Friday’s full of free fun
September 13, 1996
Leave your money at home, if you have any. Tonight is the start of a campus favorite—Free Friday Flicks.
Free Friday Flicks, which is funded entirely by the Inter-Residence Hall Association (IRHA), offers residence hall students an opportunity to view new movies for free.
James McCollum, the president of Free Friday Flicks, said this is the 32nd year of showing free movies on Friday nights at Iowa State.
McCollum said students need their student ID and fee card to get into the movie. Students must also live in the residence halls, but they can bring a guest who lives anywhere.
“This year, I think we have the best line up,” McCollum said. “We’ve got the three top-selling movies from the summer.”
The first movie of the season will be the summer hit, Twister. Because of the large success of the movie in the theaters, there will be four different showings tonight.
Carver Hall’s Room 1 and 101, where the movies are shown, seat 200 people each. McCollum said Jurassic Park brought in the most attendance of Free Friday Flick’s history when it was shown in the fall of 1995. Around 1,000 students attended the Steven Speilberg directed movie.
When there is a larger crowd than expected, McCollum said another show is generally added at 11 p.m.
“If there’s a lot of people we tell them there will be another showing,” he said. “Generally, we’re fine.”
McCullom said they are able to show movies before they come out on videotape because a movie company releases the movie to them before it is available to the general public. For instance, Twister will be showing just one week before it is released on home video.
McCullom said they have posters up in the residence halls to let students know what movies will be playing, what time and the place where they are showing.
In the past, table tents were set up in the dining facilities to let students know what movies would be playing, but, McCullom said, the process of setting the table tents up was very time consuming.
McCullom said he is looking forward to the upcoming Free Friday Flicks. “I’m really excited about it,” he said. “Its good to have movies that people want to see.”
Tania Anderson, an undecided sophomore, is also looking forward to viewing the movies. As a freshman last year Anderson went to Free Friday Flicks as often as she could.
Outbreak, Batman Forever and While You Were Sleeping are a few of the movies Anderson saw last year.
“I liked that it was free and there were good movies,” Anderson said. “It’s a good alternative to going out and drinking.”
Greg Peterson, a junior in art, has gone to Free Friday Flicks for the past two years.
“It’s nice that they show very recent movies, and they’re usually ones that people want to see,” Peterson said.
Peterson said the movies were crowded at times last year, but he wasn’t bothered by it.
“I like that it’s free, and it has a big screen,” Peterson said. “There are usually a lot of people there, and there’s usually a nice, festive atmosphere.”
The only thing that doesn’t make Free Friday Flicks a real theater experience is the absence of popcorn, but students can bring in food from the vending machines that are located in Carver.
Free Friday Flicks
Sponsored by IRHA
3 Showings
Time Room
6:30 p.m. Carver 101
8:00 p.m. Carver 1
9:30 p.m. Carver 101
4 showings
Time Room
6:00 p.m. Carver 101
7:00 p.m. Carver 1
9:00 p.m. Carver 101
10:00 p.m. Carver 1
September 13 Twister 4
September 20 Dragonheart 3
September 27 The Arrival 3
October 4 Eraser 3
October 11 The Rock 3
October 18 Mission Impossible 4
November 1 Courage Under Fire 3
November 8 ID4 (Independence Day) 4
December 6 The Nutty Professor 3