By Luke Wildman | Echo
Get ready, Taylor-later today, hobbits, monsters and living myths will invade your campus. Mayhem may ensue.
The Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis and Friends is sponsoring a "The Lord of the Rings"movie marathon tonight in Cornwall Theater. "The Fellowship of the Ring" will depart for Mordor at 6 p.m., and the movies will run until whenever the king returns. It isn't called a "marathon" for nothing.
This won't be a normal viewing experience. The festivities include snacks, Jumping Bean drinks, various activities and giveaways-including free T-shirts-and, perhaps geekiest of all, a costume contest in the break between the first and second films. Even if you don't attend, don't be surprised to spot a wizard on the sidewalks.
When asked about his goals for the movie night, Joe Ricke, director of the Center, said he hopes students will enjoy themselves and gain interest in the other Lewis-related events on campus. The intent, Ricke said, is "to make more people aware of what we do . . . but mostly just to have a really, really fun event."
Many students are daunted by the prospect of cutting such a significant a chunk of time from their Friday night and early Saturday morning. The total length of the theatrical versions is slightly over nine hours. "The Lord of the Rings" stories have a passionate fan base. Over 150 students have already gotten tickets and have faithfully committed to sit through the movies even if hordes of Orcs laid siege to campus.
Senior Jessica Wise intends to stay until the closing credits roll. Wise said, "I think it's a really cool opportunity just to bring people together and just have a lot of fun and sit with my friends and watch 'Lord of the Rings.' Plus, it's going to be in a huge theater."
The C.S. Lewis Center holds many events throughout the year-including tea times on Fridays at four-but this is the first movie marathon.
"Back when I was in college," Ricke said, "we did movie marathons. We'd have like a three-day movie marathon of great films, or something like that. And I loved them."
Ricke then speculated on whether the tradition will continue in the future. He believes it is too early to tell, but he would like to organize it again in upcoming years.
If you don't already have your ticket, you can pick it up for free at the front desk of Zondervan Library. Only two tickets are allowed per person, in order to keep the event from being overcrowded. The Lewis Center invites you to join them. They'll be glad to have you with them, there "at the end of all things."
