEND.
3) If that doesn't work, copy the subject, body, and e-mail addresses (into the BCC line) into your e-mail client and SEND.
Our Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80853048390.
Hi All, here is a link to all the film festivals in the between MD, VA and DC.
http://dc.about.com/od/filmfestivals/Film_Festivals.htm
Wolf Trap only has me covered if they're also providing bus service for all us folks who don't have a car to get out there too. The Wizard of Oz thing sounds cool though...