Now playing on the big supermarket wall

When Somerville real estate agent Jonathan Mitchell moved behind Johnnie's Foodmaster on Beacon Street two years ago, he was a little put off by the huge, bleak wall his porch faced.

Then Mitchell and his roommate had an idea. A sound technician friend loaned them a projector and, one night last summer, they screened ``Shaun of the Dead" on the dingy white wall. They were immediately smitten.

``It was one of those things. The first time we did it just made everybody happy," said Mitchell, 32. ``It was just a great thing to have a movie in the backyard."

Thus it became a Wednesday night event. His upstairs neighbors and a small group of friends began joining him to watch a movie from lawn chairs set up on his porch or the asphalt yard behind the supermarket.

On a recent Friday night, Mitchell and a handful of friends grilled shish kebobs and sausages before dousing their bodies with bug repellent and lining up lawn chairs to watch ``One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" just after dusk.

A cool breeze blew over the first-floor porch, where Mitchell had set up small speakers, and light glowed from neighboring three-deckers. At one point in the movie, a neighbor could be overheard screaming repeatedly to her mother. Some friends showed up partway through the movie, setting up chairs and grabbing beers from the fridge.

``It's such a unique experience to sit on the porch and kick your feet up and see a movie almost as big as you'd see in the theater," said Pete Melish, the sound technician.

He joked that all he needs is for Mitchell to set up a popcorn machine.

Dan Gerke, a 30-year-old Belmont translator who met Mitchell through a friend, said the movie nights are ``surprisingly fun." He was pleased to recently be added to Mitchell's movie night notification list.

``It's a lot more intimate even than a drive - in," he said.

One of Mitchell's favorite movie nights was last summer, when a rain shower in the middle of a movie forced the crowd to huddle on the porch. They covered the projector, set up on the porch with an umbrella, and watched the movie in the steadily falling rain. His friend, Jenni Alden, preferred the cool fall evening when she snuggled in a blanket and comfortable chair.

Mitchell, who has considered screening a movie on a cold winter night and asking friends to bring sleeping bags, grew so fond of the movie nights, he purchased a new projector to use this summer. At one point he even attempted to buy some theater seats but was scared off when he was told he'd have to take the whole theater's worth.

Last year he and his roommate, Jacob Benedict Drew, rigged a canvas sheet on the wall for screenings, but it fluttered in the breeze, distracting from the movie. One night , Drew, who has since moved to Los Angeles, painted a small section of the back of the market.

Mitchell regularly shops at Johnnie's, restocking his beer or F udgesicle supply and sending friends there for grilling supplies before the movie. He didn't think the owner would mind him showing movies there.

The store manager, Bob Iannaccone, called the idea of screening on the back of the store ``pretty neat," adding that the store appreciates the business of neighbors.

Mitchell now has a list of friends and acquaintances he notifies by e-mail of the movie gatherings, which have been limited this summer by rain. He said usually only a handful of people show up, but the screenings have been known to attract as many as 20 friends.

None of his neighbors in this Somerville neighborhood near Inman Square have complained, though a few have noted the curious sounds of ``The Muppet Movie" and the images of Johnny Depp dancing on the grocery store wall during ``Pirates of the Caribbean."

Ilana Hodsdon, whose family owns the building where Mitchell lives, said when she was showing an open apartment in the building recently, she mentioned Mitchell's movie nights.

``I just thought it was such a cool thing," she said, adding that it's the first time in the building's history that there has been a strong camaraderie among tenants.

Mitchell has screened about 10 movies for friends, but he also has enjoyed watching movies alone there.

One night he put on a set of headphones and took in ``The Italian Job."

``It was fantastic," he said. ``I had a movie theater in my backyard."