IT’S OKAY… GO BACK AND SEE IT AGAIN.
When I was growing up, seeing a movie in theaters twice was unheard of. Before I had my driver’s license it was pretty much an impossible feat to accomplish. I lived about 30 minutes outside of a reasonably large city and trips to the theater were few and far between.
But you aren’t a movie nerd if you’ve never seen a movie twice during it’s theatrical run. I finally did it in 1999 when Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was released. A group of my friends cut school (sorry mom) and took a bus into the city to stand in line for a matinee.
In those days, we didn’t have giant Silver City complexes with 12+ screens and dozens of opportunities to catch new releases. There were two theaters with maybe 10 total screens combined. We wound up standing outside for hours waiting for the doors to open.
I remember the excitement like it was yesterday. Not necessarily because it was Star Wars but because I was at a movie on my own. Two days later, I made the trip into the city again and saw Episode 1 a second time.
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A few years later, The Matrix Reloaded became my first triple viewing experience and the first movie I saw on back to back days. My third trip to see the film was also the first time I saw a movie by myself. Nobody wanted to come with me, so I went alone listening to a CD with containing the Burly Brawl track.
The flood gates opened. I demolished a barrier and no longer felt self conscious sitting in a theater by myself. From that day on I never missed a movie whether someone came with me or not.
The nerdiest experience I’ve ever had in theaters was an 18 hour stretch on July 18th, 2008. Movie nerds can probably guess why.
THE DARK KNIGHT
I waited in line for 3 hours to see The Dark Knight at midnight on opening day with some friends. 3 hours wondering what the Joker would unleash on Gotham. The show was absolutely packed and before the movie ended, I was already planning to catch a matinee alone the following morning.
At noon, I was standing in another line waiting to see it. I couldn’t wait. Just before THAT screening started, I got a call from a friend who was catching a show in the same theater at 3pm. Why not?
And so I wound up seeing The Dark Knight 3 times on opening day. A record I’m positive will never be broken.
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IT’S COOL TO SEE MOVIES BY YOURSELF
Movies mean so much to me. They’ve defined the better part of my life. For decades, I’ve surrounded myself with the movies I love. I’ve spent countless hours pouring over screenplays and writing my own. I’ve even made a few short films along the way.
For the last three years, I’ve been updating this blog all most everyday. I love movies. I’m a proud movie nerd.
That’s why no one was surprised when I saw The Avengers a third time this week.
