Holy crow, so Movie Marathon Six came and went already and I didn’t write a single word about it here. But that’s okay, because I also haven’t written about my kids, the amazing trip we just took, or frankly anything (good or bad) that’s happened in my life for the last six months or so. But I’ve been on Jorge’s site a bunch of times today, and he reports on this little party so consistently and exhaustively that I can’t let him go it alone.
Here are the lessons I’ve learned from Movie Marathon 6:
When choosing the lineup, trust your gut. This was probably the second worst lineup we’ve ever had. (MM1 was, inarguably, the worst. Some would say MM3 was a stinker, but that’s just the Suspiria/Sunshine stank that everyone can still taste. Other than that, everything played brilliantly.) I’m not saying we watched a bunch of bad movies this year, we just had too many dramas back to back. There was what felt like a six hour block where I felt like people were just putting in time. And all the movies that gave me grief were ones that I had a funny feeling about when I slotted them in. I thought, maybe I shouldn’t have two old timey movies alongside one another. Maybe I’m putting too big an emphasis on movies people haven’t seen. In both cases, I should have listened to my gut.
Put more effort into the fan films. I was super conscious of time this year, and also overconfident in my improvisational brilliance. For so many of those videos, we’d pitch a basic concept, maybe talk out the first two lines, then I’d announce, “OKAY, LET’S DO THIS THING! WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT AS WE GO ALONG!” Sometimes it worked. (See Jorge in New Jack City and Shelly in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.) Other times, it didn’t. (See me in North By Northwest and Micmacs.)
Make sure you’ve acquired the films well before the event. I left a couple movies to chance this year, and on the day itself it turned out we couldn’t watch House or The Black Hole. I don’t feel that bad about House because my gut was telling me it was going to be super-weird as opposed to super-scary. We subbed in [REC] at the last minute, and that turned out to be proper good and proper scary. I am sad about missing The Black Hole though.
Drink less. I came into the event with a bad cold and I was super tired after a series of late nights with sick kiddos, so I was pretty sure I’d fall asleep at some point in the night. To facilitate my inevitable passing-out, I drank one thousand drinks. This had me out cold by about 3:30am, and out of commission for the rest of the night. There have been stories told about some of the things I did while exhausted and intoxicated (or, if you prefer: extoxicasted), but I will not recount them here. Talk to Jorge, Chris, Shelley, Rebecca or Sarah if you would like to hear about the words I said, the deeds I performed, or the flatulence I flatulated.
Now, it’s very important to stress that I had an excellent, excellent time! This event remains one of my favourite days of the year, and as always, I had an absolute blast. I’m just emphasizing the negative here for my own sake, so I can make it ever better next time.
NOW, thanks to everyone who came and helped out. The long-distance travelers (Jorge and Rebecca), the bloggers (Jorge), the people who felt me up (still Jorge), the bartenders (Chris), the bakers and food procurers (Rebecca, Sarah, Cathy), the Chief Party Administrators (Sarah), the plot synopsizers and killer mixed CD-makers (Shelley), the people who gave up their second last day of mat leave (Cathy), the people who stopped in to ensure 100% attendance for all marathons (Isha), the people who took care of our oldest, most savagey child (Sarah’s parents) frankly, everyone who attends and supports this craziness. I love you I love you I love you I love you.
Oh, and for history’s sake, here’s the intended lineup:
The King of Kong
New Jack City
Once
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Singin’ in the Rain
North By Northwest
Micmacs
The Black Hole
House (Japan)
The Human Centipede
Machete
The Fall
And the actual lineup:
The King of Kong
New Jack City
Once
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Singin’ in the Rain
North By Northwest
Micmacs
[REC]
The Human Centipede
Machete
The Fall
Comments
We really need to find a way to turn MM into a business-related trip, so I can write off my flight and the cost of Doritoes and booze.
Don't be so hard on yourself. You did the best you could given the fact that you had very little sleep due to the sick chilluns probably didn't help. Also, the fact that you were also sick...
T'was a good time. So no need to worry.
Re: Fan Films - A little planning doesn't hurt (as I indicated before). The added complication of some people being unconscious and there being a wee one in the house contributed to the lack of fan-filmage. Best to not do them if they are going to be crappy due to whatever reason.
I just want to take this opportunity to declare that I AM THE SOLE SLEEPLESS ONE FROM THIS EVENT.
Yeah.
And Beth - I think you should just bite the bullet and get your ass over to MM. Make a week out of it between Tronna and 'Twa.
Jorge, you did stay awake! Kudos! You also ensured that my comatose form went unmolested. Double kudos!