We happen to reside in the Magical Land o' Summer Cinema Series, an enchanted place where inflatable and temporary movie screens spring up like so many warm-weather roses.
But there's only one summer series attended by tall statue-type figures depicting a certain iconic gold man. That's Oscars Outdoors, the movie-rich run presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It's a still-new thing, just launched last year, at the Academy's Hollywood campus off Vine near Fountain. But even still-new things heat up fast, buzz-wise, when Oscar is attached; nights sold out last year in a fashion that can only be described as lickety-split.
Look for a repeat this year. Exhibit A? Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing," which has been written up in practically every place that has the capacity to write something up, will kick things off on June 5. Popular light-of-soul flicks like "Beetlejuice," "Groundhog Day," and "LA Story" festoon the calendar, as do a few weightier offerings. (Please, this is the Academy; there's some high-brow mixed in, which is why we love it.)
Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, May 22. And check it out: Like other Academy screenings, down at the Wilshire HQ, these tickets are five bucks. Deals don't come dealier, and we stand by that statement.
Though we're now feeling kind of badly for claiming that Los Angeles is the Magical Land o' Summer Cinema, when so many other cities have fine cinematic offerings. But this is the home of Oscar, and Oscars Outdoors is indeed the one film series where you are greeted by a golden sentinel known the world over. Only here.
