In an effort to continue providing fun and affordable events for the UC Davis student community, Entertainment Council has begun showing classic fan-favorite movies on Friday nights in Chem 194.
The movies, co-hosted with Filmmakers’ Ambitions (FA), an on-campus film discussion group, are intended to serve as a foundation for future movie nights. So far there have been two films screened -Jurassic Park on Nov. 12, and Love Actually this past Friday.
For $5, entry includes two tickets and one popcorn to share – a deal responsible for the events’ recent labeling as “date nights.”
Veronica Lee Rice, Entertainment Council co-cinema coordinator and senior film studies major, said that these movies are not just for couples looking to snuggle up in the warm, cozy confines of Chem 194.
“We don’t want to make it exclusive or weird for two [friends] to go for a cheaper price,” she said. “The purpose is to offer fun movies that are relatively cheap to students.”
She also said that going alone is nothing to be embarrassed about, but it will cost solo movie-goers slightly more – $3 for a ticket and popcorn as opposed to $2.50 each when going with a friend.
As for the success of the movie nights so far, Rice said the movies are less about making money and more about hosting additional movies in the future. The first screening, Jurassic Park, brought in over 100 students and nearly $300 in ticket sales.
Kelby Wood, FA president and senior film studies major, has similar sentiments about the movie nights thus far.
He said that the number of attendees at Jurassic Park was more than expected, attributing the movie nights’ successful advertising as being cheap and fun little outings. As president of FA, Wood gathers with other aspiring filmmakers every Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Art Annex to discuss film and pitch potential movie ideas to each other.
Although the revenue generated from the movie nights may not cover the cost of popcorn and rights to play the films, Wood, like Rice, agreed that it is not the point of the movie nights to make money.
“[Entertainment Council] knows they will lose money, but it doesn’t matter because they are trying to entertain the students,” he said.
Entertainment Council and FA collaborate to decide which films to show.
“We’re trying to screen films that will attract a crowd – films that you haven’t seen in a while, or cult-classic hits, such as The Big Lebowski or Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Wood said.
The response so far from students about the first two movie nights has largely been positive. Damien Verrett, a sophomore technocultural studies major, attended the Jurassic Park screening with his girlfriend and said he enjoyed it, mentioning that not only was the price very appealing, but that he also hadn’t seen Jurassic Park in a really long time and liked seeing it in a theater-setting with mostly college-aged students.
VICTOR BEIGELMAN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
