Automaker Honda mounts a big tie-in promotion with drive-in theaters. The car manufacturer roped in film critic Leonard Maltin to host online efforts for Honda’s Save A Drive-In effort and also enlisted Sony Pictures for advanced screenings of animated “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.”
“In less than three months, many of the 368 remaining drive-ins across the U.S. will go dark forever if they cannot afford to convert to digital projection, estimated at $75,000+ per screen,” says a Honda press release.
“In support of Project Drive-In, Honda’s national effort to save as many drive-ins as possible, the automaker is hosting a one-day live Twitter Vine auction on Thursday., Sept. 12, starring renowned film critic Leonard Maltin as auctioneer. Proceeds will go directly to Project Drive-In: Save the Drive-In Fund.”
The Saco Drive-In in Saco, Maine, is the first of five outdoor theaters to get a digital cinema projection system from Honda, which will be introduced with a screening of the new “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2” tonight. The Sony Pictures release gets national release Sept 27.
In the Honda online effort, the public “pledges to see one movie at their local drive-in and contribute to the Honda Project Drive-In Fund to keep more drive-ins in business,” says a press release. “As part of Honda’s fundraising efforts, there will also be an online auction that features tickets to the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ as well as additional film-related merchandise. Honda will launch pop-up drive-ins at Honda dealerships across the country to help raise awareness and build a groundswell of support, featuring a free screening of the first ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ film.”
The auction includes a $50,000 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite minivan. “Cars and drive-in theaters go hand-in-hand, and it’s our mission to save this decades-old slice of Americana that holds such nostalgia for so many of us,” Alicia Jones, Manager of Honda & Acura Social Marketing at American Honda Motor Co., says in a corporate press release.
Drive-in theaters, which date to 1933 and mushroomed to pop culture centers by the 1950s, enjoyed a recent revival that is threatened by the distribution industry dropping 35mm film projection using mechanical equipment with a shift to all-electronic digital projection.
Late add Sept 16: Wow! Honda is increasing the number of digital projection systems being given away to nine, from three; link to a late press release.
Related content:
- Film Critic Leonard Maltin to Host First Ever Twitter Vine Auction in Support of Honda’s Project Drive-In
- Honda Keeps the Movies Rolling with First Digital Projector Awarded to the Saco Drive-In
- Hundreds of Drive-In Theaters Face Closure; Honda Launches Project Drive-In to Save Drive-Ins Across the Country
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