from home, it’s become a way for the staff to
pause the news and escape into the world of
film together.
With theaters closed and most of the country
staying home, virtual viewing parties are surging
in popularity. They simulate the experience of
going out to the movies, and you don’t even
have to pass the popcorn.
Michael Martinez, Crooked Media’s executive
producer for news and politics, got the Social
Distance Movie Club going with The Rock in “San
Andreas.” Since then, they’ve viewed “National
Treasure” and “Road House.”
“It started as a funny thing to do,” Martinez said.
“But it’s preserved part of the experience of
being at the office when you talk to someone in
the kitchen about, say, the Keanu Reeves movie
you watched the weekend before.”
It’s not just friends and co-workers, either.
Movie studios, actors and even some
publications are bringing people together
online around the shared viewing of a film
through Twitter hashtags, long a staple of
appointment television.
MGM Studios two weeks ago held a “Legally
Blonde” watch party, streaming the beloved
Reese Witherspoon comedy for free on
Facebook on a Friday morning.
Stephen Bruno, the chief marketing officer
at MGM, said they were looking for ways to
entertain and decided to mine their library
for joyous titles. “Legally Blonde” was an
obvious choice.
When they reached out to Witherspoon to see if
she’d be on board, Bruno paraphrased the star: