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Julie Mell always wanted to run a movie theater. On Thursday evening her dream came true.

Under an electric Half Moon Bay sunset, sandwiched between fields of immature Brussels sprouts and the historic James Johnston House, the longtime cinephile held her first screening, the locally-inspired surf film, “Chasing Mavericks,” starring Gerard Butler, Abigail Spencer and Elisabeth Shue. The movie was filmed nearby and in Santa Cruz, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

It is based on the life of local surfer Jay Moriarty, who at 16 became one of the youngest surfers to ever compete in the famed big wave surf contest held on the other end of town. Moriarty died in 2001 while freediving in the Maldives.

A 20-by-40-foot inflatable screen, the focal point of the pop-up, drive-in movie theater, began glowing at 7:30 p.m. as the headlights from a sold-out crowd of 150 vehicles arrived with pandemic-weary film buffs.
Brian Arnold, of Montara, added his pick up truck to the cue of early birds along Higgins Canyon Road.

“Whadda ya got,” he yelled at masked volunteers rolling Radio Flyer wagons loaded with popcorn and candy.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll take it. I’ll pay you double! I’m just glad to be out of the house!”

Arnold and his wife, Eileen, said they’ve been cooped up in their home for the past five months of the lockdown.

Each vehicle was charged $35 per carload (with no limits on passengers) and given a coupon book good for discounts at six partnering businesses that could use a boost.

“We’re all hurting,” Mell said, referring to the economic impact caused by the coronavirus on the San Mateo County coast.

Major events like FogFest and the Pumpkin Festival have been cancelled and Mell says people are starving for ways to get out of the house safely for some family fun during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was magical,” said Mell, as she doubled back Friday morning.

“I got a text from one person who couldn’t believe how wonderful it was. She even saw a shooting star above the movie screen toward the end of the night. She said it was definitely a message from Jay.”

A second outdoor screening is being planned for later this month.