I’m a gainfully employed adult who must arrive at the office by 8AM every day of the week. It’s a fact of life that doesn’t always mesh well with my inner nerd who loves to stay up until 2AM watching 80s movies or an entire season of a TV show in one sitting.
These days there are very few occasions in which I break my strict 10:30 PM bedtime. But, there’s one sacred event that happens a couple times a year.
The glorious midnight premiere.
Here’s 10 reasons to shun responsibility and attend a midnight premiere:
- The anticipation of seeing your favorite book turned movie (see, The Hunger Games, The Harry Potter Series) on the big screen is *almost* on par with waiting for the next book to come out. There will never be another Hunger Games book, but I won’t let that dampen my joy for seeing each of the books adapted.
- The fandom comes out in full-force for a midnight premiere. There’s something special about sitting in a room with 300 other Batman fans just waiting to see if it will meet your expectations.
- Avoiding social media spoilers can most easily be achieved through being the first of your friends to see the flick. Be warned though: Don’t be the jerk-off that gives away a major plot element or change in a status update.
- Reusing your Halloween costume or better yet, strategically plan next year’s Halloween costume so that you can wear it again to another midnight premiere!
- Buying tickets online has made one of my favorite midnight premiere traditions go extinct: waiting in line for 5 hours before the show to buy your tickets. While this may no longer be necessary, I still show up several hours early to all my midnight premieres in reverence of this tradition.
- Spot number six is reserved for people who show up with blankets and pillows. I’ve seen this and I have to admit that I’m not brave enough to try it myself. It looks gloriously comfy though.
- Eating popcorn at 1AM has a special place in my heart and my stomach. Is it just me or is the popcorn saltier, warmer and fresher in the middle of the night?
- Next time you’re sitting at a midnight premiere, waiting for the movie to begin, just remember this: At this moment in time, literally hundreds and thousands of people are doing the exact same thing. It’s nearly a spiritual thought, isn’t it?
- If you’re the responsible adult who attempts to go to work the next morning, here’s to you and your midnight premiere hangover. It’s kind of fun coding with a popcorn coma anyway.
- PTO. Paid time off is glorious. If it wasn’t made for the midnight premiere hangover, I don’t want to know what it’s really for.
Elizabeth Giorgi is a writer and filmmaker from Minneapolis. She blogs about mixing life as a nerd with her career at beinggeekchic.com. In 2010, she was nominated for a Webby and won an Emmy for Science of Watchmen. Follow her on Twitter: @lizgiorgi
