Friday, November 19, 2010

The Midnight Showing-ers

So while I am a little concerned at this particular group of people, I'd like to come clean right now and admit that there are a few movies that I would never miss a midnight showing for. Timing wise, you might guess that one of them is Harry Potter. On that list have also been Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, considering that LOTR is over, Spiderman is not as good anymore, and Orlando Bloom is not in the next Pirates movie, it's safe to say that I may now be contained to Harry Potter.

Which fortunately, is an idea that I am completely ok with. I have never been ashamed of my intense obsession with the Harry Potter series. I can remember exactly the moment when I was first handed the books, over 10 years ago when only two were in existence. I was an avid fan long before it became "cool" to be a fan, and for the first 6 weeks after the premiere of the first movie refused to see it because "it would not be good enough." However, as I have matured I have become almost as emotionally attached to the movies as to the books, and so I feel obligated to share with the world the types of people who I have encountered on these trips.

The Avid Fans (me): These people come in costume down to teasing/dying/creating a wig for their hair. From the genuine robes to the props accompanying (snitch, glasses, scar, broom etc) these people feel a strong emotional connection with every aspect of the movie (book premiere). To them, the thought of NOT seeing it at midnight is painful, and it is stressful enough knowing that in earlier parts of the world the movie has already premiered (the only time Central time one-ups Eastern time). These people will shush you in the movie, and expect you to be ushered out if you do not comply with their shushing. Do not question or push these people, they may snap fairly easily.

The other fans: Second to the avid fans, these may show up in one simple piece of themed clothing--ie a tshirt, or a blanket with the logo of the movie imprinted on it. While these people would never wear normal clothes to a midnight premiere, they are certainly not willing to compromise the color of their hair or their forehead skin for something that will last approximately 3 hours. They are, however, just as intense about not being able to see it the moment it premieres in the first region of the world, and have probably doodled their names in hearts with the name of the main character more than once as well.

The friends of the avid/fans: These people are recognizable by their lack of costume--ie they look like normal people who happen to be at a movie. Friends are normally seen texting, making fun of, or generally disdaining the avid fans, who in turn feel equally negative towards the friends for NOT showing up in costume. Whether or not they are the first people to see it is irrelevant, however anyone who shows up to a midnight premiere does not want the movie ruined for them.

Those others: Others are my least favorite people. In cases like Harry Potter, they are people who have perhaps never been to a midnight premiere of HP, or worse, have never even read the books. These are the people that will be shushed and perhaps assaulted by the avid fans, for talking, making inappropriate comments, laughing at the pain of a character, or otherwise ruining the overall aura created by the avid fans in their costumes. Should not be left alone with an avid fan, and hopefully will fall asleep early on in the movie so as to stop their incessant noise-making.

The 3-am movie attenders (also, me): This is an interesting crowd. Anyone willing to see a movie that begins at 3 am and is known to be over 2 hours long should fall into the avid-fan-who-did-not-realize-the-midnight-showings-were-sold-out crowd, but unfortunately also attract other weirdos as well. The 3 am crowd can consist of a mix of the earlier groupings, of which only the avid fans will make it all the way through the movie without falling asleep once and will continue to feel adrenaline until the final credit has rolled and the movie has been thoroughly dissected. These people also include others who thought a midnight premiere of a super-cool movie might be fun, but also missed the boat on getting tickets, as well as a group of weird people who I assume do normally function during these strange hours.

1 comment:

  1. central time had to wait an hour. beebs was upset about it.

    ReplyDelete