Netflix Wants to Test Your Movie Watching Endurance
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 16, 2008
It is important to note up front that this might be the first and last time that our unique skill-sets as movie watchers could pay off in the form of actual money. Up until now, all we have is the beer money provided by the annoying FSR ads. Thanks to Netflix, though, that is all about to change.
The DVD rental service known for their red envelopes is looking for someone who can break the consecutive movie-watching record of 120 hours and 23 minutes in a competition they like to call the “Netflix Movie Watching World Championship.” The winner will take home a $10,000 prize, a lifetime subscription to Netflix and the ultimate reward, the first-ever Popcorn Bowl trophy.
Noted contestants already in the running are current record holder Ashish Sharma of Mathura, India, former 3-time record holder Claudia Wavra of Germany, endurance champion Suresh Joachim—a Canadian of Sri Lankan descent, who holds 32 Guinness World Records and N.Y-based eating champion Crazy Legs Conti. Of course, Netflix is also looking for one or two of yous and mes to round out the line-up, so if you are interested just head over to Facebook (Keyword: “Netflix Movie Watching World Championship”) and submit your training video by September 22nd.
The only question that remains, at least in my mind, is which 56 movies has Netflix chosen to show? Personally, if I were programming the event, I would do something dickish like slip Pearl Harbor in at the 50 hour mark — just to see who really wants it. As a contestant though, I would lose — I had a shot at a 24-hour marathon once, but fell asleep in hour 21 during A Clockwork Orange. It was a sad display, if I ever saw one.
How long do you think you could watch movies consecutively? Also, if you entered such a contest, what would be the worst possibly flick for them to show?
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