Las Vegas Weekly

June 18, 2008 · 5:11 PM

Time to party with the big ants

By John Katsilometes

CineVegas Film Festival organizers found Las Vegas Drive-In too far removed from the festival headquarters at the Palms to stage a sanctioned event out on Carey Road and Rancho Drive. So they are building their own drive-in, a bit closer and on a locale with a (slightly) more inviting atmosphere, downtown Las Vegas. On the corner of 3rd and Ogden streets, specifically, where the throwback horror film Them! will be shown on an outdoor inflatable screen just off the Fremont Street Experience.

The film was made in 1954 with a budget of something like $224. Actually, it was a major release at the time, billed as one of the first true horror blockbuster films. The plot centers on what can happen to ants if they are exposed to deadly radiation – they get really big. And, apparently, pissed.

The screen being used is similar to the inflatable used for the CineVegas screenings at Lake Las Vegas. Eight Cadillac Escalades will be reserved to assorted VIPs on hand (and I’ll be sure to wave at y’all. Heh.) and a total of 300 seats are being provided to non-Escalade inhabitants. A band churning out music of the ’50s will perform on the 3rd Street Stage at the Fremont Street Experience beginning at 6 p.m., and the screening itself begins after the 9 p.m. light show on the Experience canopy. Admission is $10 and – brace yourselves – the night’s festivities will include free Red Bull and water and a hula hoop contest.

Now that, friends, is a party.

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