Movies by Moonlight - Bringing the movies anywhere under the moon!

We start with an enormous 26 by 36 foot inflatable screen. We pair that with state of the art projection & stereo equipment. The result is a fun replication of the drive-in movie experience.

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PORTABLE THEATER'S OWNER COMES HOME TO FRANKLIN MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT TO BENEFIT STADIUM

Author: Phyllis Speidell, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
August 7, 2004

With the soft whir of an air compressor, a 50-foot-long stretch of black vinyl heaved itself to life.

A trio of helpers tugged at the edges, urging it first into a head-high roll. Then, swinging on the 2-inch guide ropes like land-bound yachtsmen, they guided the expanding balloon into a 30-foot tall tethered movie screen.

Movies by Moonlight arrived in Franklin on Friday, bringing a popular trend abroad to this small city.

"We try to create the nostalgia of the drive-in movie with the energy of a neighborhood block party," said Clay Councill, a partner in Movies by Moonlight.

Councill, 27, and Anthony Flynn, 25, walked away from the corporate world earlier this year to travel the Southeast with their German-made inflatable movie screen, computerized projection equipment and a portable concession stand.

"We show feel-good classics to gatherings on any green space, football field or park," Councill said.

The pair are in Franklin, Councill's home town, to help raise funds for new bleachers at the city's 50-year old stadium, the same field where he was captain of Franklin High's football team a decade ago. Two local sponsors picked up the $4,000 fee. Admission fee of $1 will go to the Friends of the Stadium.

Their Franklin appearance marks the beginning of Movies by Moonlight's first major tour, with 10 shows booked for August in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

For now, the pair travels with a rented truck and does most of the work alone, from negotiating contracts to driving the tall iron stakes that anchor the screen into the ground.

Their goals are big, however - four to five screens in five years, touring the Southeast year-round.

"We don't profess to have everything figured out now, but we're young, committed and just smart enough to figure it out and make it work." Councill said.