Drive-in films bounce back, literally

Tonight in Costa Mesa, a 300-car theater -- and unofficial backseat romance research center -- will flicker to life in a parking lot at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Bankrolled by four baby-boomers, the Star-Vu Drive-In plans to operate year-round, except during fair season.

The last such venue, Westminster's Hi-way 39 theater, closed in 1997 to make room for a Wal-Mart.

The Star-Vu, with its inflatable screen, represents a quirky new breed of outdoor cinema -- and the owners hope to franchise the concept to other cities.

Bundled in blankets with his wife and two children at a sneak preview Thursday night, Patrick Munoz said he would certainly be a repeat customer.

"This is great," the Newport Beach resident said, recalling that he last attended a drive-in 25 years ago but was more interested in his date. "I'm pretty sure I don't remember what the movie was."

If successful, inflatable screens could reinvigorate the drive-in industry, born 75 years ago in New Jersey when inventor Richard Hollingshead Jr. strung a sheet between two trees and plopped a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car.

After testing with lawn sprinklers to simulate movie-watching in the rain, Hollingshead patented the idea and opened the first roofless movie palace. By 1958, the peak of the drive-in binge, the number of cinemas topped 4,000 nationwide.

Some had carnival rides and miniature golf to help keep kids entertained.

By 1977, the number of drive-in theaters had dipped below 3,000, partly because Congress established national daylight-saving time in 1966, forcing outdoor cinemas to start films an hour later and clobbering attendance by families with small children.

The rise of videocassettes, cable TV and multiplex theaters compounded the industry's woes, as did skyrocketing land values. Today, drive-ins are an endangered species, numbering about 400.

So, when "Shrek the Third" beams onto the Star-Vu's 65-foot-wide screen shortly after 8 tonight, Southern California will boast its first new drive-in since 1975, according to drive-ins.com. That was when the Winnetka 4 opened in Chatsworth (it's now an indoor, 21-screen megaplex.)