The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau just released the lineup for this year's Movies in the Park, the quite popular series of free outdoor film screenings that take place at Riverfest Amphitheater long about dusk on midsummer Wednesday nights.
This year kicks off June 12 with "Twilight: Breaking Dawn," which concerns vampires and werewolves or something, if I'm not mistaken. The lineup is heavy on feelgood and popcorn-flick fare —"Remember the Titans" (June 19), "The Notebook" (June 26), "The Dark Knight Rises" (July 3). That's to be expected, for sure. Gotta give the people what they want, and what they want is the crowd-pleasing blockbusters. But wouldn't it be funny if, just for one year, Movies in the Park went really weird? Like, way-off-the-rails arthouse/trashy B-movie/exploitation-type weird?
What if the Movies in the Park schedule was like:
June 4: "Blue Velvet"
June 11: "Holy Mountain"
June 18: "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song"
June 21: "Suspiria"
June 28: "The Harder They Come"
July 5: "Weekend"
July 12: "Weekend at Bernie's"
July 19: "Pink Flamingos"
July 26: "The Hills Have Eyes"
Aug. 2: "Fellini Satyricon"
Actually, looking at that list reinforces what a gigantic failure that lineup would undoubtedly be (though it would be amazing to watch "Holy Mountain" outside on the big screen surrounded by a cross-section of Central Arkansawyers). Probably better to just stick to "The Zookeeper" (July 10), "Finding Nemo" (July 24) and so forth. The press release with a full (and real) schedule is after the jump.
MOVIES IN THE PARK ANNOUNCES 2013 SUMMER SCHEDULEPopular family-fun summer series returns for ninth season
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (May 13, 2013) — Movies in the Park, the popular outdoor free movie night at the Riverfest Amphitheater, announces its 2013 summer schedule with a diverse list of blockbuster titles beginning June 12. Movies in the Park begins its ninth season with special thanks to sponsors The River Market, LRCVB, City of Little Rock, Stone Ward, and Sumotext. Movies will play weekly at dusk on Wednesday nights through August 7.
“Movies in the Park offers Little Rock area residents a fun and inexpensive evening of entertainment in the River Market district,” said Director of River Market Operations, Diana Long. “We are excited to kick-off another successful season and invite everyone to pack a picnic basket and grab their favorite blanket for a fun night of watching movies under the stars in the park.”
The 2013 schedule includes:
• June 12: Twlight Breaking Dawn (PG 13)
• June 19: Remember the Titans (PG)
• June 26: The Notebook (PG 13)
• July 3: The Dark Knight Rises (PG 13)
• July 10: Zookeeper (PG)
• July 17: Big (PG)
• July 24: Finding Nemo (G)
• July 31: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (G)
• August 7: The Avengers (PG 13)Families, picnics and pets are invited to the park to enjoy movies under the stars. The amphitheater will open an hour before film showings and movies will start at sundown each week. For more information please visit http://moviesintheparklr.net.
A comprehensive list of all River Market events and information this season can be found at http://rivermarket.info or by calling the River Market at (501) 375-2552.