Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Oscar overdose, take two: Dallas film lover watches all five “best picture” nominees in one day

... and writes about it for Pegasus News.

Tim Edwards and John P. Meyer

As reported on Monday (Feb. 25), my special correspondents (aka "contest winners") assigned to cover the experience of sitting through 12 hours of five straight Oscar-nominated best film movie screenings ran into difficulty using their provided passes to get into the theater.

Tim Edwards decided to attend the event at the Northpark AMC; he called my cell just before 11 a.m. (start-time for the movie marathon) and said, "Hey, John, I'm being turned away." Tim did not sound pleased. (And who could blame him?)

Tim prepares for his oscar-nominated movie-watching marathon, with the help of accommodating Northpark AMC management. (Not really.)

Whether as a result of my contact with the PR person who provided the passes, or the scene Tim was making in the theater lobby, the management decided to let the guy in. (Good choice, Northpark AMC management - considering I'm practically sponsoring one of your 15 theater auditoriums by my regular ticket purchasing visitations, you're not losing money on this deal, trust me.)

What follows is Tim's account of the longest stint of movie-watching of his adult life.

(Oh, and Tim: next time, hold the spit.)

- JM

**********

After coming to the realization that I have done the unthinkable; I have volunteered to sit through five - yes, ALL FIVE - of the Academy Award nominees for the Best Picture Oscar, none of which I’d seen, and serve as a guest columnist for PegNews. What was I thinking? I haven’t sat through five straight movies since I was in high school. Well, I had already spit on my palm and shaken hands with John Meyer, and that meant I was committed. It also meant I got to play catch-up on my movies in just one day! Here is one accounting of an Oscar-eve adventure:

Although I live in Fort Worth, I tend to do most of my movie watching in Dallas. As such, I chose to do my viewing at the AMC Northpark. It is one of my favorite cineplexes. So, I traversed the Metroplex on a beautiful Saturday to take it all in. I arrived about 10 minutes before 11 o’clock and was immediately treated as if I had a purple horn sticking out of my forehead. Fortunately, Autumn - an assistant manager - got me taken care of within five minutes of my call to John Meyer. From disgruntled to gruntled in record time!

I made my way up the escalator, to the concession stand; got my bottomless popcorn (included) and my unlimited refill Diet Coke ($5.00); and made my way to my seat. What a surprise! The house was about 70-75% full! I had to take a lower seat that had me looking up for 12 hours. Ugh!

Michael Clayton: 11:00am

I walked in right as the movie started; the crowd was prepared, armed with pillows, popcorn, soft drinks, and snacks. There was even a quite attractive lady sporting pajama bottoms and canvas tennis shoes. Others were proudly wearing their Boston Red Sox gear: t-shirts and hats. Hey, where are all the Texas Rangers fans? All were dressed for comfort. The crowd was well-behaved. The movie was great! For those who haven’t seen it, DO!!! After a half-bag of popcorn and a large soda, it’s time to relieve and stretch the legs. Score: one movie down, four to go.

This might have been the scene at the AMC Northpark if Daniel Day Lewis had decided to visit last Saturday. (And it might not.)

There Will be Blood: 1:20pm

The lovely and talented Michelle Tetro, Senior Manager (AMC first assistant) and emcee-extraordinaire, leads a trivia contest for the viewers before the second show starts. This also happens between shows two, three & four. I watched this film with a level of intensity that I wasn’t expecting to expend. What a world-class performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. Until reading the credits, I was unaware that this was based on the Upton Sinclair novel, Oil. Aha! Now it’s clear why the capitalist is the bad guy. Place another vote in the plus column. Score: two movies down, three to go. In addition, another Diet Coke goes down with a bit more popcorn. It’s time to go get some ‘real food’ from the food court.

Atonement: 4:20 pm

Set in 1930’s and '40’s England, this film gets overshadowed by the fact that it’s following a very long and dark film with a violent ending. The highlight of this film was the beautiful images of the English countryside and goddess incarnate Keira Knightly stepping out of a fountain whilst soaking wet, not once but twice! This was the only time-jumping sequence that I did not mind. Beyond that, the film was really good and the crowd was entranced by it through most of the picture. Score: three down, two to go. Another half a Diet Coke down, too.

Juno: 7:00pm

The AMC Northpark crowd seemed ready for this quirky teenage pregnancy comedy/drama after a thriller and two heavy dramas. The crowd seemed to really enjoy this film. I really needed one like this too. My body was holding together well, as was my constitution, I just needed something lighter. This one fit the bill. A couple who were a generation my senior had been sitting one row behind me since There Will be Blood. It’s really interesting hearing what would certainly be my parents’ reactions in the form of their comments. I had eased down to the bulk candy store between the last two features for some necessary sweets; after snacking my way through Juno, I need to shake off the sugar high and get one last soft drink refill before the finale. Score: four down, one to go!

No Country for Old Men: 9:00pm

This is another one that I have been hearing a lot about. Of course, when the brothers Coen make a movie, the world braces for it! We had a room-full of weary movie watchers bracing as well. General Manager Charles Pool takes the time to thank us all for taking part in the second annual event, stating that it has exceeded expectations. It starts with panoramic (desolate) views of west Texas and gets weirder by the minute. The entire crowd seems to get drawn in as Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss and Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh play cat and mouse throughout the west Texas and Mexican landscapes. Bardem’s insane dedication to his trade is spectacular! Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson also play great supporting roles in a film that I felt was the best way to top off the night. As the lights come on for this final time, we all looked tired, yet proud of the accomplishment of this feat of endurance. Final score: five great films, 12 hours, four large Diet Cokes, and a bit over a half-bag of popcorn - and one tired fellow who had a 50-minute drive ahead of him. To the credit of the Coca-Cola Company, I didn’t drowse off during any of the shows, although there were a couple of times when the yawns were sneaking though! I stopped over at the concession stand for one final refill for the road. I have had a great time and I have 365 days (thanks due to leap year for the bonus day!) to rest up before doing it all over again next year!

- Tim Edwards

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