August 8: Free Screening of "Annie Hall" at Coney Island Flicks on the Beach

Pre-Show Featuring History, Trivia & Prizes from Coney Island History Project

Join us on Monday evening, August 8th, for a free screening of Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" at the Coney Island Flicks on the Beach Series. The Coney Island History Project is co-sponsoring this week's pre-show, which begins at 7pm with a Coney Island and "Annie Hall" trivia contest for which we've provided some quirky questions. There will also be a Woody Allen impressionist contest organized by Rooftop Films. If you're interested in participating, you can e-mail woody@rooftopfilms.com. Prizes include Coney Island History Project T-shirts, autographed copies of History Project Director Charles Denson's "Wild Ride: A Coney Island Roller Coaster Family," and tickets for our popular Sunday Walking Tour of Coney Island. Stop by CIHP's tent on the Boardwalk to say hello, pick up a free copy of our History Puzzler, and learn about our exhibit center and oral history archive.

"Annie Hall," which screens around 8:40pm, chronicles the romantic relationship of neurotic New York comedy writer Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) with the charmingly flaky Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) in 1970s Manhattan. Some of the scenes from Alvy Singer's childhood were filmed in Coney Island. You'll have to brush up on history to correctly answer our trivia questions! Stan Fox, who works with the Coney Island History Project, will share his memories of the 1976 filming of "Annie Hall" at Monday's pre-show and at CIHP's booth. Fox operated the Playland penny arcades in Coney Island from the 1940s through the 1980s. One of his never-before-told anecdotes is about how the Parachute Jump almost played a starring role in "Annie Hall."

Also on Monday night's program is Charles Denson's photographic tribute to the late Andy Badalamenti, who operated Coney Island's Himalaya, Bobsled and Tornado. Around 8:30 pm, Rooftop Films will present the short film "Bottle," a film animated on location at a beach, in snow, and underwater about a transoceanic love affair and messages in a bottle. Films are shown at dusk on a jumbo 40-foot screen on the beach at West 10th Street every Monday night through August 29. The free summer series is presented by Epix, Verizon FiOS, NYC & Company, Rooftop Films and the Coney Island Development Corporation. For info about upcoming films, visit the Coney Island Fun Guide.