Coming soon to a backyard near you

AS daylight turns to darkness, the tinkling of glasses and a faint girlish giggle float in the air outside a Spanish-style apartment complex in West Hollywood. The building would be easy to miss if not for an effervescent young woman dressed in a pink chiffon skirt and matching silk bustier, a tray of drinks balanced precariously against her frame.

“I’m Lindsay Gareth!” she exclaims, attempting to thrust a hand from beneath the bamboo tray. Framing her blond curls is a screen glowing blue, set back against a carriage house at the end of a driveway.

Welcome to Lindsay Gareth’s backyard movie theater.

The actress and part-time children’s dance teacher is celebrating her first feature film, “Bottom’s Up,” which has been released straight to DVD. There will be no red-carpet premiere, but like any resourceful hostess, Gareth has taken matters into her own hands and is screening the movie herself, in classic Southern California style: outdoors.

The drive-in may be near extinction and traditional movie theaters aren’t exactly thriving either, but the novelty of outdoor entertainment systems is catching on.

The introduction of smaller, higher-quality and more affordable LCD projectors coupled with surround-sound systems that emulate the theatrical experience has spurred the phenomenon. In some cases, these screening parties are inspired by “dive-in” movies offered poolside at some resorts or outdoor film presentations offered by West Hollywood and other cities.

Blame long lines, annoying crowds or $4 popcorn, but an L.A. Times Poll published in August revealed that, if given the choice, many young moviegoers would rather watch at home than in theaters.

When 21- to 24-year-olds were asked where they would prefer to see a new release, fewer than 1 in 10 said a traditional theater. About a third of the respondents said it depended on the movie. More than half said they would prefer to see new releases at home.

Rather than gather friends around a big-screen TV in her living room, Gareth has commandeered the driveway of her complex and furnished it with folding metal chairs, bamboo floor pillows from IKEA and fluffy white Flokati rugs. The place looks like a hip outdoor slumber party, art-directed just so.

T-shirts and halter tops are de rigueur, and with good reason. Early fall is a fine time for an alfresco screening in Southern California: Evenings are still warm enough, but skies turn dark earlier, so the main attraction need not turn into the late-late show.

“In this kind of space, you have to entertain outside,” says Gareth, whose 15 guests fit more comfortably outside than in her apartment. The casual nature of an outdoor gathering makes her job as hostess easier too. She quietly admits that she started prepping for the party only a few hours before friends began showing up.

Her setup is easy. The projector, which Gareth rented for $200 a day from Samy’s Camera in Venice, is hooked up to a PC tower with DVD playback capability. The screen is a simple white roll-up number -- the kind you saw in high school health class -- rented from Samy’s for $15.

Alex Mattern, an Orange County tech professional, tweaks the color balance on the projector as Lindsay’s boyfriend, Ben Mack, adjusts the focus.

“The key,” Mattern says, “is to test sound and video before your guests arrive.”

Later, a guest whispers that Mack is an Emmy-nominated producer of the fashion reality show “Project Runway,” which explains the arrival of Andre Gonzalo, one of the show’s contestants from last season.

“This is beautiful!” Gonzalo says upon seeing Gareth’s makeshift theater. Turns out Gonzalo designed the dress that Gareth recently wore to the Emmys.

Gareth does double duty as bartender and hostess, running back and forth between her kitchenette and her guests outside. (Her costar in “Bottom’s Up,” Paris Hilton, probably won’t be showing up.)

“I always invent a drink for a party I throw,” Gareth says. She hands a friend a martini glass brimming with a concoction the color of a bruised rose -- sake, club soda and “a splash of vodka.” Judging from the drink’s popularity, it’s more than a splash. It’s dubbed the Bottom’s Up.

Scores of dainty tea lights gently illuminate the scene. The young crowd devours plates of pot stickers, tempura and egg rolls over the pleasant hum of conversation. Snippets:

“You know Christina’s got a production deal, right?”

“I just got a MySpace message asking if I were dead. Does that make any sense?”

“I started on the show! Did you see it? It’s supposed to be on Channel 13.”

“He’s so famous now, none of us had heard from him until he got fired. So lame.”

Soon it’s show time. “Bottom’s Up,” the tale of a Midwestern bartender who gets caught up in the madness of Hollywood, begins to play. “Hotel Rwanda” it is not, but that’s the point. Frivolity proves more important than film, and the evening unfolds as a novel way to gather with friends under an L.A. sky. One guest says quietly to another, “We could do this.” And they probably will.

Jake Klein can be reached at home@latimes.com.

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The home cinema setup

Setting up a backyard theater can be inexpensive or easy, but usually not both. Some options:

Projector: If you buy a system piecemeal, start with the projector. It can run from $700 to $5,000, sometimes higher. “High definition” costs more than “enhanced definition.” Audio-videophiles say high definition is worth the extra expense because of the superior image quality. Low-end projectors get the job done, however, and some weigh as little as 5 pounds. Some incorporate a DVD player in their design; others can connect to an external player, such as a home computer.

Sound: Some people connect their projector to an external system, such as a home stereo. Some projector/DVD player combinations have built-in speakers, though the quality may not measure up to an external system.

Screen: Expect to pay $100 to $400. Some models roll up for storage; others are inflatable. And then there’s also the ultra-casual approach: a white sheet.

Complete systems: Theoretically, complete systems are easier to set up. The Frontgate catalog, for example, sells a system that includes projector/DVD player, inflatable screen and speakers starting at $1,998.

-- Jake Klein

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Take the family night outside

There’s no reason why a backyard movie screening can’t lean toward SpongeBob SquarePants instead of Paris Hilton.

Partners Carl and Terry Haley combine their son’s love for movies with their love for a good party by frequently throwing outdoor screenings for friends in their Toluca Lake backyard.

The couple, schoolteachers and movie aficionados, started these family-oriented movie nights a few years ago when their son was in preschool. As their circle of FWKs (Friends With Kids) grows, so too do the parties -- and if tonight’s feature presentation is any indication, they are as much a hit with parents as with kids.

“They do it up really well,” says friend Helene Goldsen, taking a break from helping her son Brenner, 7, fill a squirt gun. “Brenner loves it so much, we’re doing our own.”

The Haleys were inspired by a couple of movie nights at their son’s school.

“It is such a great way to get your friends together with the kids,” says Carl, who usually works the barbecue while Terry takes charge of the projection.

The Haleys’ title selections lean toward the eclectic and the campy. Tonight’s film is the original 1960s tale of Herbie, “The Love Bug.” Lindsay Lohan, to many parents’ relief, is nowhere in sight.

Before the opening credits roll, children run through the house, burning off steam. Gleeful cries erupt from manic 6- and 7-year-olds, including one boy who yells “Movies!” as he tries to tackle a taller girl skipping ahead.

By the time the sun slips behind the hills, the din of child’s play and conversation dies down. The crowd settles into fold-up chairs, candy-colored beanbags and wool blankets fanned out across a patch of lawn. The projector is switched on, and an audience clown makes shadow puppets in the light shining on the screen -- a white sheet hung from a pergola, the effect invitingly homespun.

No annoying commercials, no pre-show pleas for silence during the film. Instead, the crowd is shushed by the flash of the first image, a little PowerPoint message from Carl: “Diapers may be changed in theatre.” Parents giggle.

Herbie appears on screen. The kids love the film. The Haleys’ backyard begins to feel like an old-time drive-in.

Terry’s parting tips: Give the projector a trial run the night before the party. Decide in advance where partygoers will sit, and run cords out of the way, so no one will trip. And, finally, don’t forget the popcorn. “For some reason, popcorn is what people remember. Buy a big bag.”

-- Jake Klein