Awards Season! Screeners in the mail! Screenings at Guilds!

As you know from previous posts, I've begun receiving screeners from the Screen Actors Guild so that I can vote for SAG Award performances. I've been receiving invitations to screenings in my email inbox for some time now, too, but today's screening was the first one I had time to attend and was able to RSVP for in a timely manner. I even RSVP'd "with 1 guest" in case Stephen was available! He wasn't, so I drove alone over the hill to get in a miles-long (felt like) line at 9:45 this morning.

Just check this out, and see if you can see why I had difficulty getting in.

The first line I started to get in was outside, and actually headed to a restaurant, for what is probably The. Most. Amazing. Breakfast. Anywhere. But all the people getting out of the line and heading into the DGA building redirected me. The queue that held the really "early birds" was along a wall, and it was separated from the later line by the main doors. The later queue went along the front glass wall, and then there were velvet ropes to direct the cattle; beyond the velvet ropes, we all just directed ourselves. We actors sure know how to queue up!

So upon my arrival at the "end of the line" I was standing in a self-directed queue on carpeting. When 10:15 rolled around and we began moving, I made it to "velvet rope adjacent"; the next move put be between velvet ropes; the next move took me to along the glass front wall (and on non-carpeted floor). Then we moved across the gap to the "early bird" line. Then I was suddenly trying to check in, and we couldn't find my name on the list! What? But I'm on it, I swear!

The chick who couldn't find me listed told me to "pimp myself out" to the folks still in line who may have registered a guest but were solo. A lovely gentleman named Mike was only 3 entries deep into that queue and was willing to "guest" me in the door. Thank you, Mike!

Got inside, found a great seat in the dead-center of the theater, settled in with my magazine while all of the rule-breakers around me continued texting and whatnot. (I had left my phone in my car, as I had been instructed to in The Rules). The two older ladies to my left chatted quietly-ish until the film began, and then I had to listen to my immediate-left neighbor grunt and verbally respond to every emotional moment in the film! You'd think she hadn't left her house to watch movies in a decade or more. Thankfully, I can avoid sitting next to her at the next one.

Great film, followed by a fun Q&A with the director and four members of the cast. If you don't know anything about this film but you're any of the following:

• a WWII buff
• a Downton Abbey fan
• a Brit-flick geek
• a "Cumberbitch" (per IMDb, "His female fans were originally known as "Cumberbitches", but are now known as the "CumberCollective" or "Cumberpeople". [Benedict] Cumberbatch is uncomfortable with the term "Cumberbitches" because he says its non-inclusive and pejorative.")
• all of the above, or just bored enough to watch "a group of really smart people sit in a room and solve puzzles" for a couple of hours (that's a quote from Benedict during the Q&A, regarding the original "pitch" for the film)

then you should DEFINITELY make time to see The Imitation Game.