Varying audiences for late night movie showings
By Bobby Philbrook
While the "Late Night SCU" movie nights have been successful for on-campus student groups hoping to educate or entertain students, hosting "movie nights" can be either hit or miss.
Nine movies have been shown this quarter, including the new James Bond movie "Casino Royale" and comedy hit "Borat."
The movie nights sprang from a Jan. 3 e-mail sent by University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. The e-mail announced a new commitment to "initiating more late-night social and recreational activities" in order to prevent alcohol abuse among students, events which include showing movies already out of the theater but not yet released on DVD. Presidential Fellow Michael Harvey and Director of Recreation Janice DeMonsi co-chair the Late-Night SCU committee.
Harvey said the largest crowd so far has been to see Martin Scorsese's latest, "The Departed," on Feb. 2 and 3. He estimated that 40 to 50 people showed up at the 9 p.m. screenings on Friday and Saturday, but considerably less attended the 11 p.m. showings. On Feb. 10, only two people attended the late showing of "Borat," while on Feb. 16, about 20 people watched "Stranger Than Fiction" at 9 p.m., including junior Matt Moore.
"I'm a huge Will Farrell fan, so I figured I should check it out," said Moore. "It wasn't like the movie lured me away from going out and partying. It's just fun to watch funny movies."
Harvey said that although the program is partially a response to the increase in alcohol abuse, it's more about "trying to create an on-campus late-night, 'things-to-do' culture." Besides the colorful posters put up in the residence halls and in Benson, the Late-Night SCU committee also advertises in AS Vice President Julia Niles' weekly information e-mails.
Santa Clarans for Social Justice also hosted a successful movie night by offering a break from routine studying and work. On Jan. 25, approximately 75 people gathered on the Kennedy Lawn to watch an outdoor screening of the independent documentary "Invisible Children."
"It's a pretty sad, serious movie, but we wanted it to be a way for students to relax," said sophomore Annie Rovzar. "We told people to bring a blanket and a friend. Some students from Loyola even brought hot drinks."
The film showed the plight of African child-soldiers in Uganda. To create interest in a move about a dour subject, Rovzar and Beth Tellman, the student leader for SC4SJ, relied on word of mouth as well as formal marketing. Besides putting up posters and sending out e-mails, the group tabled, distributing materials from collapsible tables in Benson.
"Lots of attendees had seen the movie already and told their friends about it," said Rovzar. "But the people who made the film also gave us some really cool, well-made signs to put up. They also gave us these little postcards to hand out as we tabled."
The Health and Disabilities Department of the Santa Clara Community Action Program hosted a screening of Communication Professor Michael Whalen's documentary "Another First Step" on Jan. 18. The film was Whalen's thesis project while in film school at University of California, Los Angeles.
He documented his autistic uncle's life in institutions, with his family and in the workplace. After the 90-minute movie, senior Mary Claire Lauerman led a question-and-answer session with the professor.
"We worked hard to advertise the event, but only had about 20 people show up. I think students here are so self-involved in their own schedules, their own activities and school work, which I guess is legitimate." said Lauerman. "It was still a great discussion after the movie."
More movies are scheduled to be shown this year.
On Feb. 28, at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., Late-Night SCU will show "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny," starring Jack Black. The event is free, although Harvey acknowledged that the university pays a premium price to show films before their release on DVD.
Contact Bobby Philbrook at (408) 554-4546 or rphilbrook@scu.edu.