The Riverhead Project, an old bank turned high-end restaurant, is now also introducing a series of film screenings for those warm nights throughout the entire summer season.
The restaurant team recently installed a big outdoor movie screen on their bar patio, with an inside projector shining the movie images through the glass doors so films can still be viewed when it rains. There is also an easy switch so that the movie sound can play inside the restaurant if needed.
Movies will be shown when dusk breaks on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Each week will have a different theme, and films will be selected by a “guest curator” according to that theme.
“We started this in the winter but then I had to pick out all of the movies myself and that was no fun,” owner Dennis McDermott said. “So instead of having me pick out 16 movies every month, we have the guest curators from around the area, which helps bring the community together and also makes a difficult thing really fun.”
Guests will be able to enjoy a special cinematic-inspired cocktail that the curator has chosen to go along with the film as well as complimentary popcorn. There is no requirement to eat at the restaurant before the screening; it is free of charge and open to all. Still, dinner and a movie is always a classic combo.
This past week successfully concluded the first theme of “Feel Good Movies,” with films selected by Debra Halpert of Hamptons Magazine.
Next week boasts a “Spy Movie” theme, with the guest curator being restaurant bartender Mike Otto.
“I picked spy movies because deep down I think every guy has some part of him that dreams of being a secret agent,” Otto said. “A curious enigma that can effortlessly hold his own whether it’s at the poker table, behind the wheel of a luxury sportscar, or in hand-to-hand combat — a smooth operator who never loses his cool and always gets the girl.”
June 9 will show the newer James Bond film, “Casino Royale”; June 10 shows “The Borne Identity”; June 13 shows French film “La Femme Nikita”; and June 14 shows the more classic Bond flick, “Goldfinger.”
Next is the week of June 16, the theme being “Foodie Movies” chosen by Kim Folks, a Hamptons event planner. On June 16 “Like Water for Chocolate” will be screened; on June 17, “Sideways”; on June 20, “Chocolat”; and on June 21, “Julie and Julia.”
For the last week of the movie project in June, curator Yvonne Liebline, the coordinator of “The Book Project” (a book club hosted at the restaurant), suitably chooses films for the theme “Movies Inspired by Books.” On June 23 they will screen “The Great Gatsby” with Robert Redford; on June 24, “The Life of Pi”; on June 27, “Great Expectations”; and on June 28 “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
The schedule for the rest of the summer is not up yet, but future curators include the East End Arts Council and the Southold Town Historical Society, just to name a few.
For more information or questions about the schedule, contact The Restaurant Project at 631-284-9300 or visit the website at http://theriverheadproject.com/. The restaurant is located at 300 East Main Street in Riverhead.
Photo by Claire Leaden
