BY NESTOR CUARTERO
JUST A THOUGHT: Happiness is the best cosmetic. – Karen Duffy
MOVIEHOUSES BACK: Are movie houses back in operation?
I keep on reading posts on Facebook that our colleague, Mell Navarro, has been enjoying himself watching movies at SM Marilao in Bulacan.
Only a small number of people are being admitted, says Mell.
According to SM vice-president for communication Millie Dizon, cinemas in MGCQ areas are now open.
At the other end of town, at SM Mall of Asia, movies are being screened every now and then at its open-air concert grounds. I hear a similar drive-in theater operates in SM Clark
Premiered in MOA recently was Peninsula, sequel to the worldwide thriller hit, “Train to Busan.”
DRIVE-IN THEATER: Showing films in an open-air setting calls to mind America’s drive-in theater. It was a popular entertainment fare among young people in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Teenagers would go on Saturday night dates by checking in to a drive-in theater. There would be stalls on the side where they could buy soda, hotdog and popcorn.
They would choose designated parking for their cars from where they could watch the movie. A large outdoor movie screen stood in the middle of the parking lot.
At its peak, it is said that there were as many as 4,000 drive-in theaters across the US in the late 1950s.
New trends in entertainment, like the emergence of cineplex, home theater, digitalization, social media, among others, killed the drive-in concept in watching movies.
FIFTY PER CENT ONLY: When are movie houses going to open formally in the country?
While no confirmation is yet in sight, Liza Diño, FDCP chair, says she will, however, call on the public to follow strictly government protocols against COVID-19.