Chef Fernando Marulanda. (Courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse).
It was back in March that Tim League told us his Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse chain would be opening its first Brooklyn theater this summer. Naturally, there were delays, and then more delays. A luxury dine-in chain went and beat Alamo to the punch by opening in the South Street Seaport. But it’s finally happening: The seven-screen, two-floor Alamo Drafthouse NYC has has announced that it’s opening Friday, October 28.
Acknowledging that it’s the newcomer in a town that already has a Nitehawk (and is about to get another one), Alamo says in a press release that it’s launching with a “New in Town” series featuring films about folks who’ve just been welcomed to the jungle. That means Muppets Take Manhattan, The Coca-Cola Kid, and Switchblade Sisters, which will be introduced by B-movie icon Joe Bob Briggs.
Other series include “Shouting at the Screen” (wherein comic Wyatt Cenac and rapper Donwill do some Mystery Science Theater-style rifftracking to Blaxploitation movies), “Fist City” (action movies like Hard Target), “Subway Cinema” (rare Asian films, starting with some ‘80s and ‘90s horror flicks) and Alamo standbys like “Terror Tuesday” and “Weird Wednesday.”
As for first-run features, expect Marvel’s Doctor Strange (and note the local connection), and the latest rock doc from the producers of Searching for Sugarman, titled We Are X. Sorry, that one is about a Japanese band called X, not the Los Angeles rockabilly badasses of the same name. (For a doc about the other X, you’ll have to watch The Decline of Western Civilization over at Nitehawk next month.) But if you’re looking for some LA flavor, you’ll find it when La La Land screens, and is followed by some live jazz in the place’s House of Wax bar.
We’ve already shared some details about the Alamo’s menu. Here, at last, are some highlights from the initial lineup, courtesy of Alamo:
10/28-30: In the Mood for Gore in partnership with Subway Cinema
10/29: THE ADDAMS FAMILY Party
10/31: THE MONSTER SQUAD Halloween party with star Andre Gower in person
11/4: Cherry Bomb: HEAVENLY CREATURES with star Melanie Lynskey in person
11/5: SUBURBIA with Director Penelope Spheeris in person – 35mm
11/10: Shouting at the Screen with Wyatt Cenac and Donwill in person
11/10 Live from the 36 th Chamber with RZA in person (at Town Hall)
11/14: Warner Archive Presents: CROSSING DELANCEY
11/28: Fist City: HARD TARGET
Alamo Drafthouse NYC, 445 Gold St., Downtown Brooklyn.