{"id":11673,"date":"2016-06-16T18:14:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T22:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=11673"},"modified":"2016-06-16T18:14:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T22:14:32","slug":"the-last-picture-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/the-last-picture-show\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Picture Show?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summerguide 2016 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

The man behind the camera at Pride’s Corner Drive-In is ready for his close-up.<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Michael Schoch<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"SG16-The-Last-Picture-Show\"When I meet up with the owner of Pride\u2019s Corner Drive-in<\/strong>, 47-year-old Andrew Tevanian, he\u2019s dressed as a World War II medic. His blonde hair streams out of an authentic-looking helmet and as he shakes my hand he all but shouts, \u201cPride\u2019s Corner Drive-in needs a heart transplant to stay open.<\/span>\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We meet at Corsetti\u2019s in Westbrook, where we sit at a picnic table that Tevanian has spangled in American flags and Veteran\u2019s Affairs banners. He is accompanied by a cameraman, with whom he\u00a0 <\/span>is making a documentary about the fate of the drive-in. In a flurry of what sound like campaign slogans, Tevanian alternately praises the veterans for whom drive-in theaters were originally built to entertain, and makes references to the erratic heartbeat of his family\u2019s establishment\u2013hence his costume.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tevanian likens the Pride\u2019s Corner Drive-in, which his father (himself a WWII vet) opened in 1952, to \u201ca prehistoric animal that\u2019s still breathing, but just barely.\u201d To stay open, the theater will need to convert from 35mm film projectors to digital. \u201cWhat we\u2019re running up against is technology,\u201d he laments. \u201c35mm film is becoming obsolete.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Drive-ins were once ubiquitous throughout America, fostering first loves and family bonding. \u201cIf I had a dollar for every baby that was conceived at that theater,\u201d Andrew says, \u201cI\u2019d [pay to] have Pink Floyd get back together.\u201d Nowadays, there are only six drive-ins in Maine and (according to Tevanian) several of them are struggling with the conversion to digital.<\/span><\/p>\n

After we head over to Pride\u2019s Corner, Andrew takes me on a tour of the snack bar and projection rooms, pointing to a pile of boxes containing film reels from last year. \u201cThis is the film,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t even pick it up now. It\u2019s more expensive to pick it up [and bring it back to the distributor] than it is to leave it.\u201d Without digital projectors, Pride\u2019s Corner has no product to sell or service to offer. The theater is such a part of Andrew\u2019s life he likens its closure to the illness of a family member, \u201cthis is like my dad in the nursing home. At 89 years old; it\u2019s $400 a day to keep him alive, and I need $80,000 to keep the drive-in alive.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As we pace through the narrow corridors of the unlit snack bar, Andrew mentions his father repeatedly. John Tevanian, a first-generation Armenian-American, opened the theater in 1953 with his brother, Avadis Tevanian. John now resides in an assisted-living home. Tearing up as he holds an empty film reel, Andrew says, \u201cI have sorrowful nights thinking about how this is something my dad put together. Soon he\u2019ll leave this earth. And [the drive-in] will either continue or…\u201d he trails off before stating the alternative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over in Bridgton, Andrew\u2019s brother, John Stephen Tevanian runs another drive-in, the Bridgton Twin, originally bought by their father in 1971. John has made his own sacrifices to update the Bridgton theater, updating his entire snack bar to offset the costs of the projectors. Over the phone, John muses, \u201cA reasonable person would probably have said you\u2019re better off doing something else, but I was born in the business.\u201d His dedication isn\u2019t lost on Andrew, who says, \u201cMy brother married the drive-in. The drive-in is essentially his wife.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cousins Greg, Mike, and Alan Tevanian own both Westport Motor Sports and Westport Bowling. Another cousin, Avie Jr., lives out in Silicon Valley and is currently the managing director of an investment firm. Avie achieved fame from 1997 to 2003 as the Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, working directly with Steve Jobs to revive the then-failing company and designing the revolutionary OS-8 Mac software system. [Read our interview with Avie: \u201cPride\u2019s Corner,\u201d October 1997]<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew seems aware that the technology gods have been fickle with the Tevanian family: the same advances in digital technology that helped propel Avie\u2019s meteoric career have indirectly lead to the current struggles of Pride\u2019s Corner. Yet regarding his cousin\u2019s success, Andrew is unwaveringly supportive. \u201cHe\u2019s made quite a life for himself out there with hard work and determination.\u201d Avie occasionally visits the drive-in during summers, but Andrew has never considered approaching him\u2013or any of his family members for that matter\u2013for financial support. \u201cThey have their own lives and their own businesses,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

To raise money, Andrew started a GoFundMe campaign last year, but it\u2019s now \u201cdead in the water.\u201d Tevanian hopes to start an IndieGoGo fund soon. In the meantime, those who would like to help can try messaging Andrew on Facebook, or visiting the Pride\u2019s Corner website. I ask Andrew if he knows when, if at all, he will open the drive-in this year. He shrugs his shoulders. \u201cBasically I\u2019m flying by the seat of my pants.\u201d In lieu of films to play, he\u2019s considering introducing, \u201csome sort of music festival\u2026maybe an outdoor stage with music and performances.\u201d Times are lean for the local landmark. Patting his stomach, the helmeted theater owner explains, \u201cI feel pressure in a lot of ways. I\u2019m not like this normally. I\u2019m not thin\u2013but I\u2019m eating cereal and soy milk every day. I\u2019m not eating lobster rolls.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever passionate and somewhat erratic, Andrew closed out our discussion by posing as the Statue of Liberty, one hand clutching an invisible torch and the other cradling his elderly terrier: \u201cI pledge to America\u2013like the Statue of Liberty that holds her torch high in the air\u2013to keep this drive-in alive, just like she keeps the harbors of New York alive\u2026 This is what makes us the best country in the world. God bless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You can donate to Pride\u2019s Corner at: http:\/\/bit.ly\/PridesCorner<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summerguide 2016
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