Project: Dark Knight: Dark Knight Rises at the 5 Drive-In!

"Don't you wanna know who he was?"

"I know exactly who he was... he was the Batman." — John Blake and Jim Gordon

5 Drive-In at Oakville

The Dark Knight Rises at the 5 Drive-In! The epic conclusion of the Nolan Dark Knight franchise shines in spectactular blockbuster glory.

Dark Knight Rises

The expectations were set unrealistically high both by Nolan's amazing cinematography and by the fans, and the gates were flooded with movie-goers for the event way before doors opened.

The evening was filled with the buzz and excitement of the fans, the flurry of the staff and artist panel, the anticipation of the raffle and prizes, and of course, the Dark Knight himself.

Suiting up in front of the Batmobile

This entire past month of preparation finally came together in the one event, and I must say that I am truly impressed by it all. The set up crew got there around 6pm, and from there it was touch and go.

Everything came together as quickly and seamlessly as possible, the Drive-In staff were extremely helpful and accomodating for all of us, and everybody pitched in to make it all happen.

Even had me some face-time with Batman Glen from Orangeville, not to mention his gear (*silly grin*).

Adonis and Brittany

Caroline, Jill, and Adonis

The artists panel featured some amazing talent, headlining Adonis Howard, Brittany Marr, Caroline Austin Smith, Jill Dhakura, amongst others, all drawing free sketches after free sketches for Batman fans and movie-goers alike until the cows came home.

I have to give it up for these guys, because after the sun came down, and while everybody else were enjoying the movie, they were still drawing like nobody's business.

Batman Glen and fans

And Batman Glen. Wow, I can't see any kid to have ever met this guy and then grow up to not like Batman. What a public face and personality. Kids were climbing up all over the Batmobile, and the guy just grinned and beared it. He even gave me a couple of pointers as to building the suit and the batmobile during a short break.

Fans pay tribute to Batman and Batgirl

But of course we can't forget the fans. The turn out for the event was absolutely amazing. People were lining up to get pictures with Batman and the Batmobile, to get free sketches from the artists, and all in all the fans made such a wonderful day of it all, it was really incredible.

Movie-goers crowd the event

We did some special things for the fans as a special thank-you. On top of the free sketches that were given away, seven prizes were raffled off at the event, including graphic novels and a Batman card game (courtesy of Todd from Image Collections), as well as an Arkham Asylum styled batarang.

Aside from a few minor hiccups here and there, all in all the event was, in my opinion, a huge success. The whole cast and crew worked seamlessly to bring the whole thing together, the staff at the 5 were awesome, and the fans made us feel like it was all worth it in the end.