Free 'Goonies,' free Baby Ruths, Sunday night in No-Lib!
Awesome Fest, a summer slate of free screenings, kicks off this weekend with an outdoor showing of 1985's, “The Goonies,” at the Piazza at Schmidts, and an indoor Monday night screening of “E.T.” at the Troc. Both films were hugely influential for J.J. Abrams, whose own kids adventure pic, “Super 8,” opens June 10.
The Baby Ruths might melt in the lingering pre-summer heat, but it's the thought – the thought of Chunk and Sloth -- that counts. On Sunday night at the Piazza at Schmidts, Josh Goldbloom kicks off a planned summer of free screenings with The Goonies, the seminal 1985 kids adventure pic . And he plans to hand out boxes of the candy bar, a pivotal foodstuff in the Sean Astin/Corey Feldman/Jeff Cohen classic.
So, why The Goonies?
Because J.J. Abrams' Super 8, opening June 10, owes much to the 26-year-old treasure hunt thriller. For one, Steven Spielberg came up with the idea for The Goonies, and he's a producer and collaborator with Abrams on Super 8. And two, Abrams himself has cited The Goonies (and E.T.) as inspirations for Super 8, which follows a bunch of middle-schoolers in late-1970s Ohio who are making a movie, and who inadvertently film the fiery crash of a train carrying top secret military cargo.
And on Monday, Goldbloom, who recently programmed Philadelphia CineFest, ups the ante with a second free screening, of, yes, E.T. – The Extraterrestrial , at the Trocadero in Chinatown. Reeses Pieces for all, and Super 8 giveaways, too.
For information on Sunday and Monday's free screenings, and on Goldbloom's Awesome Fest lineup through the summer, go to www.theawesomefest.com. Unless you're a lost alien hiding in Drew Barrymore's closet, oset, in which case you can simply phone home.