The downtown location has moved out of the alley and onto a parking garage rooftop. A second five-screen location off of I-35 presents a mix of new indie releases (“Maxxine,” “Robot Dreams”) and contemporary classics and cult faves (“Jaws,” “Dirty Dancing”).
When the pandemic hit and drive-ins enjoyed an unexpected resurgence, Frank’s idea for “Silents Synced” further crystallized. “There was not a lot of new content,” he says, “which led to serious outside-the-box thinking. What new type of movie experience would give people a compelling reason to go out to a movie theater?”
Frank is no stranger to quixotic quests. He spent five years co-creating a graphic novel based on Salvador Dali’s 1937 14-page treatment for a proposed Marx Brothers film, which at the time, MGM deemed unfilmable. “Giraffes on Horseback Salad” was published in 2015.
He knew bringing “Silents Synced” to fruition would not be—wait for it—duck soup.
But “Silents Synced” may have been made for these times. Coupled with low attendance woes, theaters are grappling with the effects of last year’s six month’s writer’s strike, which wreaked havoc on Hollywood’s production pipeline. “Inside & Out 2” and “Despicable Me 4” may be doing boffo business, but efforts to get people to return to their pre-pandemic habit of regular outings to the movie theater have been seemingly a mission: impossible.
Frank drew on treasured movie and music memories from his Gen-X youth. “I grew up in the days of midnight movies,” he says. “Every weekend, you knew your people would be at ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ There was also the Pink Floyd laser light show at our planetarium that synced Pink Floyd music to this trippy laser extravaganza.”
Frank envisions “Silents Synced” as a having the same repeatable potential that will appeal to film and music buffs, particularly fans of that particular band. Titles yet to bs announced for 2025 will be synced to They Might Be Giants, Pearl Jam, the Pixies and others.