NYC Free: Tribeca Drive-In Outoor Movies

 It’s called the Tribeca Drive-In Dinner and a Movie, but you can enjoy the FREE outdoor film screenings with or without food before or after.

This is the second second consecutive year for this outdoor movie series, and all the featured films feature food, including Disney’s beloved Lady and the Tramp, When Harry Met Sally and that famous scene at Katz’s Delicatessen, and Chef,a recent feature about a foodie turning his passion into a business.

It’s a timely theme, about bringing individuals and communities together for bonding over new and shared cuisines, planned and scheduled long before the recent untimely death of CNN’s Anthony Bourdain.

it’s also the theme of this year’s FREE outdoor Films on the Green, featuring French films about the intersection of food and wine with national culture.

Tribeca Drive-In screenings are Thusdays, Fridays and Saturdays, once a month, starting this week, at Lower Manhattan’s Oculus Plaza (located at the corner of Church and Dey streets) curated by the Tribeca Film Festival’s programmers.

Doors open at 5pm, films begin at 7:30pm.

Tickets are required for admission, and seating is first come first served.

In addition to the films, there’s also enjoy live music and the chance to win prizes from Westfield World Trade Center’s retailers. Plus, of course, food and beverages are available  including from Eataly NYC Downtown, Epicerie Boulud, Choza Taqueria, Nobletree Coffee, Nunu Chocolates, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, Grom, and Blue Bottle Coffee.

Schedule for Tribeca Drive In Dinner and a Movie

Thursday, June 14th – La La Land

(2016) Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, J.K. Simmons, Rosemarie DeWitt
Host: Jaymee Sire
Performance: DJ Empanadamn
Plot: Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Friday, June 15 – Chef

(2014) Directed by: Jon Favreau
Cast: Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Olive Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr.
Host: Jaynes Beard
Performance: Matt Sucich
Plot: After a controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman) pushes him too far, chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) quits his position at a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant. As he tries to figure out what his next step should be, he finds himself in Miami. Carl joins forces with his ex-wife (Sofía Vergara), best friend (John Leguizamo) and son (Emjay Anthony) to launch a food-truck business, and the venture provides a chance to reignite his passion for cooking — as well as his zest for life and love.

Saturday, June 16 – The Princess and the Frog

(2009) Directed by: John Musker and Ron Clements
Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, John Musker
Host: Jaynes Beard
Plot: Hardworking and ambitious, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), who has been turned into an amphibian by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana — thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair hop along on an adventure through the bayous to seek the help of a powerful voodoo priestess.

Thursday, July 12 – When Harry Met Sally

(1989) Directed by: Rob Reiner
Cast: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Host: Heritage Radio’s “Snacky Tunes”
Performance: DJ Empanadamn
Plot: In 1977, college graduates Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) share a contentious car ride from Chicago to New York, during which they argue about whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. Ten years later, Harry and Sally meet again at a bookstore, and in the company of their respective best friends, Jess (Bruno Kirby) and Marie (Carrie Fisher), attempt to stay friends without sex becoming an issue between them.

Friday, July 13 – Moonstruck

(1987) Directed by: Norman Jewison
Cast: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, John Mahoney
Host: Heritage Radio’s “Snacky Tunes”
Plot: No sooner does Italian-American widow Loretta (Cher) accept a marriage proposal from her doltish boyfriend, Johnny (Danny Aiello), than she finds herself falling for his younger brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage). She tries to resist, but Ronny lost his hand in an accident he blames on his brother, and has no scruples about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls deeper in love, she comes to learn that she’s not the only one in her family with a secret romance.

Saturday, July 14 – Lady and the Tramp

(1955) Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Cast: Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson
Host: Heritage Radio’s “Snacky Tunes”
Plot: This Disney animated classic follows a pampered cocker spaniel named Lady (Barbara Luddy) whose comfortable life slips away once her owners have a baby. When, after some tense circumstances, Lady finds herself on the loose and out on the street, she is befriended and protected by the tough stray mutt Tramp (Larry Roberts). A romance begins to blossom between the two dogs, but their many differences, along with more drama at Lady’s household, threaten to keep them apart.

Thursday, August 9 – Mean Girls

(2004) Directed by: Mark Waters
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Amy Poehler

Plot: Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is the prince of a wealthy African country and wants for nothing, except a wife who will love him in spite of his title. To escape an arranged marriage, Akeem flees to America accompanied by his persnickety sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), to find his queen. Disguised as a foreign student working in fast food, he romances Lisa (Shari Headley), but struggles with revealing his true identity to her and his marital intentions to his king father (James Earl Jones).

Saturday, August 11 – Elf

(2003) Directed by: Jon Favreau
Cast: Will Ferrell, Zoosy Deschanel, James Caan, Peter Dinklage, Ed Asner, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen
Plot: Buddy (Will Ferrell) was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves. Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn’t fit in, the adult Buddy travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father. As it happens, this is Walter Hobbs (James Caan), a cynical businessman. After a DNA test proves this, Walter reluctantly attempts to start a relationship with the childlike Buddy with increasingly chaotic results.