I consider movies to be the ultimate form of entertainment. In just two hours (or possibly three if you’re settling in for a Steven Spielberg movie), you meet new people, learn about their lives, wrestle with a problem and, most of the time, you reach a solution with them. Leaving the theatre, you chat with your friends or family about the storyline, possibly happily agreeing or vehemently challenging the story line and execution of the film. What’s the one drawback of this fun-filled activity that provides solace from our everyday lives, you may ask? Generally, we shell out 10 bucks to sit in a dark room and escape into another world.
BUT, Wake Forest students take comfort in the fact that this doesn’t have to be you! You can beat the movie-going system and rely on our Universal Studios Campus Rep, Maxine Rusbasan (previous Her Campus celebrity woot woot), to bring you all the upcoming movies for free! Last semester, Wake hosted two FREE screenings of movies that weren’t released in theatres for several months after. For a frequent movie-goer, like myself, these opportunities cannot be missed.
This past semester, Rusbasan hosted several movie screenings on campus, most notably Lone Survivor. The movie, which was shown on Wake Forest’s campus nearly a month and a half prior to the actual release date, tells the story of four navy SEALs on a mission to scout and locate a Taliban leader. Out in theatres now, the movie generated an estimated $38.5 million dollars in its opening weekend. This was the biggest January movie opening since Cloverfield in 2008, according to Moviefone.com writer Gary Susman. This surprise movie hit is based on the true story of Marcus Luttrell, who experienced every intense, painful and hopeful moment portrayed on screen.
Previous movies screened at Wake Forest include the surprisingly popular and quirky Pitch Perfect and of course, the ultimate wedding movie, Bridesmaids. Both movies were screened at least a month before the actual release dates. Universal uses Wake Forest, as well as campuses all across the country, as guinea pig audiences to gage how well their movies will fare when they actually reach the box office. Based on the previous movies screened here, it’s clear we are very lucky to have our very own Universal Representative.
I urge you all to look out for these free movies that our Universal Representative brings to campus! Obviously, Wake is lucky enough to see gems like Lone Survivor, and we have more opportunities to look forward to. If y’all want more information – if you don’t you cray because it’s free movies – go to Wake Forest’s Universal Facebook page to see upcoming events! Hope to see y’all at the next screening!