Graveyard Cinema: The ghosts of movies past live again
At Forever Hollywood Cemetery in Hollywood, the ghosts of the past come out on weekends throughout the summer in special cinema screenings watched while lounging on graves and picnicking among the headstones.The ghoulish undertaking is all part of what is now an LA tradition started in 2002 by Cinespia, a group that wanted to give Hollywood some real Film Noir.
The weekly Saturday night screenings are pure party with a DJ spinner turning tunes before and after the screenings. Alcohol is permitted onsite as is food, blankets, pillows (No chairs please! And no dogs or BBQs) and other matters of comfort when it comes to dining, dancing and dallying on the graves of the famous and no so famous denizens of Hollywood.
Gates open at 7 pm and the film starts at 8:30, but word is out, so it's best to get there early and stake a good headstone near the projection wall – the mausoleum where Rudolph Valentino lies – serves as a most perfect screen backdrop. A donation of $10 is requested at the gate and parking is provided in a lot for $5.
Screenings for May started May 15, kicking off with The Wizard of Oz. Next comes The Thing on May 22, North by Northwest on May 29 and Purple Rain as a special showing May 30. Other films slated for this year’s roster include Twentieth Century, Ace in the Hole, Fantastic Planet, Bedazzled, Quiet Place in the Country, Danger Diabolique and The Devils.
As guests arrive, they walk by the graves of many of the talents who put the films into motion: Cecil B. DeMille is buried here, so are Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Sr., Marion Davies, Jayne Mansfield and the Otis and Chandler families. The cemetery was created in 1899 and Paramount Studios was built on part of the unused land and is still a working studio on that site today.
HelloLosAngeles Tip: Get there early enough and cop a map from the concierge desk by the parking area to find personal favorites with whom to share the evening’s festivities. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.
Posted by Lark Ellen Gould
