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The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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A&O fall film series draws students to see stars on Norris screen


Wedding Crashers

When: Tonight at 10 p.m. and Saturday, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Where: McCormick Auditorium, Norris
How much: $3

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are coming to Norris University Center tonight.

They’re not appearing in person, though. Their movie “Wedding Crashers” will be shown at 7 p.m. in McCormick Auditorium as part of A&O Productions’ fall film series.

Last Saturday about 50 people showed up for the 7 p.m. screening of “Batman Begins.” Although the auditorium wasn’t full, the students in attendance were excited not only by the movie but about future screenings as well.

Weinberg sophomore Amita Shah said she plans on going every week to see the movies A&O offers, partially because she didn’t get a chance to see the movies in the theaters. She said the $3 admission is about the same price of renting a movie.

“You might as well see it on the big screen,” she said.

Medill freshman Carl Deffenbaugh said he is looking forward to seeing some of the other movies being offered, such as “Wedding Crashers” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin.” Meredith Rogers, a McCormick freshman, wants to see “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” because she hasn’t seen it yet.

Everyone can find something to see, Rogers said.

“I think it’s a diverse selection,” she said.

A&O’s film committee must find and apply for available dates in McCormick Auditorium every spring, said A&O Chairman Peter Kahn, a Communication senior.

The group makes a schedule in the fall and contacts distribution companies for public viewing rights.

A&O charges $3 admission for its Friday and Saturday screenings. Sunday screenings are free. Screening costs, including distributors’ flat rental fees, are offset primarily by the Student Activities Finance Board. Twenty-five percent of the admission goes back to A&O and the remaining 75 percent goes to SAFB, Kahn said.

Sometimes distribution companies also compensate A&O if the group gets a certain number of people to go to the screenings. The group does not really need to generate profit because of its SAFB funding, according to A&O film director and Communication junior Wyatt Ollestad.

A variety of factors determine which films make it onto the schedule. A&O selects films based on what’s available from its distributors. Timing sometimes is a factor; for example, the group will sometimes show a horror movie around Halloween.

McCormick Auditorium is only available for a limited number of shows, so “we try to grab the movie that’s the most popular,” Ollestad said.

“We try to cater to the NU student body as a whole.”

Many of the recommended titles are not as well-known as the films the group typically screens, Kahn said.

“We have to be marketers,” Kahn said.

For A&O’s full fall schedule, please visit

www.aoproductions.net.

Reach Christina Amoroso at

[email protected].

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
A&O fall film series draws students to see stars on Norris screen