One of the considerable perks of being in the Writers Guild is that come awards time, the studios will do almost anything to get you to see their movies.
Yesterday, my WGA card got me two tickets to see Dreamgirls and I am telling you, the only thing that could compare with Jennifer Hudson’s big song was the thrill of signing for my free tickets just one line below Diane English, creator of “Murphy Brown.” It’s weird: I’m not at all star-struck; I don’t understand the appeal of collecting signatures. But coming across the accidental debris of celebrities — or better yet, quasi-celebrities — is strangely fascinating. Look! Diane English is just as cheap as me!
Since one can’t always make it to the theater, studios also send DVD screeners. Two years ago, there was a big effort to cut back on the process, on the theory that it led to piracy. By recent evidence, the studios have decided not to worry so much about it. So far I’ve received:
- Babel
- World Trade Center
- United 93
- Notes on a Scandal
- Flags of Our Fathers
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Thank You for Smoking
I’ve also been sent the scripts for all of these, along with the script for Dreamgirls. As the weeks pass and envelopes keep coming, I’ll try to update the list of movies that I now have no excuse not to have seen.