Jonno & Brady were recently interviewed by The Dominion Post who ran this great story on the upcoming Lower Hutt events, check the link to the (cheesy) video featuring the Delorean that’s coming along to our Back To The Future drive-in event!

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Article from Upper Hutt Leader – 1st October 2014

A broader range of movies and a different screening night will be on offer as the curtains are raised on a new summer season of Upper Hutt drive-in cinema.

More than 80 carloads of movie goers turned out at to Firely Cinemas at Trentham Racecourse on Friday for a back-to- back feature of Jumanji and Mrs Doubtfire.

Slight drizzle on Saturday night was not enough to keep away a similar turnout for Frozen and Jurassic Park.

This is the second summer that Hutt Valley entrepreneurs Brady Dyer and Jonno Morrissey have brought drive-in movies to Upper Hutt.

Several changes are planned for this year’s season.

Dyer said Firefly Cinemas was aiming to put on 30 screenings this summer. A broader range of movies and some newer releases would be included in the movie lineup.

“People have always got different thoughts on movies but we like to think that there will be something for everyone.”

Dyer said he was talking with Trentham Racecourse management about the possibility of relocating movie showings to a larger space within the racecourse.

Movies would be played on Saturday nights rather than Sunday nights in response to customer feedback.

“We were trying not to compete with Saturday night activities but we’ve come to learn that [the drive-in movies are] on a par with a lot of the Saturday activities already out there,” Dyer said.

Of the 17 Firefly Cinema screenings put on last season, Brady said only one screening was postponed.

Upcoming movies: Sunday, October 5, The Lion King, 7.45pm, The Matrix, 9.45pm. Tickets are $30 per carload per movie. All movies screened at Trentham Racecourse, 10 Racecourse Rd.

– Upper Hutt Leader

You may have heard we’re auctioning off the spot to sit between two original DeLorean DMC-12’s (Not replicas as this story says – haha).

On Tuesday, 8th April 2014, we were featured on RadioLIVE’s section about off beat offerings on TradeMe.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Wheelie good service: Rimutaka Roller Derby skaters, from left, Kerith Imrie, Jasmine Yuile and Chrissy Yuile, glided around as pizza waitresses while drive-in moviegoers watched Grease.

It wasn’t just the punters at Firefly Cinema’s latest screening who came on wheels last Sunday – waitresses glided around the parking lot at Trentham racecourse on roller skates, delivering pizzas to the cars.

With plenty of Chevrolets and Mustangs featuring in what was the outdoor movie enterprise’s first sell-out crowd, and Grease on the big screen, that whole 1950s American drive-in vibe was complete.

The skating waitress service, something straight out of Happy to Days, was the idea of members of the Rimutaka Roller Derby club, and cinema operators Jonno Morrissey and Brady Dyer were keen to roll with it.

Wind has twice snuffed out Firefly outdoor movie nights but that wasn’t a problem on Sunday. Mr Dyer said while there was a bit of drizzle, noone minded much – especially when further down the valley and in Wellington it was pouring.

They had previously set a limit of 110 cars, thinking that was all they could comfortably fit, but Sunday’s sell-out has shown they can actually lift that by 10 or 15 vehicles.

There are still a few tickets left for Friday’s special Valentine’s Day screening of The Notebook, with a special tie-up with a local florist.

Firefly Cinemas made it onto the front page of the Upper Hutt Leader this week. Read the article below.

All go for drive-in

Drive-in movies at Trentham Racecourse next month are already looking like a hit, with more than half the tickets to the first screenings already snapped up.

Tickets are for the carload and there will be space set aside for 110 vehicle on November 20 for the screening of Fight Club and Avatar.

Firefly Cinemas, set up by former Hutt Valley boys Jonno Morrissey and Brady Dyer, is bringing the drive-in experience to Wellington for the first time. They promise regular shows from November 27 through to April.

Mr Morrissey and Mr Dyer, former Naenae College and Hutt International Boys respectively, met over a year ago and have been working on the project together since.

“I had the idea first,” Mr Morrisey, 28, said. “I took some work to Brady’s web design company and we talked. He had a similar idea and now here we are.”

The men are both film nuts and share a reverence for the role drive-in movies have played in the history of cinema.

They are excited about the Trentham location, where an initial 110 cars will be set in rows on the concourse area.

“Finding the right place was the big logistical thing. We looked at a lot of different venues,” Mr Dyer said. “We like it here. It’s a very secure site and we expect it to be pretty sheltered.”

An inflatable 12-metre-by-6m drop screen – which can be put up in an hour and packed down in half the time – will “pop up” in front of the historic betting board.

Audio for the drive-in experience will transmit through cars’ FM radios – a far cry from the fixed speaker stands of film lore.

Trentham provides other options with picnic screenings planned in front of the racecourse public stand.

Firefly Cinemas are starting with a bang – a four day launch beginning on November 27 with Fight Club, followed at dusk the following evenings with Avatar (in 2D), The Lion King and Anchorman.

The Lion King screening is already more than half booked and the opening night interest is strong too, Mr Dyer said.

Mr Morrisey and Mr Dyer hope they will be able to show new release films in the future.

Regular Sunday shows are planned through to April and Firefly are planning to show films on other evenings through the summer.

A more detailed programme will be released after the four-day opening, Mr Morrisey said.

“We are looking to have short films from emerging Kiwi film makers before the features. We’d like a role supporting film culture in Wellington and New Zealand.”

And forget abut hiding in the car boot – the screenings are priced by the car, not the bodies, at $30.

However, the opening week tickets are $50 for an event, which will include live entertainment and giveaways.

Details can be found at fireflycinemas.co.nz

The day we launched Firefly Cinemas The Dominion Post published this story on Firefly Cinemas.

Upper Hutt is set to join the global revival of drive-in movies with the launch of a pop-up cinema next month.

Entrepreneur Jonno Morrissey and photographer Brady Dyer have joined forces to start Firefly Cinemas, which will screen outdoor movies once a week over summer.

The cinema has been in the works for more than a year, after Mr Morrissey saw a Facebook post from a friend about a pop-up cinema in Australia.

“I just thought it was a great idea. I’m a big movie fan and always been quite fascinated by the drive-in concept and had thought in the past I wonder why it hasn’t been done in New Zealand.”

Our changeable weather is perhaps one reason, but Mr Morrissey said with a relatively rainproof setup and Trentham Racecourse’s wind-sheltered spot it shouldn’t be an issue – unless there was torrential rain.

The pair had invested in a 12-metre by 6m inflatable vinyl backdrop with a PVC dropscreen which can be put up in an hour and packed down in half the time.

Sound would be transmitted through an FM frequency in people’s car radios, but a PA would also be set up for picnickers.

They have gone for crowd favourites for the four-day launch starting on November 27 – Fight Club, Avatar, The Lion King and Anchorman – but will be getting fans involved in deciding future screenings with new releases an option.

Once up and running, screenings will be on Sunday nights at Trentham from September through to April, and available through the winter months for community fundraising events.

With just little over seven weeks until summer, two young creative business tycoons are bringing back the swinging 60’s with Wellington’s first permanent outdoor and drive in cinema, set to launch in late November.

The outdoor cinema, set in the picturesque courtyard of the Trentham Racecource, features an impressive 40 foot inflatable air screen and in-car audio transmission, and is guaranteed to entertain scores of Wellintonians throughout the summer period.

Jonno Morrissey and Brady Dyer, the creative duo behind Firefly Cinemas, outline that the idea stemmed from a fascination with drive-in cinemas and the lack of social events available for Wellingtionians.

“The idea transpired after we became fascinated with drive in cinemas and wanted to go to one! People are increasingly becoming disinterested with multiplex cinemas and we wanted to provide a fun and intimate viewing experience”.

The opening week, starting Wednesday 27 November, will feature classic titles Anchorman, Fight Club, Avatar and the Lion King.

Standard tickets are competitively priced with admission available for just $30.00 per vehicle, making entertainment for the whole family financially attainable.

Tickets to the opening week, which include giveaways and prizes in recognition of the support from Wellingtonians, are available now from www.fireflycinemas.co.nz.

Please click here for logo and press images.

For more information and interview opportunities please contact:

Melissa Pearson
PearsonPR

021 135 6989
melissa@pearsonPR.co.nz
www.PearsonPR.co.nz