Chuck Mulholland is still abuzz with delight and sleeplessness after a cinematic experience that he undertook on Thursday along with his brother Allan. Together, the lifelong sci-fi fans spent 17 hours with a theatre full of people at the South Edmonton Cineplex to watch all seven episodes of the Star Wars saga, a space opera that started 38 years ago and continues with the newly released Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
“It was an epic adventure,” he began, sounding lively despite the marathon viewing that started after only having a few hours sleep the night prior. Many in the audience were bedecked in appropriate Jedi and Stormtrooper costumes, including theatre manager Stuart Passey.
“Each time a movie started … there was a cheer and each time the movie finished there was applause.”
The brothers are big movie buffs, he said, noting that they don’t generally do marathons like this. Allan – a “big movie nut” by Chuck’s reckoning – has always striven to see big event movies like this on the first day of release, a practice he started as a child living in Grandin. Chuck took their other two brothers by bus to a downtown Edmonton theatre the day after.
“I was 14 at the time and I remember standing in line a long time. We actually stayed in the theatre to see it a second time.”
Now a 53-year-old realtor, Chuck said that he stumbled onto the opportunity to take part in the marathon, buying the last three tickets on a lark. There were only six theatres across the country that participated in the endurance test. He said that it wasn’t necessarily out of character for him, hesitating to use the word “destiny,” however.
The real estate agent was actually still conducting business during the intermissions. He admitted that his strategy was to get a really decent breakfast in first thing in the morning and then to just stay hydrated and have occasional bites during each of the 10-minute intermissions. He held off on the popcorn and pop until the last two movies.
“I knew that if I had too much of that too early then I might not make it.”
Allan, however, was not so well prepared. He confessed to having a nap during Episode I sometime between 4:45 and 7 a.m.
“I don’t consider that a waste of time,” he said of the much maligned effort, joking that it seemed like so much of the cast and production team seemed to be doing the same thing as well.
As far as Episode VII is concerned, he was very satisfied with the finished product.
“I think Mr. (J.J.) Abrams (the film’s director) really pulled it out of the fire. Seeing them all in a row like that… just reinforced how lost George Lucas got. J.J. Abrams really brought that back. He clearly recognized that fault and decided not to make that same mistake.”
He also appreciated the return of much of the humour and character development that was present in the original series starting with Episode IV – A New Hope. He credited Lawrence Kasdan for that sensibility to such a beloved storyline.
Chuck agreed, likening it to a seminal pop culture moment of a lifetime.
“It felt like I was going to see a band that I’d never seen before. If I’d never seen the Stones and had always wanted to see them after 40 years. There I am, seeing the Stones.”
But the family affair wasn’t restricted to just the two brothers. Their 79-year-old father showed up to watch the very last screening of the evening, the long-awaited The Force Awakens, starting at 7 p.m.
Chuck said that it was a special moment as well for his family because of how the movie mirrored what the three of them were doing.
“It just made sense in some weird, bizarre way. It was a little emotional moment just thinking about that whole journey together all from a silly little movie back in 1977.”
All in all, he was unrepentant that he relived this part of his childhood in such a bombastic way. “It was crazy! It was a wild day!” he exclaimed.
“It was a very satisfying mix of confusion and special effects. I’m still digesting it,” Allen continued, careful not to divulge any secrets. He did say that there was “surprise after surprise” to keep die-hard fans happy, some of which you see coming but others you don’t.
“Your fanboy blood is boiling by the time certain characters show up. You found yourself cheering like a fool,” he stated. “It’s a laugh a minute thrill ride, that’s what it is!”
He’s a lifelong fan of vintage sci-fi. Now the facility manager at Metro Cinema, he’s set to run a film series called They Came from Projector X. The first screening on the list is the 1953 version of War of the Worlds on Dec. 26. Forbidden Planet is coming up in August.
