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3 Jul 2003 - Mercado No More!

Given the poor results, it had to happen. The "Mercado Bazaar" is no more!

After several weeks of advertising the "Mercado Bazaar" as a flea market, the Santikos management appears to have finally given up on entering this highly competitive market segment. The yellow banners advertising the "Mercado Bazaar" have been removed from the Mission fences. As I write this, there have been no newspaper advertisements for the "Mercado Bazaar" in the last four weeks. Frankly, I'm surprised they continued the effort as long as they did. I was never able to see any trace of vendors or customers during my visits to the Mission. That suggests to me very few customers and even fewer vendors. Sadly, the effort almost certainly drained cash out of the Mission budget.

Given the approaching holiday weekend, I decided to visit the Mission on Thursday night. My goal was to avoid the weekend crowds and to free up my weekend for other events.

Since this was a holiday week, the movies changed on Wednesday at the Mission. An analysis of the Wednesday advertisement revealed that two new films were playing at the Mission. These films being "Terminator 3" and "The Matrix Reloaded". This was the first week of release for "Terminator 3". "The Matrix Reloaded" had previously opened in San Antonio. In fact, "The Matrix Reloaded" had been previously shown at the Mission.

With the addition of these two new films, I had seen 4 of the 8 films being exhibited at the Mission this week.

Given the possibility of a massive turnout for "Terminator 3", I decided that I'd leave for the Mission in time for the second feature.

Leaving my apartment at 10:25PM, I arrived there at 10:50PM. I made no stops along the way.

The sign near the entrance to the Mission remains blank.

Rounding the screen tower, I discovered only one ticket booth open was open and only one entrance lane was in use. Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Hollywood Homicide" and then proceeded to the Screen 3 lot without incident.

Why "Hollywood Homicide"? Of the four second features, I hadn't seen either "Hollywood Homicide" or "The Italian Job". Since I had no preference for either film, I had decided during the drive, to see whichever film was on the most viewable screen. As it turns out, "Hollywood Homicide" was on Screen 3 and "The Italian Job" was on Screen 4. Since Screen 3 beats Screen 4, I chose "Hollywood Homicide".

I've recently formed a habit of parking in the last row to the left of the footbridge. Parking the car, I left my vehicle behind for a quick patrol of the property.

As I visited each of the four screens, I found attendance that was both higher and lower than I expected. For a Thursday night, the attendance was very, very good. On the other hand, I had expected a far larger turnout for "Terminator 3". I suspect the management of the Mission also expected a bigger turnout. Earlier this season, 6 portable toilets were placed in the Screen 2 lot. Sometime this week, 6 portable toilets were placed in the Screen 1 lot. The additional units suggest a plan to cope with an expected higher level of attendance.

Here are the car counts for those that like them. Keep in mind that these counts were taken at the tail end of the first feature.

Screen 1 - "Terminator 3" / "The Matrix Reloaded" - 114
Screen 2 - "The Hulk" / "Bruce Almighty" - 100+
Screen 3 - "Charlie's Angels" / "Hollywood Homicide" - 36
Screen 4 - "2 Fast, 2 Furious" / "The Italian Job" - 46

I added a little bit of variety to my life this week by purchasing two corn dogs instead of two hot dogs. And don't worry that I forgot the mustard! I didn't! I hosed each down with mustard, held the corn dogs like drumsticks and then rolled them against each other until the mustard was spread out evenly across the surface of each corn dog. A real taste treat!

Returning to my car, I got out my camp chair and settled down to wait for the start of "Hollywood Homicide". Sadly, the two corn dogs did not survive to see the start of the movie.

As the trailers began to roll, I stopped gnawing on the last corn dog stick and picked up the bag of popcorn. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

How was "Hollywood Homicide"? The first two-thirds of the movie certainly sapped my will to live. The last third was slightly better and I was able to wake up enough to proceed home without incident.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Six of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE - JULY 4 - 6, 2003

Note 1: The day before, Rick Stivers and I visited the site of the now gone Town Twin drive-in. We were able to locate the concrete slabs for the ticket booths and the concession stand. We spent quite a bit of time looking over the concession stand slab and developed a "concept drawing" of the way it might have been laid out when the theater was open. Perhaps I'll be able to convince Rick to convert the drawing over to Corel Draw. Sadly, Rick was badly stung by wasps while attempting to locate the site of the north screen. He did find a piece of concrete that had once been poured around a pole or pipe. Later, we discovered the supports for the south screen. The piece of concrete Rick found matched exactly to these supports. A excellent indication that he had been close to site of the north screen. As we were leaving the property, we found what may have been the location for the marquee. Despite the wasp attack, this was yet another successful investigation into the drive-in past of San Antonio!

Note 2: On the night of 5 July, I drove out to the Crossroads drive-in in Shiner, Texas. "Finding Nemo" was the feature for the evening. Although Mr Rodman was expecting a low turnout (he remarked several times that the 4th of July weekend was always bad for the Crossroads), a fairly large number of people attended the showing. I had a great time. If you are looking for the brightest drive-in picture in Texas, visit the Crossroads!

12 Jul 2003 - Triple Feature!

Before I begin my latest Mission report, I have a confession to make. I went to a hardtop theater this week to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". This is the only film so far this summer that I've actually wanted to see! I loved the movie, but felt constrained by the hardtop theater environment. See this movie at a drive-in if you can!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that two new films were playing at the Mission this week. These films being "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "28 Days Later". This was the first week of release for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". "28 Days Later" had previously opened in San Antonio.

With the addition of these two new films, I had seen 3 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:20PM. I made no stops along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 7:55PM. The weather was perfect for a night at the drive-in -- clear, hot and dry!

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four lanes, were already open. There were two to three cars in each lane waiting to purchase tickets.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Terminator 3" and proceeded to the Screen 2 lot without incident. Why "Terminator 3" and not "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"? To maximize my viewing experience, I've established a new policy of selecting movies based primarily on the picture quality of the individual screens. Since Screen 2 has a better picture than Screen 1, I selected Screen 2.

Driving nearly all the way across the Screen 2 lot, I parked in my traditional location on the left side of the screen near the exit lane. To make car counting easier, I parked in the second row from the screen. Since I wasn't planning on staying to see "The Italian Job", I wanted to be able to exit the theater as quickly as possible with the least impact on the other patrons.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 2 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I found it to be heavily decorated with "Tomb Raider 2" promotional items. They had stickers on the floor. They had posters on the walls. They had logos hanging from the ceiling. There were even small "cut-outs" standing on each station along the service counter. I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Since it was early in the evening, I purchased only a large Diet Coke and two hot dogs. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

As I exited into the Screen 1 lot, I discovered that "security" had returned to the Mission. A tall blonde woman stood nearby wearing the traditional security uniform. On her hip was a standard police issue Glock handgun. As far as I know, no specific event triggered the return of "security" to the Mission. It does seem odd that it happened halfway through the summer. Regardless of why "security" has returned, I was happy to see this development. Family attendance depends on the property being perceived as a safe environment for children.

After counting the cars in the Screen 1 lot, I moved on to the Screen 4, and then the Screen 3 lots. Crossing over the foot bridge, I discovered that one of the hand rails on the bridge had split. On closer inspection, it appears that a weld broke, allowing the end of the rail to twist free. Poor bridge! If it isn't one thing, its another!

As I walked across the Screen 4 lot, I discovered that I had nearly emptied my large drink. Taking advantage of the free refill policy, I stopped inside for a refill.

Exiting into the Screen 2 lot, I walked back towards my car. Once there, I got out my camp chair and sat down. But it was still early and I was restless. I got up and made yet another complete circuit of the property. Once again, as I walked back through the Screen 4 lot, I discovered that I was nearly out of Diet Coke. After a quick refill, I headed back to my car. This was my second refill of the evening!

Reaching my car, I climbed inside it and started to adjust the radio for the evening's presentation. Looking up, I was startled to see "Big Foot" walking towards my car.

But it wasn't "Big Foot". It was Rick Stivers, the man that walks like "Big Foot".

Reaching my car, he told me that he was parked in the Screen 1 lot. Failing to find my car by the Screen 1 exit, he had crossed through the gap in the fence to the Screen 2 lot. Once there, he had no trouble locating my car. It was at this point that I realized just how predictable my routine had become. Anyone could have located me with ease. Will I change my behavior? Only time will tell!

I decided that I would join Rick in the Screen 1 lot. Closing up the car, we began walking towards the concession stand. Passing through it, we stopped long enough to purchase popcorn.

Reaching Rick's truck, he hooked up his external speakers to the jacks he had installed in the truck's rear door panels. I took a seat in the back of the truck. When the trailers started, I'm sure that I suffered some damage to my inner ears. The sound was simply too loud. But I couldn't tell Rick this! Why? Was I being polite? No! I couldn't tell him because it was too loud for him to hear me! To be fair, you need to know that Rick has lost some of his hearing over the years. That hearing loss combined with the high volume of his car radio prevented him from hearing me. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that my mouth was moving but that, apparently, no sound was coming out of it. He yelled at me, "Is it too loud"? I nodded in the affirmative. He climbed out of the back of the truck and reached into the cab. He turned the volume down a few notches. Much better! A few moments later, he turned the volume down again. Were other patrons annoyed by the high volume? I doubt it since Rick was tuned to the frequency for Screen 1.

With the volume correctly adjusted, we settled down to watch the feature presentation.

Here are the car counts for both patrols.

At 8:00PM:

Screen 1 - "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" / "28 Days Later" - 22
Screen 2 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 35
Screen 3 - "The Hulk" / "Bruce Almighty" - 21
Screen 4 - "Charlie's Angels" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 23

At 8:20PM:

Screen 1 - "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" / "28 Days Later" - 46
Screen 2 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 63
Screen 3 - "The Hulk" / "Bruce Almighty" - 32
Screen 4 - "Charlie's Angels" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 45

How was "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"? I thought it didn't live up to the entertainment value of the trailer. Few films do, of course, but I expected more from this movie.

After the credits began to roll on "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", Rick and I headed towards the snack bar for a nature break. After that was over, I headed inside the snack bar for my third refill of the evening. But don't feel bad for the Mission, I also bought a corn dog!

Rick and I must have gotten separated when I stopped to put mustard on the corn dog. I looked and looked but couldn't find him. I wasn't worried though. After all, I had my own car waiting for me in the Screen 2 lot.

Rather than waste any more time looking for him, I made a quick sweep of the property. I stopped in the Screen 3 and Screen 4 lots to update my car counts. The crowds had grown considerably during the first feature.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them.

Screen 3 - "The Hulk" / "Bruce Almighty" - 120
Screen 4 - "Charlie's Angels" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 143

Finishing my patrol, I returned to the Screen 1 lot. Rick had planned to stay for "28 Days Later". Knowing how much he wanted to see this film, I was certain I'd find him back at his truck. And I did.

How was "28 Days Later"? This film was a total disappointment! When will movie makers realize that a zombie film must contain sensible behavior on the part of the non-zombie characters? Let's face it, if you knew that you could catch the zombie disease if you got zombie blood in your eyes, wouldn't you, at a minimum, wear safety glasses? But NO, the characters in this film weren't that sensible. And, yes, they died for the crime of being stupid. But that isn't the point. Sensible behavior is the point. What else does a good zombie movie need besides sensible behavior? Two things. Monster trucks and automatic weapons. I'll leave the rest to your imagination!

After the credits began to roll on "28 Days Later", Rick and I headed towards the snack bar for another nature break. I stopped inside for my fourth refill of the night. This time we didn't get separated.

For reasons known only to Rick, instead of returning to his truck and driving home, he walked back to my car with me. Just as we reached it, "Terminator 3" began to roll on the screen. Although he kept saying that he shouldn't stay, he did stay through the first 15 minutes of the film. Finally, he summoned the willpower to leave. Having watched the first 15 minutes of the film, I decided to stay to the end.

As soon as the credits began to roll, I loaded my camp chair into the trunk of my car, climbed inside and proceeded home without incident.

When I was in high school, I attended more than a few "dusk 'til dawn" shows. Fortunately, it wasn't quite dawn when I arrived home. No, it was just 3:00AM.

Will I ever see three films again in the same night? Only time will tell!

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Six of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE   July 11 - July 13, 2003

19 July 2003 - The Return Of Open Flame!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "Bad Boys 2". This was the first week of release for "Bad Boys 2".

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 5 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:22PM. I made no stops along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 7:47PM. The weather wasn't quite perfect for a night at the drive-in. The evening was very warm and the sky was overcast. There had been some speculation on the local weather broadcasts that it might rain. Would the threat of rain hold down attendance at the Mission? Only time would tell!

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four lanes, were already open. Despite the early opening of the ticket booths, there were nine to ten cars in each lane waiting to purchase tickets. As I waited in line, I speculated on the possibility that "Bad Boys 2" might sell out. Could it happen? Only time would tell!

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Bad Boys 2 " and proceeded to the Screen 1 lot without incident.

Driving across the Screen 1 lot, I parked in my traditional location on the left side of the screen near the exit lane. Although I remain concerned about the hazards of being predictable, I decided that the ability to exit the theater with minimal difficulty was more important than the marginal increase in safety from being unpredictable. Given that I had already seen the second feature, "Charlie's Angels", I knew that I'd be leaving during the intermission.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 1 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I immediately noticed that a large portion of the "Tombraider" promotional items present last week had been removed from the concession stand. No explanation was offered for this fact by theater personnel. Why remove promotional items before a movie opens? It just doesn't make sense!

I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Since it was early in the evening, I purchased only a large Diet Coke and two hot dogs. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 2 lot, I counted the cars and then crossed the foot bridge into the Screen 3 lot. The hand rail on the bridge remains split. I quickly counted the cars before moving on to the Screen 4 lot. No changes were noted there and after counting the cars, I returned to the Screen 1 lot.

Reaching my car, I got out my camp chair and sat it down behind my car. What I had previously considered to be a warm evening, had suddenly turned hot. Soaked with sweat, I consumed my hot dogs slowly, using the least amount of heat producing energy as possible.

Here are the car counts for my first patrol of the property. These counts were taken starting at 7:57PM.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - 62
Screen 2 - "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" / "28 Days Later" - 22
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 13
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 9

After resting for ten minutes or so, I made a second sweep of the property. Along the way, I stopped in at the concession stand for a large popcorn and a Diet Coke refill. Returning to my car, I sat down to wait for the start of "Bad Boys 2".

Here are the car counts for my second patrol of the property. These counts were taken starting at 8:20PM.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - 102
Screen 2 - "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" / "28 Days Later" - 31
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 30
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 19

Two spaces down from me, a large truck pulled up and parked. Moments later, a van arrived and parked next to it. The occupants emerged and mingled. Two hairy men reached into the back of the truck and lowered a large BBQ grill to the ground.

Small children watched in awe as the two men filled the pit with charcoal. The taller man soaked the charcoal with what appeared to be half a can of lighter fluid. The shorter man lit a match, and jumped backwards as he tossed it into the grill. With a roar, the lighter fluid caught fire! Flames soared several feet into the air. Above the flames, a black oily smoke could be seen rising into the night sky.

After the flames died down, raw meat was tossed onto the grill. From time to time, rain cooled breezes blew the smell of the cooking meat towards me. I felt the urge to buy corn dogs but resisted it.

As the first pieces of meat came off the grill, the trailers began to play. During the movie, I could see lightning flashing in the distance. Once or twice, I thought I heard thunder echoing across the lot.

How was "Bad Boys 2"?

Here's a quote from a review of the film I found on the Internet.

By David Germain, Associated Press:

"Bay and Bruckheimer make up for lost time by padding the sequel to an excruciating 2 1/2-hour tempest of outlandish gunplay, explosions and car wrecks, punctuated by the occasional corpse falling from a mortuary vehicle and getting beheaded by rushing traffic.

The action borders on sickening. You expect morality and decency to go out the window in a big, dumb cop spectacle; you don't figure on the filmmakers reveling in barbarity.

Yet Bay and Bruckheimer seem intent only on stacking bodies higher than the Miami skyline. The sole moment of reflection over the movie's murderous mayhem comes in the throwaway line, "Thank God no cops died," which follows a calamitous highway chase that in reality would have filled the city's funeral parlors and emergency rooms to overflowing.

As they ooh and aah at Bay and Bruckheimer's fireworks, even the most die-hard action fans simply have to shift uncomfortably over the atrocities they're watching; if not, American society is doomed."

What do I think? The movie simply wasn't funny. And it needed to be funny. Why? Because even I became numb to the non-stop orgy of carnage found in this film. A few laughs would have refreshed the mental palate making the action scenes more interesting. Towards the end of the film, I found myself wishing that everyone would be killed in hopes it would end the movie.

Getting up from my camp chair, I turned around and declared "Good Lord"! Looking across the lot, I saw a sea of cars with only a few empty spaces in the very last row of the lot.

Parched by thirst, I made my way across the lot to the concession stand where I picked up my second refill of the night. Oh, yeah, and a corn dog. Smelling cooking meat for two and a half hours finally eroded away my willpower!

As I consumed the corn dog, I made quick sweep of the property before returning to my car. By this time, "Charlie's Angels" was already in progress. I tossed my chair in the trunk and proceeded home without incident.

Here are the final car counts of the night.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - Sellout
Screen 2 - "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" / "28 Days Later" - 50% full
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 120
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 83

As you can see from these counts, the threat of rain couldn't keep people away from the Mission. Although I have no actual sales figures, I'd estimate that "Bad Boys 2" broke the attendance record recently set by "2 Fast, 2 Furious". Given the results for the other lots, I doubt the total nightly attendance record was broken.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Five of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE   July 18 - July 20, 2003

26 July 2003  -   Transportation!

For the third week in a row, I was able to follow my usual Mission routine! It has been a long time since I've been able to reach this mark!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "Tombraider 2". This was the first week of release for this film.

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 5 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:45PM. Along the way, I stopped for gas. No cherry sours were purchased. I arrived at the Mission at 8:20PM. The weather was perfect for a night at the drive-in -- clear, hot and dry!

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four lanes, were already open. There were only a few cars waiting to purchase tickets. One lane was completely empty of cars. I selected it and drove forward slowly.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Tombraider 2" and proceeded to the Screen 2 lot without incident. The Screen 2 lot? Yes! Nearly every new release film plays on Screen 1 during its first week of release. But not in this case, "Tombraider 2" was playing on Screen 2. Regardless of the reason for this arrangement, I was pleased by the screen selection. Screen 2 is simply superior to Screen 1 for movie viewing.

Driving nearly all the way across the Screen 2 lot, I parked in my traditional location on the left side of the screen near the exit lane. To make car counting easier, I parked in the second row from the screen. Having already seen the second feature, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", I knew that I'd be leaving the theater at intermission.

Reaching my desired location, I paused just a few moments before turning off the engine. Two weeks ago, Rick Stivers had easily located me in this spot. To be predicatable or unpredictable? That was the question! Once again predictability won out! I turned off the engine and exited my vehicle with confidence.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 2 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I found that nearly all the "Tombraider 2" promotional items had been removed. Now, this makes sense! If the movie is already in the theater, there is no point in promoting it further.

I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Having arrived much later than in previous weeks, I purchased a large Diet Coke, a large popcorn and two hot dogs. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 1 lot, I discovered a live band was entertaining a crowd of 40 to 50 people. No, this wasn't "Last Chance", the band that played at the Mission last year. This band is made up of a group of Santikos employees from another theater. The leader of the band had approached management about the possibility of playing at the Mission. They weren't seeking cash, just a forum in which to display their talents to the public. Mr Kunert had placed only two restrictions on their performance -- no objectionable lyrics and their performance had to end when the first movie trailers began to play. If you think about it, this is a great deal! The band got to play in a public forum with no restrictions on volume and only minor restrictions on content.

How was the band? Not bad. I stayed until both hot dogs were consumed before continuing my patrol.

After counting the cars in the Screen 1 lot, I moved on to the Screen 4, and then the Screen 3 lots. Crossing over the foot bridge, I noted that the split handrail had yet to be repaired.

As I walked across the Screen 2 lot, I discovered that I had nearly emptied my large drink. Taking advantage of the free refill policy, I stopped inside for a refill.

Since there was still time left before the movies started, I exited back into the Screen 1 lot to observe more of the band's performance.

As I stood there munching popcorn, I noticed a small vehicle driving around the Screen 1 lot. Made by John Deer, the vehicle looks like a cross between a riding lawn mower and a golf cart. At first, I thought this might herald the return of the roving snack cart. I'm almost certain there were two large coolers in the cargo area of the vehicle. As it turned around and came back towards me, I knew it wasn't being used to sell snacks. No, this was a security cart, not a snack cart. It was being driven by the security guard that has been working at the Mission since the start of the month. This is certainly a new development. Could it have been prompted by last week's open flame episode? Almost certainly, we'll never find out.

As the band played on, I stopped to talk with some of the employees. It turns out that on Friday night, "Bad Boys 2" had been on Screen 2 and "Tombraider 2" on Screen 1. "Bad Boys 2" pulled in a much larger than expected crowd while "Tombraider 2" had not done as well. This prompted management to change the screen assignments. I'm not sure this was necessary as the Screen 2 lot is perhaps even larger than the Screen 1 lot. I also learned that "The Bijou", located inside Crossroads Mall, will be a "21 and up" theater. Two decades ago, this would have been an indication of the type of films being exhibited. Today though, the age restriction is a reflection of the refreshment menu. "The Bijou" is one of the new "dinner and a movie" establishments which serves alcoholic beverages to its patrons. Like the "Crossroads Theater" before it, "The Bijou" will exhibit classic and independent films.

Here is a bit of trivia. Before it was the Crossroads Mall, it was the Wonderland Mall. The Wonderland Mall was the first modern mall built in San Antonio. Its main anchor tenant was a grocery store. I can't remember if it was a "Piggly Wiggly" or a "Handy Andy". Over the years, Wonderland Mall fell into decline and the grocery store left the property. After a renovation, it reopened as Crossroads Mall. Although it did well at first, Crossroads Mall also declined and seemed near death after the failure of Montgomery Ward. Today, Crossroads Mall is once again on the upswing after luring in a Super Target (partly a grocery store) to be the new anchor tenant. Some actually believe that Rick Sambucini and I first met at Wonderland Mall on the lower level. But I digress.

It was now dark. The band fell silent as the movie trailers began to play on Screen 1. It was nearly time for the movies to begin. I turned and hurried back to my car in the Screen 2 lot.

I arrived just in time to get out my chair and take a seat. The evening's entertainment had begun!

Here are the car counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - 84
Screen 2 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 43
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 26
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 40

How was "Tombraider 2"? Like nearly ever summer action film this year, it was simply too long. (And, if you have to keep typing these movie titles over and over, you know that even the movie titles are simply too long!) More than that, the plot (such as it was) got in the way of telling the story.

After the credits began to roll on "Tombraider 2", I headed towards the snack bar for a nature break. After that was over, I headed inside the snack bar for my second refill of the evening. But don't feel bad for the Mission, I also bought a corn dog!

After applying a thick coating of mustard to the corn dog, I made a quick sweep of the property. Looking across the Screen 1 lot, I estimated the size of the crowd before moving on. I stopped in the Screen 3, and Screen 4, lots to update my car counts. The crowds had grown considerably since my previous observations.

Concluding my patrol with a count of the Screen 2 lot, I loaded my camp chair into the trunk of my car. Climbing inside, I proceeded home without incident.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - 85% full
Screen 2 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 134
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 63
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 82

As you can see from these counts, the attendance this Saturday, while good, was much lower than last Saturday.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Only four of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  -  July 25 - July 27, 2003

28 July 2003 - The Drive-In Enthusiast's Burden 2

Monday morning, Rick Stivers and I finalized our arrangements for a business trip to Columbus, Mississippi. During this process, I discovered there was a possibility, although remote, that we might be gone until Tuesday of the following week. If that happened, I'd miss a week at the Mission! Clearly, that wasn't acceptable.

After a review of my options, there was only one thing I could. I would go to the Mission that night. If you recall last week's report, you know that when I left the theater, I had seen 7 of the 8 movies being exhibited. Since this was the same "movie week", there weren't any new films playing. I had only one movie choice, "The Italian Job". And wouldn't you know it, it was a second feature!

I left my apartment at 10:21PM and drove at a leisurely pace to the Mission. I arrived there at 10:47PM to discover that the white sign outside the entrance remains completely blank, although well illuminated.

Rounding the screen tower, I found that only one ticket booth was open and that only a single entrance lane was being serviced by a lone runner.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "The Italian Job" and proceeded without incident to the Screen 3 lot. On my arrival there, I parked in the second to the last row, to the right of the screen.

Leaving the car behind, I performed a complete count of the lot before heading over to the footbridge. Here I discovered more proof that this little bridge can't get a break. Well, actually, it did get a break. One of the planks on the Screen 2 side had been broken in half. The broken ends of the board hung down into the darkness under the bridge. Safety cones marked this pedestrian danger zone.

Sidestepping the safety cones, I reached the other side of the bridge. I have to admit that I was surprised at the level of patronage for a Monday night. After counting the cars, I headed into the concession stand where I purchased my usual combination of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn.

After liberally applying mustard to the hot dogs, I moved out into the Screen 1 lot. Once again, I was surprised at the level of patronage.

I quickly counted the cars before heading over to the Screen 4 lot. As I walked, I noticed several other cars arriving for the second feature.

After a quick look, and a quicker count, I left the Screen 4 lot behind me. Arriving back at my car, I opened the truck. With a deft motion, I removed my camp chair and deployed it behind my vehicle. Moments later, the trailers began to roll.

Here are the car counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Charlie's Angels" - 38
Screen 2 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 34
Screen 3 - "Terminator 3" / "The Italian Job" - 8
Screen 4 - "The Hulk" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 8

Sadly, the two hot dogs did not survive the movie trailers. They just don't make hot dogs like they used to!

As the movie played on, I munched on. I knew that as soon as the credits began to roll, that I'd be up and away. That much was certain. But the movie? It remained to be seen how much I would enjoy it.

I did enjoy sharing the lot with fewer people. I don't want to be the only person in the lot (which is my preference in an indoor theater) nor do I want to be in the middle of a sold-out lot. I'm looking for something that is just right. Was eight cars just right? It was okay. Twice that number would have been better.

How was the movie? No audio or video problems were noted. The movie itself was much better than I expected. I'd go so far as to say I enjoyed the film.

True to my plan, when the credits began to roll, I packed up my car and proceeded home without incident. As I drove over the exit spikes, I realized that this was the second time this season that I've actually seen all the movies being exhibited at the Mission. Mr Santikos, refresh the movie line-up! I need more than one choice when I go to the Mission!

As it turned out, Rick and I made it back to San Antonio late Friday night. I could have made the Saturday showing at the Mission. Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Notes From The Trip:

The trip was extremely interesting. We attended showings at the Blue Moon Drive-In in Alabama and the Highway 25 Drive-in in Mississippi. We discovered the remains of two dead drive-ins in Eupora and Greenwood, Mississippi. We even stopped for drive-in research in Palestine, Texas.

The Highway 25 Drive-in now holds the record for the brightest picture I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it also holds the record for most mosquito bites in a single evening. These mosquitoes were clearly a mutant variety not found here in Texas. Even 'Deep Woods Off' couldn't keep these pests away!

The Blue Moon Drive-in continues to be the "coolest" drive-in that I've ever visited. We saw 'Spy-Kids 3: Game Over" and the first part of "Terminator 3". Finally, I can say that I've seen a 3-D film at a drive-in. Were there any mosquitoes at the Blue Moon? No! The only pest was Rick, who kept repeating over and over, "Why is there a CGI Ricardo Montalban in this movie? Isn't he dead"? After awhile, I just stopped replying to these questions. Rick gave in to temptation and purchased a "pickle-cicle". What's that? A pickles are a big seller at the Blue Moon. The owner, for reasons that I can't remember, decided to freeze the pickle juice into "pickle-cicles". These treats are big sellers, so I'm told. Some local residents drop by the theater just to buy them!

All kidding aside, I recommend you visit both of these fine drive-ins if you get the chance!

9 Aug 2003 - Ticket Booth Ballet

After making a full recovery from the "five state" tour, I was ready to return to my usual Mission routine.

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "SWAT". This was the first week of release for "SWAT".

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 6 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:27PM. I made no stops along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 7:52PM. The weather wasn't quite perfect for a night at the drive-in. No! Far from it! Dark clouds sprawled across the horizon. From time to time, flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance. Would the threat of rain hold down attendance at the Mission? Only time would tell!

As I neared the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four entry lanes, were already open. Each lane contained only two to three cars. Not a good sign! Not a good sign!

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "SWAT" and proceeded to the Screen 1 lot without incident.

Driving across the Screen 1 lot, I parked in my traditional location on the left side of the screen near the exit lane.

Although I remain concerned about the hazards of being predictable, I decided that the ability to exit the theater with minimal difficulty was more important than the marginal increase in safety from being unpredictable.

Given that I had already seen the second feature, "Charlie's Angels", I knew that I'd be leaving during the intermission.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 1 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I immediately noticed that nearly all the "Tombraider" promotional items had been removed. A few items remained behind, lost and lonely. I couldn't help but compare them to forgotten toys.

I walked up to the counter and made my usual purchase of a large Diet Coke, large popcorn and two hot dogs. After liberally applying a thick coating of mustard to the hot dogs, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 2 lot, I counted the cars, and then crossed the foot bridge into the Screen 3 lot. While the hand rail remains split, the broken plank has been replaced. I wonder if someone will come along later and coat it with varnish? Hmmm...just like a hot dog coated with mustard!

Stepping off the foot bridge, I quickly counted the cars before moving on to the Screen 4 lot. No changes were noted there and after counting the cars, I returned to the Screen 1 lot.

Here are the car counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "SWAT" / "Charlie's Angels" - 22
Screen 2 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Terminator 3" - 26
Screen 3 - "American Wedding" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 13
Screen 4 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 10

Reaching my car, I got out my camp chair and sat it down behind my car. After watching the lightning for a few minutes, I grew restless. Getting up, I headed over to the far fence. Reaching it, I scaled the mound of discarded asphalt with practiced ease. From this vantage point, I could see the ticket booths and entrance lanes. Before my eyes, a performance of "Ticket Booth Ballet" played out!

When I entered the theater, both ticket booths were open and all four entrance lanes were in use. Now, one ticket booth was closed as well as the far entrance lane near Screen 4. The lines of cars slowly began to build up until the cars wrapped around the screen tower. This was taken as a sign by the staff!

Moments later, the second ticket booth reopened. As you would expect, the lines of cars began to shorten. For no particular reason, the fourth entrance lane was reopened. Five minutes later, the lines of cars were nearly exhausted. The runners began to take turns servicing the cars. Once again, the operation changed. Two entrance lanes closed but both ticket booths stayed open. This arrangement also kept down the length of the lines. Did it stop here? No, I continued to monitor the ticket booths until the trailers started on Screen 1. Every possible permutation of ticket booths and entrances lanes was employed. At one point, it looked as if they might even close both ticket booths.

As I watched the "Ticket Booth Ballet", I noticed something disturbing. Every fourth or fifth car that rounded the screen tower would slow to a halt, pause for a few moments, turn around and then drive away. I can only imagine that these potential patrons had paused to review the features being exhibited and had left the theater because none of them were appealing. Or, perhaps because too many of these films have been at the Mission for too long. Either way, the actual number of cars coming to the Mission this night was far higher than the number of cars that actually went on into the lots. I hope someone in management noticed this trend.

As I headed back towards my car, a rush of patrons arrived. By the time I reached my vehicle, I could see a line of cars halfway up Roosevelt.

I settled down into my camp chair just as "SWAT" began to play.

About a third of the way into the movie, an emergency response vehicle whipped through the entrance to the Screen 1 lot. Fifty years ago, I would have suspected that this might have been part of promotional stunt. With today's lack of showmanship in the movie industry, I came to the immediate, and correct, conclusion that someone had suffered a medical emergency.

Frequent readers of these reports may recall another night, two years ago, when I also saw an emergency response vehicle enter the Screen 1 lot. When this happened, I had been at the snack bar taking a "nature break". As I walked back towards my car, I kept wondering what had happened, and how I would find out about it. As it turned out, the emergency response vehicle was parked directly behind my car! Weird, huh?

Try this for weird! Once again, the emergency response vehicle parked behind my car! Okay, this time it was slightly off to the right, but I digress. The technicians emerged from the vehicle, opened up the back and then hurried away with a stretcher and satchels full of what I hoped were medical supplies and appliances.

As you can imagine, this "real life" drama distracted me so much, that I could no longer give "SWAT" my full attention.

A few minutes later, the medical technicians returned. The stretcher was now occupied. Straggling behind was a group of friends or family members.

What happened next? I can't say.

Whatever procedures were performed on the unfortunate drive-in patron, they were hidden from view behind the vehicle. I continued to monitor the situation as I glanced back and forth between the ambulance and the screen.

Perhaps five, or even ten minutes later, the group of patrons that I had seen earlier, came out from behind the ambulance and headed back into the lot. Had hope been lost? Was more rigorous treatment required? I hoped not! Even a successful drive-in can't afford to lose a single patron!

For the next five to ten minutes, I continued to divide my attention between the screen and the ambulance. After a while, I realized the technicians weren't performing their duties. No, they were watching "SWAT"! What had happened? Could the person on the stretcher have recovered enough to walk away? Or had the worst happened and there was simply no reason to rush off for help? We'll never know.

When the credits began to roll, the ambulance did the same. It was out the exit before I could stand up and wave goodbye!

How was "SWAT"? Keep in mind that I was NOT able to focus my attention onto the film due to the circumstances I described above. Given that caveat, I would rate the movie as being much better than any single episode of the television series. This film gets extra credit for including in a clip from the series into the movie. Watch the television sets very carefully! I'll say no more!

Parched by thirst, I made my way across the lot to the concession stand where I picked up my only refill of the night. If the "Ticket Booth Ballet" suggested that management had staffed for a higher level of attendance than had actually materialized, the long row of employees sitting on the ground outside the concession stand confirmed it. Either that, or it was some twisted tribute to the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. Once again, we'll never know for sure!

As I sipped my Diet Coke, I made a quick sweep of the property before returning to my car. By this time, "Charlie's Angels" was already in progress. I tossed my chair in the trunk and proceeded home without incident.

Here are the final car counts of the night.

Screen 1 - "SWAT" / "Charlie's Angels" - 168
Screen 2 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Terminator 3" - 60% full
Screen 3 - "American Wedding" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 73
Screen 4 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 27

As you can see from these counts, the threat of rain couldn't keep all people away from the Mission!

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Five of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE   8 -10 AUGUST, 2003

Note: In the past, even when I've missed a "movie week", I've always provided the analysis of the Mission advertisement and the comparison of the Mission exhibition schedule to the top ten grossing films.

Regrettably, this time, I can't do that. Last weekend, I failed to pick up a copy of the Friday newspaper. Saturday's paper would have worked just as well, but I recycled it by accident. What do I remember from that paper? "American Wedding" was the only new movie added to the Mission exhibition schedule. That weekend, the Mission exhibited nine films instead of eight. "The Hulk" was listed as the third feature on one of the screens. I'll try to keep this from happening again in the future!

12 Aug 2003 - Couch Potatoe No More!

It was Tuesday night and I was lying on the couch. I was bored. How bored? I had just flipped my way through all the cable channels for the third time. Nothing was on. Nothing.

"What to do?", I wondered. And then it hit me!

I could go to the Mission and see a movie!

And there was only one movie to see! If you recall last week's report, when I left the theater, I had seen seven of the eight films currently being exhibited. The last remaining unseen movie was "American Wedding". I wasn't excited about that, but it still sounded better than a fourth run through the cable channels!

I left my apartment at 8:20PM. Although this was much later than my usual departure time, I wasn't expecting long lines at the Mission on a Tuesday night. I even made a short stop for gas along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 8:50PM. The weather was perfect for a night at the drive-in! Cooler than an August evening should be, with no threat of rain.

As I neared the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found only one ticket booth, and one entry lane, was open. Nor were there any cars in line. Not surprising for a Tuesday night.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "American Wedding" and proceeded to the Screen 3 lot without incident.

Driving across the Screen 3 lot, I parked in my traditional location in the last row near the foot bridge.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 3 and Screen 2 lots.

Entering the concession stand, I immediately noticed the words "Popcorn", "Hot Dogs" and "Soda" had been painted onto the glass on the Screen 1 side. Clearly, this was part of a work in progress.

I walked up to the counter and purchased a large Diet Coke and a large popcorn. Having eaten on the way home from work, I had no room left for hot dogs! Crunching on popcorn, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 1 lot, I counted the cars, and then crossed over the entrance lanes to the Screen 4 lot. After a very quick count, I returned to the Screen 3 lot.

Here are the car counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "SWAT" / "Charlie's Angels" - 11
Screen 2 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Terminator 3" - 6
Screen 3 - "American Wedding" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 7
Screen 4 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 6

Reaching my car, I opened the trunk and got out my camp chair.

I unfolded the chair without difficulty and settled down into it just as "American Wedding" began to play.

No visual or audio problems were noted during the feature presentation.

When the credits began to roll, I folded up my chair and dropped it into the trunk. Closing the lid, I prepared to head back to the concession stand for another refill before starting the drive home.

How was "American Wedding"? I thought it was better than "American Pie 2".

After a fast paced walk, I reached the concession stand. I walked up to the counter and requested a refill. The girl behind the counter took my cup without comment. But instead of walking over to the soda machine, she reached under the counter and pulled out a "Sharpie". Yes, a "Sharpie". She scribbled something on the side of the cup, put the "Sharpie" away and then proceeded to refill my drink. Being in a hurry, I didn't take the time to look at what she had written on the cup. As it turns out, this was the harbinger of a policy change to come! More on that in a future report!

As I sipped my Diet Coke, I made a quick sweep of the remainder of the property before returning to my car.

Here are the updated car counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "SWAT" / "Charlie's Angels" - 21
Screen 2 - "Bad Boys 2" / "Terminator 3" - 20
Screen 3 - "American Wedding" / "2 Fast, 2 Furious" - 14
Screen 4 - "Tombraider 2" / "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - 4

Yes, that's right. The count in the Screen 4 lot actually declined during the film. Having seen "Tombraider 2" twice, I can understand why!

As you can see from these counts, the attendance at the Mission dropped off severely from Saturday to Tuesday. Still, 59 cars isn't that bad given how "stale" the Mission exhibition schedule has become. As proof of that, this is the third time this year that I've actually left the theater having seen every film on the schedule. True, I'm far from the average patron, but this is still a major issue for the Mission.

And for those who care, I drove home without incident!

Note 1: Having gone to the Mission on Tuesday, I skipped the next "movie week" and didn't return to the Mission until 23 August 2003. Have no fear though, I did purchase a copy of the 15 August 2003 newspaper! Below you will find the analysis of the weekly Mission advertisement and the top ten comparison for the "movie week" of 15 - 22 August 2003.

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that four new films were playing at the Mission this week. These films
being "Freddy vs Jason", "28 Days Later", "Legally Blonde 2" and "Spy Kids 3". This was the first week of release for "Freddy vs Jason". "Legally Blonde 2", "28 Days Later" and "Spy Kids 3" had previously opened in San Antonio. In fact, "28 Days Later" had been previously featured at the Mission.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Only five of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

Weekend Box Office  -  August 15 - 17, 2003

Note 2: Based on the number of changes to the Mission schedule during this "movie week", I can only conclude that management also realized how stale the movie schedule had become. I just have to hope that "28 Days Later", the worst film I've seen since "Dick Tracy", was provided to theater at no cost. To be honest, if I owned a drive-in, I wouldn't show this film unless I was paid to!

23 Aug 2003  -   Whirrrr!

Once again, I planned to return to the Mission on Saturday. Although I've enjoyed my mid-week trips to the Mission, those outings don't provide an accurate view of the level of business at the theater. Still, now that the days are getting shorter, I may alternate between weekend and mid-week trips. As always, only time will tell!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that four new films were playing at the Mission this week. These films being "The Medallion", "Gigli", "Freaky Friday" and "Pirates of the Caribbean". This was the first week of release for "The Medallion". "Gigli", "Freaky Friday" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" had previously opened in San Antonio. If you recall, I saw "Pirates of the Caribbean" in a hardtop theater and at the Crossroads Drive-In in Shiner, Texas. This also marks the second week in a row that four new films have appeared on the Mission exhibition schedule.

With the addition of these new films, I had seen 4 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 6:40PM. I stopped for gas along the way; however, no cherry sours were purchased. I arrived at the Mission at 7:26PM. The weather was perfect for a night at the drive-in. The evening was very warm and the sky was cloudy but not overcast. That is very important because an overcast sky reflects the light pollution of San Antonio back down towards the ground.

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

As I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four lanes, were already open. Despite the early opening of the ticket booths, there were five to six cars in each lane waiting to purchase tickets. As I waited in line, I noticed the only new film of the weekend, "The Medallion", was showing on Screen 4. I certainly wasn't happy about that! I had already decided that I would see both "The Medallion" and "Gigli". Why? Because "kung fu" films should be seen at drive-ins and I wanted to learn first hand, just how bad a movie "Gigli" really was.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "The Medallion " and proceeded to the Screen 4 lot without incident.

Driving across the Screen 4 lot, I parked in my traditional location on the right side of the screen near the exit lane.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 4 lot. As you'll learn later, that wasn't very difficult!

As I was walking across the Screen 1, encountered two Mission employees driving around in their "Mission-mobile". They stopped to say hello and visit with me for a few minutes. The most interesting thing I learned was that "Freaky Friday" and "The Medallion" switched screens from the previous night. That's a very responsible action on the part of management given that Screen 3 is the second best screen at the Mission. Why the switch? "Freaky Friday" had simply out performed "The Medallion".

Our conversation was ended by a radio call from the ticket booths. As they accelerated away, I continued my journey in search of a "tasty treat".

Entering the concession stand, I noticed that there are now five words painted on the concession stand window - "Soda", "Hot Dog", "Candy", "Popcorn" and "Hamburger". Cartoon renderings of these treats have been painted above the first three words. The drawings are similar in style to the characters that appear in one of the intermission reels run at the Mission.

My study of the window complete, I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Since it was early in the evening, I purchased only a large Diet Coke and two hot dogs. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 2 lot, I counted the cars and then headed towards the foot bridge. Arriving there, I was pleased to see that the entire east side of the creek bed has been aggressively mowed.

I then crossed over the foot bridge into the Screen 3 lot. The hand rail on the bridge remains split. I quickly counted the cars before returning to the Screen 4 lot.

By this time, my hot dog "fuel" had been expended. Needing more energy, I returned yet again to the concession stand where I purchased a large popcorn. On my way out, I noticed a new window decal -- "Movie Cash Accepted Here". That's nice to know!

I made a quick loop through the property and returned to the Screen 4 lot.

Reaching my car, I got out my camp chair and sat it down behind my car. "Plopping" down into my chair, I settled down to wait for the start of "The Medallion".

Here are the car counts for my first patrol of the property. These counts were taken starting at 7:30PM.

Screen 1 - "Freddy vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 30
Screen 2 - "SWAT" / "Bad Boys 2" - 26
Screen 3 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 18
Screen 4 - "The Medallion" / "Gigli" - 2

Here are the car counts for my second patrol of the property. These counts were taken starting at 8:00PM.

Screen 1 - "Freddy vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 42
Screen 2 - "SWAT" / "Bad Boys 2" - 35
Screen 3 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 37
Screen 4 - "The Medallion" / "Gigli" - 13

Soon, the trailers began to roll. Despite my misgivings, there may still be a few good movies yet to come in the next few months. As always, only time will tell!

Just moments into "The Medallion", I knew that I was going to be bored. Fifteen minutes into the movie, the dreaded "whirring" sound returned to haunt the Screen 4 lot. This sound isn't a transmission artifact. The signal was clear and sharp without interference or distortion. No, the "whirring" sound was actually being broadcast as part of the movie sound track. Given the rhythmic pattern of the sound, Rick Stivers believes it to be gear noise being picked up from inside the concession stand.

Regardless of the source of the "whirring", I saw it not as a curse, but as a blessing. I decided that I would walk over to the concession stand and report the noise to management. Oh, I'd like to say that I planned this action to improve the lot of my fellow drive-in patrons. But that wouldn't be true. It was a selfish act on my part. Anything to escape "The Medallion"!

I made quick progress to the concession stand, reported the problem and then took my time returning to the Screen 4 lot. By the time I reached my chair, the "whirring" was gone. Sadly, my boredom was not!

Thankfully, about an hour into the movie, the "whirring" returned. Once again, I headed off to the concession stand at my best speed. The problem was reported and I returned to the Screen 4 lot. Well, not immediately.

No, I decided to count the cars first. More on that later.

By the time I sat down yet again in my chair, "The Medallion" was nearly over. Relief washed over me! But that relief was short lived. "The Medallion" has one of the longest sets of credits that I have ever seen. Worse, someone thought we need to see out-takes from this turkey. Oh, the pain! The pain!

Clearly, this night was made for walking. I got up and headed back towards the concession stand yet again. Inside, I got a refill of my large Diet Coke. I "hung out" near the concession stand for five minutes, or so, before returning to the Screen 4 lot.

Here are the car counts that were taken during my second expedition to the snack bar. These counts were taken about an hour after the films started.

Screen 1 - "Freddy vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 80% full
Screen 2 - "SWAT" / "Bad Boys 2" - 60%
Screen 3 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 116
Screen 4 - "The Medallion" / "Gigli" - 36

You'll notice from these numbers that there is a growing trend on the part of patrons to arrive closer to the movie start times. And, thanks to the early opening of the ticket booths, most of them can arrive later and still get inside the theater before the feature presentations begin.

Sitting down in my chair, I waited for "Gigli" to start. This film was savaged by critics so I wasn't expecting much.

How was it? The dreaded "whirring" sound did not return. No unusual projection problems were noted. The film held my attention and wasn't as bad as I had heard. I do believe that large chunks of the dialog were inappropriate for a family theater.

As soon as the credits began to roll, I packed up my car and proceed home without incident.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Five of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  -  August 22 - 24, 2003

30 Aug 2003 - Summer's End!

The Labor Day weekend marks the traditional end of summer in the United States. That date has lost significance over the years, at least in Texas, as the public school year has grown longer and longer. I remember starting to school after Labor Day and getting out of school just before Memorial Day. Regardless of that, past history has shown that the Labor Day weekend is the last big weekend of the year at the Mission. I was looking forward to seeing how big a weekend it would be.

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "Jeepers Creepers 2". This was the first week of release for this film.

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 5 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:15PM. No stops were made along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 7:40PM. The evening was warm and clear, but with a possibility of rain later in the evening.

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

My decision to leave earlier than normal was clearly a good one. The lines of cars extended off the Mission property and back up Roosevelt and VFW Boulevard (the street formerly known as White).

When I finally rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four entry lanes, were open. Management had clearly planned for a large crowd. There were two runners available to service each entry lane.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Freaky Friday" and proceeded to the Screen 3 lot without incident.

Entering the Screen 3 lot, I parked in the second to the last row, on the right, near the exit. Having already seen "Pirates of the Caribbean" twice, I knew I wouldn't be staying for the second feature!

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 3 lot. Crossing over the foot bridge to the Screen 2 lot, I noted that the railing on the bridge remains split. Taking my time, I performed a complete count of the Screen 2 lot before entering the concession stand.

I walked up to the counter and placed my usual order of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 1 lot, I looked back at the concession stand. No additional progress has been made on the project to paint "animated" snack characters onto the window of the concession stand.

After counting the cars in the Screen 1 lot, I moved on to the Screen 4. I'm pleased to report that extensive mowing has been performed inside the Screen 4 lot. Far too many times, the Screen 4 lot has been "treated like a step-child", never getting mowed as often as the other lots.

Since it was beginning to get dark, I hurried back to my car in the Screen 3 lot. I arrived just in time to get out my chair and take a seat. The evening's entertainment had begun!

Here are the car counts for those that like them. These counts were started at 8:00PM.

Screen 1 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Bad Boys 2" - 100
Screen 2 - "Freddy vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 23
Screen 3 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 32
Screen 4 - "SWAT" / "The Medallion" - 25

How was "Freaky Friday"? It was MUCH better than "The Medallion". Some parts were extremely funny, others less so.

After the credits began to roll on "Freaky Friday", I headed towards the snack bar for a nature break. After that was over, I headed inside the snack bar for my evening refill. This time, I checked the writing on the cup. The counter person had written the day's date on it. Could they be having problems with people bringing in old cups for refills? Or, is this a simple way to tell if a cup has been in for a refill previously that night? I haven't been told yet that there is a refill limit. If there is a limit, I'm probably the cause of it. If I remember correctly, I had four refills the night I stayed for a triple feature.

Exiting the snack bar, I made a quick loop of the remaining lots before returning to my car.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Bad Boys 2" - 90%
Screen 2 - "Freddy vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 65%
Screen 3 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 117
Screen 4 - "SWAT" / "The Medallion" - 109

As you can see from these counts, attendance was high but there were no sell-outs.

Packing up my camp chair, I proceeded home without incident.

How would I rate this summer? I'd estimate that the attendance this summer (2003) was higher than last summer (2002). Although a new single night attendance record was set, I'd estimate total attendance this summer was lower than the summer of 2001. If anything held down attendance at the Mission, it was the scheduling of too many late first run movies as well as the continued exhibition of '28 Days Later'.

What was the best development of the summer? Without a doubt, it was the early opening of the ticket booths. Getting them open early prevented the long lines of cars that have plagued the Mission in the past.

What was the worst development of the summer? The picture quality on Screen 3 has grown steadily worse throughout the year. I have no idea why this is happening, but it is. Other patrons have also begun to notice, and comment, on the decline!

What would I recommend the management do next? Two ideas immediately spring to mind. To reduce light pollution from the concession stand, I'd suggest the windows be tinted. Yes, tinted! This would reduce the amount of light escaping into the Screen 1 and Screen 2 lots. This shouldn't cost that much money and could be done without any disruption to operations. To improve picture quality, I'd suggest repainting the screens. I'd start with Screen 4. It needs all the help it can get. I'd be willing to bet this screen has not been painted since it was stood up in the late 1970s.

For the rest of the year, I'd predict good attendance through the end of October. After that, attendance will decline significantly. Only time will tell if the Mission remains open this winter.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Six of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  29 Aug - 1 Sep 2003

5 September 2003  -  The Few, The Proud, The Drive-In Enthusiasts!

Friday was a rainy day. Storms pounded the area until late in the afternoon. A flash flood watch was issued for the local area. My reaction? Time to go to the drive-in! Why? Because a single ticket sold on a bad night, is worth far more than a single ticket sold on a good night.

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "The Order". This was the first week of release for this film.

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 5 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:19PM. No stops were made along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 7:45PM. The evening was warm and overcast. Lightning could be seen in the distance.

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I once again noted that the sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols.

Turning into the Mission property, nary a car was in sight. Was it possible that I would be the sole patron of the evening?

Rounding the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four entry lanes, were closed. Ten cars were waiting in line. Breaking to a halt, I joined them.

As I sat there in my car, gloomy thoughts seeped into my brain. Were the closed ticket booths simply a reflection that it was no longer necessary to open them early or had the evening's showings been canceled? The right ticket booth appeared to have suffered minor damage during the last storm. Getting out of my car, I surveyed the rest of the theater for signs of distress or injury. Thankfully, none were noted.

Just as I was about to get back into my car, the Mission-mobile drove out from behind the concession stand. Following behind it were several Mission employees. Minutes later, the left ticket booth opened for business.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Jeepers Creepers 2" and proceeded to the Screen 2 lot with only a single incident. Just as I as drove into Screen 2 entrance, the right side of my car felt into a gigantic sinkhole filled with water. Although I escaped injury, this pothole needs to be filled right away!

Entering the Screen 2 lot, I parked in the second row, on the right, near the exit. Having already seen "Bad Boys 2", I knew I wouldn't be staying for the second feature!

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 2 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I walked up to the counter and placed my usual order of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn. The lone employee behind the counter seemed grateful to see a customer!

After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 1 lot, I looked back at the concession stand. No additional progress has been made on the project to paint "animated" snack characters onto the window of the concession stand. I just had to wonder which would be finished first, the white sign outside the property or the last "animated" snack character needed to complete the set?

After counting the cars in the Screen 1 lot, I moved on to the Screen 4 lot. As I reported last week, extensive mowing was conducted inside the Screen 4 lot. As an indicator of just how much rain we have had this summer, the grass underneath the screen had already grown nearly a foot since that effort.

Leaving the Screen 4 lot, I hurried over to the Screen 3 lot. The clouds were getting heavier and I could smell the faint scent of rain in the air. Let me tell you, getting rained on wasn't part of my plan for the evening!

After pausing to count the cars, I crossed over the foot bridge to the Screen 2 lot. The railing on the bridge remains split. I'm sure Rick Stivers would weld it together in exchange for some free movie passes!

I hurried back across the Screen 2 lot to my car. I arrived just in time to get out my chair and take a seat. The evening's entertainment had begun!

Here are the car counts for those that like them. These counts were started at 8:00PM.

Screen 1 - "The Order" / "SWAT" - 13
Screen 2 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Bad Boys 2" - 24
Screen 3 - "Freddy Vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 10
Screen 4 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 6

Although I continued to see lightning in the distance, only once did it drizzle and then just for a few moments.

How was "Jeepers Creepers 2"? It was MUCH better than "Jeepers Creepers". Only one thing would have made this a better movie. If the farmer's truck had been a Willys, the story would have been much more believable. Folklore has it that Willys trucks are nearly indestructible as long as they are cared for by their owners. Oh, yes, this movie also explains why Rick Stivers wants to be a blacksmith.

After the credits began to roll on "Jeepers Creepers 2", I headed towards the snack bar for a nature break. After that was over, I headed inside the snack bar for my evening refill. I immediately noticed that the clerk failed to write ANYTHING on my cup. Was this simply a momentary lapse in judgment or is this an indication that management has realized that the monetary value of the time taken to write the date on a cup exceeds the value of drink put inside it? Many more refills will be required before we'll know for certain if the policy has changed. I vow to get those refills!

Exiting the snack bar, I made a quick loop of the property before returning to my car.

Packing up my camp chair, I proceeded home without incident.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "The Order" / "SWAT" - 21
Screen 2 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Bad Boys 2" - 68
Screen 3 - "Freddy Vs Jason" / "28 Days Later" - 12
Screen 4 - "Freaky Friday" / "Pirates of the Caribbean" - 11

As you can see from these counts, attendance was much lower than last week. The total attendance this week for all four screens was only 3 cars higher than the number of cars in the Screen 4 lot last week. I've since heard, but cannot verify if it is true, that the weekend after Labor Day is traditionally the slowest weekend of the movie year. On the plus side, 112 cars demonstrates that the Mission has a strong core of devoted patrons. Neither threat of rain nor flood could keep these people away! Rick Stivers won't be happy unless I add that even the lure of high school football wasn't strong enough to keep these people away from the drive-in.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Six of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  -  5 Sep - 7 Sep 2003

"I want it left to right, in black and white."
-- Lt Col Koepke

13 Sep 2003  -  Return Of The Triple Feature!

For weeks, Rick Stivers has made repeated claims that he would not return to the Mission until "Freddy Vs Jason" and "Jeepers Creepers 2" were paired together as a double feature. Although I was skeptical that it would ever happen, the two films were finally paired together.

For reasons unclear to me now, I suggested that we not stop with a double feature. Instead, we should take two vehicles and turn the evening into a triple feature. Rick was agreeable as long as the third film was "Cabin Fever". He was extremely excited at the prospect of a "Triple Feature Drive-in Horrorfest". Calendars were cleared and plans were made. Saturday was to be the big day!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that only one new film was playing at the Mission this week. This film being "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". This was the first week of release for this film.

With the addition of this new film, I had seen 4 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

I left my apartment at 7:22PM. I stopped at a cash machine along the way and arrived at the Mission at 7:51PM. The evening was warm and clear, but with a possibility of rain later in the evening.

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, I knew that Rick Stivers would be forced to note that the new sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols. Rick has recently advanced the theory that management never intended to add anything to the sign. I disagree. If the sign consisted solely of a white arrow pointing inside the property, I would consider agreeing with Rick. However, there is a large rectangular area above the arrow, which serves no other purpose except as a blank slate on which to write!

When I rounded the screen tower, I found both ticket booths, and all four entry lanes, were open. I was quite surprised by this development. I had expected to see only one ticket booth in operation now that the summer was over.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Cabin Fever" and proceeded to the Screen 3 lot without incident.

Entering the Screen 3 lot, I parked in the second to the last row, on the right, near the exit.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly towards the Screen 2 lot.

As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 3 lot. Crossing over the foot bridge to the Screen 2 lot, I noted that the railing on the bridge remains split. Stepping off the bridge, I made a 45 degree turn and began walking at an angle across the lot.

As I walked, I alternated between counting the cars and looking for Rick Stivers. Neither task took long to complete. I soon noticed Rick, standing in the back of his truck, waving at me like a demented semaphore operator. I changed course and headed towards him.

Arriving at his truck, I discovered that he had already deployed his external truck speakers. Small talk was exchanged and then I headed off to the concession stand, after promising to return with my camp chair and Deep Woods Off.

The journey across the Screen 2 lot was a short one and I soon arrived at the concession stand.

I walked up to the counter and placed my usual order of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn. After hosing down the hot dogs with mustard, I headed outside to continue my patrol of the property.

Exiting into the Screen 1 lot, I looked back at the concession stand. Some progress has been made on the project to paint "animated" snack characters onto the window of the concession stand. All five characters are now are outlined on the glass. Painting has begun on four of the characters.

After counting the cars in the Screen 1 lot, I moved on to Screen 4. A couple of weeks ago, I commented on how extensively the Screen 4 lot had been mowed. Thanks to this summer's heavy rains, the grass in the lot had already regained much of its former glory. In some areas, the grass is already over a foot tall.

Remembering my promise to Rick, I hurried back to my car in the Screen 3 lot. Getting out my camp chair, I headed back towards Rick's truck.

Here are the car counts for those that like them. These counts were started at 8:00PM.

Screen 1 - "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" / "S.W.A.T" - 45
Screen 2 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Freddy Vs Jason" - 37
Screen 3 - "Cabin Fever" / "28 Days Later" - 20
Screen 4 - "The Order" / "Bad Boys 2" - 9

Reaching the truck, Rick suggested that I set up my camp chair inside the bed of the truck next to the cab. He had already done the same with his chair. As we sat there talking, cars continued to stream into the lot.

Rick began to grow visibly nervous as each car drove past his truck and headed down the row towards the center of the screen. Why nervous? I suspect he was picturing his fine box speakers smashed into kindling by an errant vehicle!

Wanting to prevent Rick from having a negative drive-in experience, I suggested he move his speakers off the ground and onto the tailgate of his truck. He agreed without comment.

Since Rick had not come alone to the Mission, the movement of the speakers presented a problem. Where would Stephanie, Rick's daughter, sit now that she could no longer rest on the tailgate?

Gallant as ever, I offered to give up my chair to her. And no, that didn't mean that I would have been forced to stand up the entire night. As frequent readers know, I always have at least two chairs in the truck of my car. Given how cheaply these chairs are constructed, you just never know when one will fail!

Stephanie refused to displace me from my chair. Instead, she planned to sit behind the speakers, wrapped in a blanket. Given that hearing loss apparently runs in the Stivers family, I didn't think this was a very good idea! Rick really likes to "crank up" the volume! Turing to Rick, I expressed my concern. He looked at me earnestly and replied, "What"? I repeated myself, this time at a higher volume. The results were the same. Finally, after the third try, Rick climbed out of the back of the truck, reached into the cab and turned down the volume.

Coming around to the side of the truck, he was able to hear me. His listened to my concerns and then replied, "She'll be fine".

He returned to the cab, turned up the volume, louder this time, and climbed back into the bed of the truck.

Oh well, I'd done my duty!

Moments later, the trailers began to roll! The evening's entertainment was about to begin!

As the last trailer played out, Stephanie turned to us and started asking questions about the original "Jeepers Creepers". Rick and I replied to these questions as best we could. I'm not certain that she actually heard anything we said, given her proximity to the left speaker. There really wasn't much she needed to know from the first film. There's a creature. It kills people for their body parts. The creature appears to be immortal. That's it. That's all she needed to know.

How was "Jeepers Creepers 2"? If you read last week's report, you know that I enjoyed it more than the first film. How did Rick like it? He seemed to enjoy it although he expressed relief that the truck in the film was not a Willys. He had no desire to see one put through that much abuse! And Stephanie? She, too, seemed to enjoy the film.

During the intermission, I returned to the snack bar for a refill and another hot dog. Stephanie also made a snack purchase and was able to use that famous line, "What change?", on returning to the truck.

After my cup was refilled, I made a quick loop of the property to update my car counts.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them.

Screen 1 - "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" / "S.W.A.T" - 50% full
Screen 2 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Freddy Vs Jason" - 125
Screen 3 - "Cabin Fever" / "28 Days Later" - 48
Screen 4 - "The Order" / "Bad Boys 2" - 27

As you can see from these counts, attendance increased dramatically during the course of the first feature.

Returning to the truck, the three of us settled down to watch "Freddy Vs Jason". As the movie progressed, the evening began to turn cool and a breeze began to blow across the lot. Rick and I are naturally well insulated. Stephanie was wrapped in her blanket. The only thing that would have improved on the experience was a thin layer of ground level fog.

How was "Freddy Vs Jason"? During the first few minutes of the film, there is a long stretch of dialog by Freddy, setting up the back-story and plot of the film. That's nearly always a bad sign. Too often, the plot can get in the way of telling the story! That nearly happened in this case. What saved this film? Gratuitous sex and graphic violence, of course! I have to admit that I haven't seen this much simulated sex in a movie since the 1970s! And while none of the violence was ground breaking, it was at least well executed (no pun intended!). Seriously though, the film did manage to merge the two characters into a single film without either character seeming, well, out of character. Many times, these "crossover" movies just don't work for that very reason.

As the credits began to roll on "Freddy Vs Jason", the three of us climbed out of the truck, grabbed our chairs and headed off towards the Screen 3 lot. The timing was absolutely perfect. The credits for "28 Days Later" started just as we reached the footbridge.

Reaching my car, we set up our chairs behind it. I "popped" the trunk lid and fired up the stereo. Returning to my chair, I looked up at the screen. I was surprised. I shouldn't have been but I was. The alternate ending to "28 Days Later" had just begun.

I turned to Rick and said, "Bonus! You get to see the alternate ending at no extra charge"! In a voice dripping with sarcasm, Rick replied, "Like that's worth something"? I didn't say anything else, after all, I know a rhetorical question when I hear one!

The alternate ending to "28 Days Later" can't be more than 3 minutes long. But that was long enough for Stephanie to learn why Rick and I both hated this film. The look on her face suggested shock that we had actually sat through the entire movie. Sadly, she did not know the worst was yet to come!

I hadn't seen any trailers for "Cabin Fever" so I didn't know what to expect. Even so, I guarantee you that I was expecting more than I got! As Bill Nabors would say, "that's two hours of my life that I'll never get back".

For one brief moment, this film showed promise. Just so you won't miss this moment if you see the film, it comes when the apparent plague carrier is beaten, shot, set on fire and driven into the woods. After that, the film just goes down hill. This film proved that even gratuitous sex can't save every movie. Just as in "Freddy Vs Jason", we get "treated" to multiple scenes of simulated sex. Note however, that unless gratuitous sex is coupled (no pun intended) with graphic violence, it just doesn't work.

How did my companions feel about the film? Stephanie asked Rick over and over, if they could go home. Rick, stoic in the face of one of the worst films of all time, refused to leave the theater until the credits began to roll. He'd come for a triple feature and he wasn't leaving until he got one! He had to get his money's worth regardless of the cost!

When those credits did begin to roll, they didn't hesitate even a moment. The chairs were picked up and they were gone. I got into my car, started the engine but didn't leave the theater until I verified that Rick's truck was operational. When his tail lights came into view, I engaged the transmission and proceeded home without incident.

The next day, I was concerned that either Rick or Stephanie would blame the Mission for their torment at the hands of "Cabin Fever". I later learned that both of them placed the blame where it belonged - on the makers of the film. I'd have to check my records but I believe this was Rick's seventh straight positive experience at the Mission.

Oh, yes, lest I forget. "Cabin Fever" was the first film to motivate me to send out a "flash" warning to those on the drive-in mailing list. My warning was simple - "don't watch this film"! Rick took me to task for the simplicity of my warning. I present his reply here for all to read:

"Come on Terry provide them the reasons for not seeing this turkey.

First, only one person in the film deserves to live past the first five minutes and she's the first to go.

Nothing like finding out you've accidentally shot someone in the woods and then going back to camp and getting a beer.

Or having a sick man show up on your doorstep asking for help so you set him on fire and run him into the woods.

Or having one of their best friends (And the object of one man's dreams since he was 12 years old) get sick so they lock her in the cabin's shed because they don't want to be exposed to her.

This movie had virtually no plot. It was more like a collection of disconnected images that were all grouped together and called a movie. Stephanie was so bored she asked to leave at least 5 times. There was only redeeming aspect of the film and that dealt with racial prejudices. It occupied about 15 seconds at the beginning of the film about 20 seconds at the end. Those 35 seconds had nothing to do with the rest of the film and certainly weren't worth the other 90 minutes of boredom."

Well said, Rick, well said!

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Only four of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  12-14 Sep 2003

20 Sep 2003  -   Quagmire!

After all this time, and all my visits to the Mission, it still holds mysteries. Mysteries that I can't stop thinking about....

For some time now, I've wondered why there was a large gap in the fence between the Screen 1 and Screen 2 lots. The fence didn't fall down in this area. It was clearly removed. But for what purpose? Was it removed to allow patrons another route to move between the two lots and thus reduce crowding in the concession stand breezeway? This seemed reasonable since a cluster of portable toilets can be found on each side of the fence. Little did I know that I would learn the true reason for the gap this very weekend!

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that two new films were playing at the Mission this week. These films being "Underworld" and "The Fighting Temptations". This was the first week of release for both films.

With the addition of these two new films, I had seen 5 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

Saturday afternoon had turned wet. Nay, more than wet. It was soaking wet! Storms pounded the area with no end in sight. A flash flood warning had been issued for the local area.

My reaction? I've been to the drive-in in worse conditions. Why stop now? Besides, a single ticket sold on a bad night, is worth far more than a single ticket sold on a good night.

I left my apartment at 7:48PM. No stops were made along the way. I arrived at the Mission at 8:18PM. As I made my way across town, the storms grew worse. Several times, I feared that I might lose control of my car as I accelerated around rain soaked curves!

As I neared the entrance to the Mission, the rain began to pour down in sheets so thick that I was nearly unable to note that the sign near the entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols. That night, while the sign continues to fail as a marketing tool, it more than succeeded as a navigational aid!

Turning into the Mission property, nary a car was in sight. Was it possible that I would be the sole patron of the evening?

Rounding the screen tower, I found only a single ticket booth was open. Two runners wearing rain slickers huddled underneath the marquee. As I approached them, they waived me forward until my car was completely sheltered under the marquee.

Rolling down the window, I voiced my movie selection to the runner. Although I had originally decided to see "The Fighting Temptations", I changed my mind and instead purchased a ticket for "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". Why? I had no desire to carry a bag of popcorn from the concession stand to the Screen 4 lot in pouring rain. Call me picky, but I prefer my popcorn dry!

As I waited for the runner to return with my ticket stub, I noticed that the right ticket booth appeared to have been damaged by the storm. At a minimum, it had been flooded out. I could see water seeping out at the base of the booth where it joins the
foundation.

Before I could conduct a closer examination, the runner returned. He handed me my ticket stub through the window. Nothing unusual about that. He told me which lot to park in and what station to tune my radio. That's standard runner procedure. I was expecting him to complete the conversation with "enjoy your movie". Instead, he surprised me by telling me that the entrance to the Screen 2 lot had been flooded out! Yes, flooded out!

If you are a frequent reader of these reports, you may remember my encounter with the giant sinkhole located just inside the entrance lane to the Screen 2 lot. I strongly advocated that something be done before the situation became worse. Nothing had been done and the situation had become worse!

The runner gestured forward towards the Screen 2 entrance. Following his gesture with my eyes, I saw two more Mission employees, both wearing rain gear, standing in front of the Screen 2 entrance lane. Both had flashlights.

Returning my attention to the runner, he told me again that the entrance to the Screen 2 lot was "closed". He instructed me to enter the Screen 1 lot, and then drive through it towards the Screen 2 lot. I was directed to (drum roll please!) pass through the gap in the fence into the Screen 2 lot.

So, that was it! The gap in the fence was part of the Mission's flood contingency plan! This discovery alone was worth the price of admission!

Thanking the runner, I pulled ahead slowly. As I moved closer to the entrance to the Screen 1 lot, the runners near the Screen 2 entrance became highly animated. They used their flashlights to direct me into the Screen 1 lot.

Entering the Screen 1 lot, I continued to drive ahead slowly.

When my car reached the last row of the Screen 1 lot, its forward progress began to slow, as if the earth itself was attempting to pull my car down into the saturated soil. Fearing that if my car lost forward momentum, I would become stuck in a quagmire, I down shifted my automatic transmission to its lowest setting, "D1". A slight shudder ran through the body of the car as the drive train adjusted itself to the new setting. A heartbeat later, my Escort seemed to gain traction against the soil and began to move forward at a more confident pace.

Looking both ways, and prepared to brake on a moments notice, I passed through the gap in the fence. No one was walking towards the concession stand from the direction of the footbridge. In fact, I couldn't see anyone at all. But I was not alone, there were other cars in the lot.

The pavement in the Screen 2 lot is very patchy. Taking this into account, I decided not to attempt to reach my traditional parking space in the second row, on the left side of the screen. Instead, I parked in the second row from the concession stand, slightly to the right of the center of the screen.

I'm must admit that force of habit controlled me. Instead of parking nose-forward, I parked in my usual manner, tail-forward. I consider turning the car around but decided against it. The rain had finally begun to slow and I hoped that I would be able to sit outside my vehicle under the blue blanket. That was my plan, anyway.

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand. As I moved towards it, I performed a complete count of the Screen 2 lot.

Entering the concession stand, I walked up to the counter and placed my usual order of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn. The rains were clearly unexpected. Several employees were standing behind the counter hoping to be able to break the monotony by serving a customer. Sadly, I seemed to be the only patron brave enough, or reckless enough, to make the trip to the concession stand!

As I was hosing down my hot dogs with mustard, I decided that a complete patrol of the property was out of the question.

Instead, I walked over to the concession stand window and counted the cars in the Screen 1 lot as best I could, given the rain. Turning around, I walked across the concession stand and exited back into the Screen 2 lot. Screens 3 and 4 would have to wait until later in the evening!

I hurried back across the Screen 2 lot to my car. Opening the door, I sat my snacks down inside the car. I popped the trunk and then turned the radio on. After pushing the "2" button to tune the radio to the correct frequency. I hurried around to the back of the car. I got out my camp chair and sat it down. I had chosen my parking space well! A large patch of pavement provided a firm support for my chair. Getting out the blue blanket, I draped it around my upper body. Returning to the crew cabin, I picked up my drink and my hot dogs. I made it back to my camp chair just in time for the start of the feature presentation.

Here are the car counts for those that like them. These counts were started at 8:20PM. I was unable to count the cars in the Screen 3 and Screen 4 lots. There was at least one car in each lot. That much was visible to me from where I was parked.

Screen 1 - "Underworld" / "Cabin Fever" - 20
Screen 2 - "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" / "S.W.A.T" - 7
Screen 3 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Freddy Vs Jason" - 1+
Screen 4 - "The Fighting Temptations" / "Bad Boys 2" - 1+

I was able to sit outside for the first 10 minutes of the film. The rain returned, growing harder and harder with each passing minute. The blue blanket is an ordinary blanket. It isn't waterproof. It isn't even water resistant. It is absorbent though. On nights with light drizzle, being absorbent is enough to get me through the evening. But not tonight. Eventually, the blue blanket couldn't absorb any more water. Water began to drip down from the top of the blanket. It dripped on my arms. It dripped on my chest. It dripped on my face. I could live with that, but I couldn't live with the water dripping onto my glasses. I gave up. I tossed my chair and my blanket into the trunk. I climbed into the car, turned on the engine, and then turned around. Several cars honked at me. Could they have found my determination to spend the evening outside to be humorous?

I watched the rest of the movie through a rain-streaked windshield. From time to time, I was forced to start the car and run the defroster to keep the windshield clear condensation.

How was "Once Upon A Time In Mexico"? Having enjoyed the first two films, I knew that I'd enjoy this one too. As many reviewers have commented, Johnny Depp nearly takes over the movie. His portrayal of a psychotic, and/or, amoral CIA agent is amazingly entertaining.

More often than not, the drive-in experience enhances the movie. "Ghost Ship" was much more enjoyable when seen outside, on a damp night, with fog swirling around the lot. "Sweet Home Alabama" even benefited from the fireflies flying around the screen.

This time though, the drive-in environment failed to enhance the film. The rainy night was at odds with the hot, dry Mexico that was the setting of the movie. But that doesn't mean the drive-in environment couldn't have enhanced this film. Had it been a traditional summer night in San Antonio - hot, dry and dusty - the environment would have added to the movie experience. The moral to this story? Sometimes a movie at the drive-in is just a movie.

After the credits began to roll on "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", I headed back to the snack bar for a nature break. After that was over, I headed inside the snack bar for my evening refill.

Unburdened by popcorn, I decided to attempt to reach the other two screens. Exiting the snack bar, I made my way across the Screen 2 lot to the footbridge. The normally dry creek underneath the footbridge was full of rushing water. Lest the bridge be washed away with me on it, I hurried across it to the Screen 3 lot. I counted the cars and then headed off to the Screen 4 lot. Once there, I counted the cars before attempting to follow my usual patrol route. Before I could even reach the main entrance lane, I saw that there was no way that I cross over into the Screen 1 lot without getting seriously wet.

Turning around, I retraced my path and returned to my car. Starting it up, I proceeded home without incident.

Here are the updated counts for those that like them. I'm forced to admit that while I took counts in the Screen 3 and Screen 4 lots, I failed to record those counts in my notebook. I am certain of the minimum number listed for each lot.

Screen 1 - "Underworld" / "Cabin Fever" - 22
Screen 2 - "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" / "S.W.A.T" - 12
Screen 3 - "Jeepers Creepers 2" / "Freddy Vs Jason" - 3+
Screen 4 - "The Fighting Temptations" / "Bad Boys 2" - 5+

As you can see from these counts, this evening was more proof that the Mission has a small group of customers that are so devoted to the drive-in experience that even the worst weather can't keep them away! It remains to be see if this small devoted group is large enough to keep the Mission open through the winter. Only time will tell!

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Four of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

WEEKEND BOXOFFICE  19 Sep - 21 Sep 2003

26 Sep 2003  -  Next Time, Check The Paper!

Many times, I've remarked that the drive-in is the modern-day equivalent to Stonehenge. Observation of the drive-in can reveal the changing of the days and the seasons. The keyword here being "observation".

A study of the weekly Mission advertisement revealed that two new films were playing at the Mission this week. These films being "The Rundown" and "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star". This was the first week of release for "The Rundown". "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" had previously opened in San Antonio.

With the addition of these two new films, I had seen 4 of the 8 films being exhibited this week.

Still concerned about being too predictable, I decided to visit the Mission on Friday night instead of Saturday night.

I walked out of my apartment at 8:18PM. For reasons that I just can't explain, I completely forgot that the days have been growing shorter. It was already dark. In fact, I was certain that the first feature had already begun!

What to do? What to do?

I considered simply waiting longer and then arriving in time for the second feature. That would certainly work. I considered pushing back the trip until Saturday. Although predictable, that would certainly work too.

In the end, I decided to go ahead and journey on to the Mission without delay. I didn't expect to miss much of the first feature. Besides, seeing the movies isn't as important as simply being at the drive-in!

Driving with dispatch, I arrived at the Mission at 8:40PM.

Although I was running late, I still had time to note that the sign near the Mission entrance remains white, without lettering or symbols. To be quite honest, I now perform this observation almost as an involuntary reflex. I see the sign and note it. No conscious thought is required!

Turning into the Mission property, nary a car was in sight. Just how late was I?

Rounding the screen tower, I found only a single ticket booth was open. Both entrance lanes were open, although only a single runner was on duty.

Reaching the ticket booth, I purchased a ticket for "Underworld" and then proceeded into the Screen 2 lot without major incident.

Although no longer flooded, the sinkhole in the Screen 2 entrance lane remains treacherous. With careful attention to detail, I was able to transverse the sinkhole and safely reach the Screen 2 lot.

Crossing the lot towards my traditional parking space, I could hear the grass beating against the underside of my vehicle.

While these rains ever end? Will this grass ever stop growing? Only time will tell!

Reaching my desired parking space, I turned off my engine. I was clearly far later than had I expected to be! I decided to skip my initial patrol of the property and then count the cars during intermission. But patrol or no, snacks are a necessity!

Leaving my car behind, I headed directly to the concession stand.

Entering the concession stand, I walked up to the counter and placed my usual order of a large Diet Coke, two hot dogs and a large popcorn. I was promptly served by the courteous counter staff.

After hosing down my hot dogs with mustard, I returned to my car. Getting out my camp chair, I plopped down to watch the last half of "Underworld".

How was it? It turns out that I missed the first forty minutes of the movie. I had absolutely no trouble picking up the story line from that point. I leave it to you to judge if this is a "good thing" or a "bad thing". The major draw for this film is Kate Beckinsale in a shiny, leather or perhaps vinyl, "cat suit". To be quite honest, this isn't a fashion choice that very many women should make although it does work for her.

As the credits began to roll, I folded up my camp chair, put it in the trunk and closed the lid. Since "Cabin Fever" was the second feature, I knew that I wouldn't be staying at the Mission!

I then made a quick loop of the property, visiting each lot in turn.

Having completed my count of the Screen 1 lot, I stopped at the concession stand to evaluate the picture quality on Screen 1. Just as I was about to leave, a voice called out "Mr. Moore"!

I'd like to say that my first thought was shock and amazement that my father had turned up at the Mission. But that would be a lie. I knew the mysterious voice was directed at me and no one else.

Turning towards the sound, I saw one of the assistant managers standing on top of the concession stand. I waved. Encouraged, he continued, "Will you be here for a while? I'd like to talk to you".

I was planning on leaving, but I'm always interested in meeting with the Mission staff. I agreed to wait and he headed inside the projection booth.

About 10 minutes later, he returned. We talked for some time before being joined by the new manager. Our discussions continued until an ambulance arrived. No, it wasn't that boring! The ambulance had been summoned for a patron that had taken ill. In yet another of those coincidences so common to my life, the movie I had been "evaluating" on Screen 1 just minutes before was "Bad Boys 2". If you recall, the night I actually saw this film, an ambulance was also summoned. Hmmmm... Maybe this isn't a coincidence? Maybe "Bad Boys 2" is the source of the problem? Maybe I should start a rumor that watching this film can be hazardous to your health? Naw....who'd believe that?

Taking my leave of the management team, I returned to my car and then proceeded home without incident.

Here are the car counts for those that like them. Remember, these counts were taken immediately after the end of "Underworld".

Screen 1 - "The Rundown" / "Bad Boys 2" - 43
Screen 2 - "Underworld" / "Cabin Fever" - 82
Screen 3 - "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" / "Jeepers Creepers 2" - 40
Screen 4 - "Dickie Roberts" / "The Fighting Temptations" - 37

As you can see from these counts, the attendance at the Mission bounced back after last week's rains. If the weather continues to cooperate, I believe the Mission has a chance at staying open the rest of the year.

Two interesting items came up during my conversation with the management team.

The most exciting was a visit to the Mission by a group of people interested in opening a drive-in theater in Floresville. This would be an exciting development to be sure! Not just for Texas theater patrons, but for the entire drive-in scene!

Also interesting was the claim that the Mission would be getting new, or upgraded, projection equipment in the very near future. After consulting with movie exhibition experts, I've learned that a new sound track format will become the standard for all new film prints beginning in 2004. Any theater desiring to exhibit "first run" films next year must upgrade the "sound heads" on their projectors in order to read this new format. So, if the Mission is to remain open, it will need this upgrade. Hopefully, it will finally resolve the problems with the "whirring" sound, which has plagued the Mission's audio system since the theater reopened.

Here is the weekly comparison between the weekend Mission exhibition schedule and the top ten grossing films. Four of the top ten films were showing at the Mission this week.

Box Office Report  -  26-28 September 2003

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