I was in a discussion recently about all of the time I’ve spent in line waiting for movies. I like to think I’m a movie buff and I know that I’m a huge Star Wars geek. I’m going to document here the amount of time that I’ve spent in line waiting for a Star Wars movie.
Episode 4 – A New Hope. This was the one that started it all and it was only known to me as Star Wars. Released in 1977, I was barely 10 years old. To this day, I am now a huge fan of horror movies and I’m still scared to watch them. I thought Star Wars was a horror film. During the summer of 1977, I was hanging with my Dad at this office in Palos Verdes. Needless to say, I was bored out of my mind. My older brother and his friends were going to see Star Wars and I definitely didn’t want to go. My dad, more or less forced me to go with my brother. We drove down to the South Bay Galleria in Torrance, bought our tickets and walked right in. I instantly became a fan. Also this would be the last time that I walked directly into a theater to see a Star Wars movie.
Amount of time in line: 0 minutes.
Episode 5 – Empire Strikes Back. The rumors were true. There would be a Star Wars sequel. Other rumors included Darth Vader being Luke’s Father and the Millennium Falcon blowing up. Also, that Frank Oz would be the puppeteer behind Yoda. I was a huge Muppet fan. I really don’t remember who was with me for this showing, might have been my younger brother, but we returned to the South Bay Galleria and stood in line for 2.5 hours (a full showing) of Star Wars before barely making it inside.
Amount of time in line: 2.5 hours.
Episode 6 – Return of the Jedi. The end of a saga. I made the mistake of seeing this movie on Memorial Day. It’s 1983 and I’m a sophomore in high school, my friends and I basically took the bus back to the South Bay Galleria. We were prepared for a long line. We brought games to play in line because the frustrating part of the line is that it doesn’t movie until they let you into the theater. We were playing Cosmic Encounter, which I found in the garage the other day. And other role playing games. Yes, I played AD&D. We stood through 2 showings. Arrive at noon and didn’t get our seat until 5:00 p.m.
Amount of time in line: 5 hours.
Times have changed. Every so often I’ll drive by the South Bay Galleria and tell my wife, there used to be a building there and I saw the first 3 Star Wars movies there and spent almost 8 hours in line.
Growing up there as a kid, there were only 4 places to see movies for a total of 30 screens and I traveled by bus to get there. Today, within a 20 mile radius of my home, I can go to well over 200 screens. Blockbusters like Star Wars will play ever 30 minutes, instead of having to wait 2.5 hours between shows.
Times have changed. Next time, but rest of the saga.
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