Renegade Picture Show

This season's final Renegade Picture Show closed with a viewing of Slither. It was a good turn-out and a fun crowd. Only really issue was the annoying street light filtering in from the Producer's Co-Op next door. Note to self: bring BB gun with scope to future shows - just in case. The best thing about the show - in my opinion - was the debut of the new Behringer sound system. We had the volume cranked to "11" and I'm pretty sure we disturbed a private event at the neighboring Chesapeake Boat Show. Thank you to everyone who came to the shows this season and continues to support this little outside-of-the-box artistic venture. I have some more ideas for next season and have already started to put together the movie list.

Saturday, October 18 we are showing a great modern-day B-movie film perfect for a drive-in movie! And what's better - we've been saving up and should have an awesome new sound system just in time for this scary-movie special. Show will begin after dark - a bit earlier than those summer shows.

Just to be clear - no show this weekend (Sept 27). Next show will be Oct. 18 and will be a fun and "scary" movie. More details to come.

We had a schedule change due to an event being hosted at the climbing gym the same evening. So no show this Saturday, Sept 6. Stay tuned for when the next show will be.

I'm a little late on the show report this time around, but hey, at least I didn't forget. It was another great showing. In my view a great showing is: comfortable weather, no technical glitches (sound or picture), a relaxed atmosphere where people enjoy the evening. This showing had all of those elements. The movie was funny - dorky, but funny. And even better after a couple of beers. Next scheduled showing is Saturday, SEPT 6 and we'll be showing a movie about being dumb.

It's summertime if you haven't noticed and what better way to celebrate the glorious Oklahoma heat by enjoying a movie on the outside of a building? To celebrate, we're showing a summer favorite crazy summer movie. The show is this Saturday, August 9 and will begin at dark. Bring all the usual stuff; drinks, something to sit on, a radio, if you want personalized sound - we'll be broadcasting the audio via FM stereo. Hope to see everyone there!

It was only a matter of time but the RPS just had it's first mention in a local OKC events site/blog called wimgo . So I would expect a few new sign-ups on THE LIST and some new faces at the shows. To date the RPS has pretty much been a word-of-mouth type affair. That's because last year (our first year) was kind of a test, so-to-speak. I was nervous each and every show that something might blow up, burn out, short out, or just plain break. It would be a little embarrassing to put all this effort into a show and try to get it to look seamless, fluid and perfect and then - oh shit - the projector just cratered and 50 people are sitting there looking a blank wall in pitch black. I guess the chance of that happening is still there but things seem to be pretty well under control. And if it did happen, well, the show was free anyway, right? But I digress. The direction I was headed was really in the progression of the show itself; it's popularity. Of course it will never be ...

Thanks to all who came to the show on Saturday evening. The weather turned out to be perfect. There were a few lightning flashes from a storm just south of us but no rain. It was a small audience but still everyone enjoyed themselves. A big thanks to the first-timers to the show and the generous souls who donated to the Renegade Picture Show fund! Next show is JULY 19 and we're showing a shark movie. See you then.

Next show is a classic western comedy movie on Saturday, June 28th at (where else?) Rocktown Climbing Gym. Show up early to get a good spot. Bring snacks and drinks. Bring a chair. And, if you have one, bring a huge soundsystem (preferably 800 watt JBLs). It's getting warmer outside so don't forget the bug spray!

On Friday, June 13th the Flaming Lips teamed up with deadCenter Film Festival and Rocktown Climbing Gym to present the band's long-awaited film Christmas on Mars . The experience was unlike any I've ever encountered. The show took place in an enormous red and yellow circus tent with 200 seat capacity. This tent housed a large stand-up screen about 14 ft tall and 20 ft wide, a massive sound-system, futuristic green-glowing orbs, and a huge digital projector. Seating was arranged in rows like an auditorium using fold-out benches. Outside the main tent was a smaller tent which served as the ticket booth and popcorn stand. Movie tickets and popcorn were free. Beer was also served (for a cost) and this was handled by the deadCenter folks. The original plan to hold three shows, one at midnight, one at 2 am and one at 4 am, was changed after an Oklahoma storm rolled in. Tickets were handed out prior to the 10 pm slated time and the first show began about 11:30 pm as the tent was opene...

DETAILS, details, you want details. So here are some. There will be 3 shows total. The first on beginning at MIDNIGHT on Friday the 13th. The second one at 2:00 am on Saturday the 14th, and the third at 4:00 am. No kidding, 4:00 am. Ever been to a 4:00 am movie premiere? Me neither. Should be interesting, that is, if I make it through the night. TICKETS ARE FREE. That's right, FREE. Tickets will be handed out beginning at 10:00 pm on Friday evening. Not sure by who but I do know where - at Rocktown. Same location as the show. The show is for those age 18 and over. The show is taking place not on the Renegade Picture Show screen but in a HUGE circus tent that holds something like 200 people. Hence the number of tickets for each showing will be 200. One ticket will be handed out per person so if you want one you better show up. Tickets for the 2 am show will be handed out at midnight and tickets for the 4 am show will be handed out at 2 am. This show is a collaboration by Wayne Coyne...

So - the surprise that I mentioned yesterday which I could not reveal yesterday is this.... The Flaming Lips are going to show their movie Christmas on Mars at Rocktown Climbing Gym on Friday the 13th of June. Shows will be held at midnight, 2 am, and 4 am. This FREE (that's right, I said FREE) show is a joint collaboration between Wayne Coyne of the Lips, The Dead Center Film Festival , and Aaron Gibson of Rocktown Climbing Gym. This will not be your typical movie showings - the movie will be shown inside a giant circus tent that holds about 200 people. I'm told that there will be an amazing sound system (as one might expect for the Flaming Lips) and a number of other surprises. There is a limited amount of space. At this point I have no details to give on how the tickets (if indeed there will be tickets) will be issued. Details on that are forthcoming... This is an exclusive event and one you WILL NOT want to miss. Surely, everyone will be talking about it. Some backgroun...

It was great to see everyone last Saturday. I love it when we have a big turnout for the show. I guess it is tough to go wrong when you have a movie as great as Raiders. So, as everyone knows, the new one comes out this week. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that it lives up to all the hype! I don't know how many of you noticed but I was tinkering around with the sound during the show. At first it didn't seem loud enough so I cranked it up. Then it was easy to hear but by the next action sequence with rumbling bass it took no time to blow out BOTH speakers. Damn. That's the second time I've done that now. My gear just isn't beefy enough. I need to find some speakers - like concert speakers - that can blast the sound. If anyone has any leads on some concert-style monitors/speakers let me know - I'm in the market for those and a mixer. Moving forward.... I have an announcement, of sorts. Really just a teaser. First off, the show on June 7 has been cance...

Show on Saturday, May 17. The show is in the usual place - behind Rocktown Climbing Gym. Show begins at dark - which is somewhere between 8:45 and 9:00 pm. Don't forget to bring something to sit in or on, some snacks, and something to drink. We will have some candy bars available at the show. As always, the show is completely FREE - but we love receiving donations because it helps us with the ongoing expenditures of this project and shows us that you care. Ahhh. The weather should be perfect this weekend - so says the Weather Channel - but if things change and we need to cancel at the last minute we will post it here and send out an email through The List. If you have yet to sign up for The List and become a (I hesitate to use the word) 'member' then please do so. It's just a way of us letting you know what's going on with the show. We look forward to have a great crowd and a great show. Be there! By the way, if anyone has a whip like Indy has, please bring it.

A sort of late show report from the last RPS. The show went great - some minor audio issues that were worked out beforehand. But I think it indicates that my stereo system may be on a downhill slide. I'm going to look into beefing up the audio side of things. The screen looks phenomenal - crystal clear. I moved the car back a bit this time and didn't lose much brightness of the image so I'm probably going to do the same in the future. The weather was near perfect - slightly cloudy - cool - no bugs. Just wait until the middle of summer and you'll see the difference. The only issue was that we didn't have a very big crowd - but I'm sure that is because it was the evening before the OKC Marathon and people just didn't want to get out.

Our next show is Saturday April 26. We are showing this film . It's another 1980s movie - this one about Jerry Mitchell, a nerdy high-school newspaper kid who is asked to do a piece on the new guy at school. Buddy Revell is a hulking bad-ass with an infamous reputation. When Jerry accidentally steps over the line by touching Buddy's arm, the fight is on for three-o'clock. Jerry must find a way to deal with it. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather - you never know about this time of year. The show will be in the same place and about the same time. Just as a reminder - we send out announcements about shows through "The List." Please go HERE and sign up if you haven't done so. Hope to see you there!

The show on April 19 was a great opener for the 2008 season. There was a decent turnout considering the expectation of a passing spring storm and the cool conditions. I hope everyone enjoyed the movie. I know there are some corny parts to it but that's part of what makes 80s movies so great. Still, I have to say, after watching the climbing sequence again I am impressed that it all was accurate - there were not any shortcuts that Hollywood-ized the climbing and made it unreal. Except I did notice when Alan was hanging in mid-air he had two opposed carabiners clipped to a single non locking carabiner - what was the point in that? Another thing that I was even more impressed by in watching the movie some 15 years later was the final canoing scene. The cinematography was pretty amazing and those must have been class 6 rapids. The new screen worked wonderfully. I think the image looked SO much better on the flat surface versus seeing it on the curvature of the silos like last year. Sti...

Am I excited to announce the first Renegade Picture Show of this season will take place on Saturday, April 12 at dark. What time exactly? Well, we don't know exactly - but I would imagine 8:00ish. For the first show of the new season we are showing one of my childhood favorites. An outdoor trip leader who takes a group of boys in the wilderness and through the trials and tribulations of the wild hopes to teach them, in his own way, a little bit about themselves. A the city boy who is uncomfortable in the wild and has a different way of doing things. The two clash and in the end....well...you'll just have to see the movie. The movie came out in 1987 so it has all the typical qualities of an 80s film. One of the best parts is that it actually has a factually accurate depiction of rock climbing - though not a very long scene. So let's go through how this show works again - just as a refresher for the new year AND as a primer to those who will be joining us for the first time. ...

It is official. We received the movie license for 2008 which means that in order to get our money's worth we are going to have to show a butt-load of films. I am in the process - though early in the process I must admit - of putting together the list of movies and a schedule for this season. At this point all I know is that the first show is going to be towards the end of March - and hopefully on a dry Friday or Saturday (probably Saturday) evening. I am interested in what everyones' suggestions are for movies this season. What would you like to see on the big screen (for free)? Speaking of the big screen...I've got some bad news. Actually, it's sort of good news bad news. But we'll start with the bad news. The bad news is that our movie screen on the side of the silos now has a metal cable tray running directly through it courtesy of a certain wireless cell phone company. Not to name names but it begins with an A & ends with a T. So the old screen is toast. It ...

We are taking a break for the winter but will be back in Spring of '08. Stay tuned!