'Blazing Saddles' Had A Totally Boss Premiere
Indoor movie theaters are about as popular right now as personal grooming and non-sweatpant pants. Meanwhile, drive-in theaters haven't been this packed in decades, defying earlier prognostications from foolish, doomsayer publications whose names we won't mention.
This also means that new movies are premiering, not at glamorous red carpet events, but at the good ol' drive-in. Like Dave Franco's new horror movie The Rental ...
Bold title for a theatrical release, bud.
Which looks like kind of a bummer, to be honest. But what more could we expect from a Hollywood premiere held at a drive-in? Well, it turns out that arguably the greatest movie premiere of all-time was held at, you guessed it, a drive-in. Mel Brooks' classic comedy Blazing Saddles had its first screening at the Pickwick Drive-In back in 1974. But in keeping with the Western theme, only those on horseback were allowed in. Even the film's stars showed up riding horses, which presumably lazy old Dave Franco never even considered.
The speakers "were attached to saddle pommels" and the studio set up a special "Horsepitality Bar" where guests were served "Horse d'oeuvres" that hopefully weren't just IKEA meatballs.
Mel Brooks was so pleased with the event he wrote a letter "praising" the publicist who came up with the idea. Now we're obviously not saying that every drive-in premiere needs to be equestrian-themed, but if they, say, premiere the new Top Gun movie outdoors, maybe it could be a "fly-in" screening just for airplanes? Or if Tenet gets released at the drive-in, maybe they could ban all chairs, forcing everyone to stand in discomfort for two-and-a-half hours?
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Top Image: Warner Bros.
