Why aren't there more Houston line parties? Fans around the world lined up for "Star Wars", "The Lord of the Rings", and "Narnia". Harry Potter is popular but the HP fandom tends to be more mainstream than fandoms for most other movies.
Upcoming movies that might inspire line parties include "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", "Spider-Man 3", "The Fantasic Four 2", and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".
If you'd like to arrange a line party in Houston for one of these movies, or another major SF film to be released in the future, say something in our General Movies Forum. We'll see if we can help you promote the event. But don't wait until the last minute. A good line party requires several months' planning.
Good luck. And have fun at the movies!
Special thanks to:
for designing Xenite.org's graphics
Fans of C.S. Lewis (and Disney fantasy/adventure movies) organized at NarniaWeb in 2003 in anticipation of the December 2005 release of Disney's live-action adaptation of C.S. Lewis' book, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which became the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books. The NarniaWeb fans decided in a light-hearted fashion to organize "Lion Parties" (as opposed to "line parties") for the movie's premier weekend.
Setting up an online database where fans across the world could organize events in their local communities, the NarniaWeb organizers allowed fan groups to take the initiative. But Houston's Lion Party was scheduled and orchestrated by Vivian Bush, one of the members of the NarniaWeb community. In the course of events, several other NarniaWeb volunteers joined the fun. Although the movie officially opened at midnight on December 9 (that is, after Thursday December 8 changed to Friday December 9), the Houston Lion Party was scheduled for 2:30 PM Saturday, December 10, so that area children could participate in the event.
Indeed, the party was largely geared towards children, as befits a movie about four children who accidentally find themselves entering into the alternate reality of Narnia. The Lion Party's official viewing occurred at 3:45 in the afternoon, and party members convened for dinner at a local restaurant to wrap up the day, pose for pictures, and share some insights into the movies and Narnia fandom.
Xenite.Org founder Michael Martinez joined the NarniaWeb Lion Party database and enlisted Xenite's advertising network to help promote the event. He also sent notices to several local news organizations to inform them about the Lion Party. At least one television station (NBC affiliate Channel 2) interviewed Vivian on Thursday, December 8.
The Edwards Marq*E Cinema helped organized a grand event as well. On Friday evening, they hosted a sword-fighting demonstration. The U.S. Marine Corps sent Toys for Tots volunteers to collect toys and donations for charity. The Lion Party members were asked to bring a new toy to donate to charity.
