Blog: February 2009

Last week, I went to an advanced screening of Kyle Newman's FANBOYS. In the past, I've written about these advanced screenings, but this one was different (though equally bizarre).

Unlike most of these things, getting a pass wasn't as simple as waiting in line at a book store or something like that. You actually had to work to get these things. I got mine, for example, in a contest sponsored by Ain't It Cool News. They only had 20 passes, and in order to get one, you had to answer the question, "If you were to break into Skywalker Ranch, what's the first thing you'd steal, and why?" My winning response was, "I'd steal all of the footage shot for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and give it to Irvin Kershner so that he could make a director's cut of the film."

Because of this unusual form of distribution, the regular wierdos were not present. There was a whole different group of wierdos there instead. I got to the theater about a hour before showtime and to my surprise, there were only two people already in line. The first guy, who had already been there for an hour, had Coke-bottle glasses. Guy #2 looked normal enough, except that he was wearing a Nostromo crew jacket from ALIEN.

There were about half a dozen other people who were also there for the screening, but not in line. They all had the distinctive Tupperware boxes associated with stormtrooper costumes. And yes, I did recognize one them, and even remember having a conversation with her about STAR TREK: VOYAGER while standing in my very own living room.

As the line grew, the nerd ratio escalated to an obscene level. It peaked when a normal unaware person wandered into the lobby to see BRIDE WARS, and made the mistake of asking someone in line what FANBOYS was about. "It's about a bunch of guys who break into Skywalker Ranch to steal a print of EPISODE ONE." Look. That sentence may be perfectly logical to someone like you or me, but it does not tell the average person anything at all about that movie! Episode One of what? And what the hell is Skywalker Ranch?

One last thing. As the stormtroopers came out to greet the crowd, no one, normal people included, batted an eye. People dressing up in stormtrooper costumes have become so mainstream that not even your average person on the street finds it to be the least bit strange. Is that a good thing or a very bad thing? You tell me...