About 80 people wandered up to the rooftop of the Studio City Parking Garage and watched this year's Best Picture Academy Award winning movie The King's Speech, all for free.
Ultimately, though, more people were waiting downstairs and around the corner to get a seat at or .
"We didn't really know what to expect, this is the first time we did anything like this," said Lorena Parker, Executive Director of the Studio City Improvement Association, which put on the event. "Sure, I wish there were more people here."
Elinor Gordon had The King's Speech at home on Netflix, but she and her husband, and friends read about the screening on Patch and decided to watch it outdoors with the community.
"We could walk here from the house, and it seemed like a nice thing to do," Gordon said. "I wouldn't have come here if this was an action picture or something like that, this was a good choice."
Gordon's 96-year-old mother was eager to see the R-rated British film which also won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Colin Firth for portraying the prince who stutters that gets cured by a commoner.
Some of the attendees said the screening may have drawn more people if the movie was a family film, or perhaps even a movie associated with the local , or one of the local celebrities from Studio City.
The Studio City Improvement Association is made up of local business people who have money to help encourage local business. About $6,500 was approved for the screening, and popcorn was provided for free. Hot dogs and nachos were sold, as well as shaved ice, and people could have food delivered from local vendors.
"I like the idea of the screening on the rooftop, is a different kind of thing to do," said Ben R. Neumann, who is on the board of the Improvement Association and also on the Studio City Neighborhood Council. He was attending with Tamara Santana, and said, "I have never watched this move all the way through yet." (He admitted he had fallen asleep through the film in the past.)
Parker's 16-year-old son John sang the national anthem a capella with a flag bearer. The sound and picture of the giant screen was clear and audible throughout the top of the four-story parking structure.
The Studio City Improvement Association just launched a new website, StudioCityBid.com, and there is a section of the Studio City Walk of Fame in the heart of the area of movies and TV shows associated with the studio lot. Patch also profiles each one of those stars in the column on Tuesdays.
