Friday, July 2, 2010
Page 15
AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)
Midnight Release Loses Its Appeal
By J’AMY PACHECO
All the good stuff happens at midnight.
Ask anyone other than Cinderella, and I think you’ll find that most people would agree with me.
That’s why, over the past few years, I’ve several times found myself standing in parking lots with hundreds of other people at midnight waiting for something really cool to happen.
The first time I waited up all night for something other than Santa, it was to meet an author who was then very popular: Lemony Snicket. There are two things that require clarification—the guy I eventually met isn’t really named Lemony Snicket, and it was well after midnight when the “good thing”—having my young daughter get her copy of “The Grim Grotto” signed by her then-favorite author—finally occurred.
But that’s another story. In fact, it’s a story I told here almost six years ago after my daughter, some friends and I all spent an unplanned night in a Torrance bookstore waiting for an autograph.
Since then, we’ve been out waiting for good stuff at midnight a lot.
We’ve apparently become a society bent on instant gratification. When a book or movie is scheduled to be released on a given date, we can’t wait until bookstores or theaters open at a normal hour that morning. Rather, we’ve taken to lining up for midnight releases.
I can’t even remember what first motivated me to try a midnight release party, but I’ve done plenty to date. Book release parties held late nights at bookstores, film releases at movie theaters, and even a late night party for one film’s soundtrack release at a trendy store.
I started doing this because of my daughter. Although I’m addicted enough to the Harry Potter series of books that I’ve ventured out near midnight for the releases of two books and a movie, it was my daughter’s love of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series that drove us to a bookstore in the middle of the night to await the midnight release of “Breaking Dawn.”
We had been attending a convention in Las Vegas, but left a dinner function to drive to a bookstore in that city to ensure my daughter would be among the first to find out what would happen between Bella and Edward. She stayed up all night reading, and ended up so freaked out that she had to ask to get into bed with her mom.
The same year, the iconic human and her vampire boyfriend came to the big screen. Of course, we had to be there at midnight to see it unfold.
We subsequently went out at midnight to watch Harry Potter’s most recent movie, and to see the second installment of “Twilight.”
With the “Twilight” films being such a hit, it’s no longer enough to see just one. For the second film’s release, we bought special tickets that allowed us to view the first film around 9:30 p.m., and then see the sequel at midnight.
This year, I learned that our local theater would do a trilogy, showing the first two films beginning at 7 p.m., culminating in the latest, “Eclipse,” at midnight. Of course, I bought tickets.
Around 10 that morning, I called the theater and learned that people had been lining up since 6 a.m. The lobby was filled, and the line had spilled outside. They recommended we head over by noon if we wanted to have a chance of sitting together.
I couldn’t imagine too many things more awful than spending 14 hours at a movie theater. Just the thought of having to eat theater food for two meals and share a bathroom with that big a crowd was enough to make me seriously think Edward the vampire is a lucky man.
I woke my summer-sleepy-head teenager up and gave her the bad news that we needed to get dressed and go get in line.
“Mom,” she said. “Why don’t we just let this one go? I don’t care if we wait to see it later.” I couldn’t believe my ears—no child ever gave a parent a greater gift.
There was, however, a tradeoff. The next Harry Potter movie will be released in November, and my reformed Twilight fan-girl insists on being there at midnight, Gryffindor robe and all.
I agreed, and we shook on it. I love Harry Potter enough that I think I can handle a little camping out to see him at midnight.
The question is, when should we get in line? I’m thinking Labor Day…
Copyright 2010, Metropolitan News Company