The Wes Anderson Situation : The Second Line

After my post made directly after standing in line for the quickest five hours of my life, I did not in fact fall asleep.

Actually, I went to Midas and had my car repaired. I'm not saying what exactly I had done because it was embarrassing. I will say that it cost me $5.11.

A little later, I was lounging in the Gargoyle office. Mostly sleeping and pretending to read The Argonautika. Zack, the man for whom I was standing in line for that morning, dropped in and quickly grabbed the coveted wrist band with only moments before the interview with Wes Anderson was scheduled to start at Borders. He returned, glowing, half an hour later.

He said his life was better.

It's hard to describe what happened next. There was a lot of going back and forth, yelling, and negotiating. I'm going to try to get this across to you, gentle reader, as succinctly as I can.

Cathy Fisher, my friend whom I spent the morning in line with, called me from the new line forming outside of the Michigan Theatre. She, like me, had obtained a pass to see The Darjeeling Limited. She had also taken one of the Gargoyle's coveted bombs and had Jason Schwarzman as well as Wes Anderson sign it. Their names will live on in history, along with both members of They Might Be Giants. But I digress.

Fearing that the bomb might get damaged (or worse confiscated) in the theatre I quickly ferried it back to the safety of the Office. However, upon my return I found that they had begun to bring people into the theatre from not one but two lines! Within seconds, the flow stopped with between 50 and 100 angry people still outside, hopelessly waving colored vouchers. I was among them, though perhaps far less vocal than the rest.

Tempers were high, to say the least. Curses were thrown. Managers and underlings were berated equally by the crowd. Someone would come out from the theatre, inform us that it was hopeless and that we were wasting our time. Shouts would rise from the back of the mob about promises, about how much time they had spent in line, about the questionable parentage of the manager. No fewer than three people on behalf of the theatre came out, and left noticeably deflated by the angry throng.

I felt bad for both sides, really. Borders had bungled the whole thing by passing out numbered, signed, but apparently worthless vouchers to the first fifty people in line. The Michigan Theatre had not anticipated the popularity of the film, and had obviously given away far too many vouchers, and also had no system in place for sorting the people waiting to get in.

There was visible disagreement within the theatre. A man in a camel-hair suit, who towered over the underlings that came out to speak to the crowd was seen shouting, or at least talking sternly, within the lobby. Eventually, a man in a pinstripe suit emerged and ordered all "purple vouchers" against the wall - a certain number of us would be let in. With some jostling, and quick reflexes, I made it inside.

FRIDAY: The People I Met, and the Movie Itself!

SUNDAY: Wilco At the Fox

This weekend, the Student Publications building is being rededicated as The Stanford Lipsey Publication Building. Guess who dropped 3.3 million on the project! There will also be the odd-year Gargoyle Alumni reunion. Pictures and stories to follow.