Some people may be wary about being test subjects. However, hundreds of students have flocked to special movie premieres in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Beginning last spring, a national marketing company, the Network Event Theater (NET), began a program in conjunction with movie studios, said Kathy Svec, marketing coordinator of the Memorial Union.

NET gives preview showings of movies at 100 college campuses nationwide. Last Wednesday, “Cruel Intentions” played at the Union to a crowd of about 500 people.

Iowa State has been involved in the program from the beginning because it has the necessary facilities, Svec said.

“Not very many [colleges] had the facilities that would work,” she said. “We were lucky to have a room to accommodate the equipment they need to set up.”

NET gave ISU $10,000 worth of satellite-feed equipment necessary to run the films. In exchange, ISU students give their opinions about the movies.

“We show the movies before they are released in theaters. In return, we tell them what the reactions are,” said Eva Urbatsch, NET/forums director of Student Union Board.

Urbatsch, senior in metallurgical engineering, said she interviews students after they see the movie and then sends a write-up to NET.

The program began in the spring of 1997, with a showing of “The Full Monty.”

Other NET movies that have played this year include “Slam,” “Vampires” and “Analyze This.”

The showings are free, but students must have a ticket to get in. SUB usually gives out twice as many tickets as seats.

For “Cruel Intentions,” 1,600 tickets were distributed from the West Student Office Space reception desk a week before the movie premiered.

Some students showed up well in advance to get good seats, Urbatsch said.

“People were there before I was there,” she said. “People were there at 5 [p.m.] We didn’t even go in to set up until 6:30 [p.m.]”

Urbatsch said as long as students have tickets, they should not have a problem getting into the showings. “Cruel Intentions” was not completely full, even though tickets ran out days before the showing, she said.

One scheduling glitch with the movies is that they can be shown only in the Great Hall.

“If we can’t get the Great Hall, we can’t get the movie,” Urbatsch said.

ISU was unable to show “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Very Bad Things” because of other events being held in the Great Hall, she said.

Svec said the program has been doing well so far.

“It took a few showings for students to catch on, but the last number of showings have been enormously successful,” she said.

Svec said the program definitely will be continued.

“We look forward to a few more broadcasts spring semester and next year,” she said.

“Lost and Found,” a comedy starring David Spade, will be playing April 14.