Quoting CharlieM:

Quote:
How about this from the official BUTT-NUMB-A-THON site

Quote:
BUTT-NUMB-A-THON is a 24 hour film annual celebration programmed by Harry Knowles of upcoming films and films from the past, attended by a hand picked group of film lovers, half from the Austin and Central Texas area...and the other half from around the country and world. Proceeds from the event fund the monthly Saturday Morning Kids Club at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Bolding by me.

Doesn't sound very open to me...


It looks like the official date may be 14 Feb 2007 (Berlin International Film Festival)


Charlie

What constitutes open? Half of the people in attendance are from Austin, the other half are from anywhere else in the WORLD.

You don't even have to pay to attend the festival! If you're homeless, and you know how to write, you can get it. A ticket isn't even required, you just have to be selected... and ANYONE can enter. It's just a matter of whether or not you get in, but absolutely anyone on the face of the planet has a chance to attend... just like anyone on the face of the planet has a chance to attend any screening of any film ever... there's just limited spacing, so only some will get in.

When it's explained that way, I gotta disagree. It actually sounds pretty darn open to me.

If the "Butt-Numb-A-Thon" is only open to invited guests, as is made clear by Charlie's quote from their website, then it can by definition not be "public".
So I have to agree that it wouldn't count as "Theatrical Release"

Thanks for the quote Charlie 

Quoting Silence_of_Lambs:

Quote:
copyrights may change, theatrical releases usually are fixed values.

Indeed...if we could only decide what constitutes a theatrical release. 

Seems to be the reason why people here do not consider this FF a FF -

just can't walk in off the street with your socks and sandels, pocket full of candy in your cargo shorts, 2 kids in tow, that talk throught the whole event. No senior discounts (so leave your AARP card at home).

But can you do that at any FF. Still have to be 1 of the lucky few to get a ticket to see a film at any other FF, which usually is first-come-first serve. Except for the VIPs that usually take up 1/4 of the seating, not many VIPs at the BNaT.

You have to show that you are a movie lover by going the extra to get an invite. It' still a public FF open to anyone in the world that sends in the invitation.

Don't think a few here should decide it's not a FF because they think the process is to extreme.
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2013 invitation questionaire.

BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 15TH ANNIVERSARY APPLICATION Due HALLOWEEN
Published at: Oct. 29, 2013, 4:42 a.m. CST by headgeek

Hello BNAT Addicts & virgins

This here gaggle of pixels is the beginning of BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 15TH ANNIVERSARY– such spectacle can barely be believed.  I always intended to begin working on this year’s application on October 15th, 2013…  and I did.  But as is my tradition, the last couple of years, I decide to find a film on NETFLIX INSTANT that I’ll make folks watch – and this year’s title…  well, we should all be so lucky to discover it.  So before I get into the description about what a BUTT-NUMB-A-THON is…  Or finish the creation of this Magna Carta of Geekery, I suggest you go watch Robert Wise’s THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL.  When it is over, this application will be up. (unless, but probably then and around there)

See what I mean?  BNAT’s like a whole day of that feeling, either discovering a classic for the very first time…  or having a great excuse to revisit one…  only…  in a room filled with a massive concentration of cinema love. You’ll also see some premiere’s and possibly be witness to some incredibly cool shenanigans…  Yeah, that’s what I’ll call em.  Shenanigans aplenty.

It is absurd for me to believe that Tim League and I have been throwing BUTT-NUMB-A-THON for 15 years now, but we have.  So much has changed about the world, the theater, the faces that come and the lives that this magical cinematic concoction unleashes.  It has changed so many lives in so many ways…

The proceeds from the event go to the SATURDAY MORNING KIDS CLUB, which is also going into its 15th Anniversary – funded completely by BNAT’s profits and providing Kids with powerful cinematic memories!

And while your admission price goes to that worthy cause – you’re in for something that should blow you away.  Tim League kicked off this past week with an email demanding we meet because he’s determined to make this the best BNAT ever – I’m slightly less ambitious, but we’ll see.  Starting off modestly usually works out well.

THE BASICS:

BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 15TH ANNIVERSARY

ALAMO RITZ in Austin, Tx

December 7th – December 8th, 2013

One could see it as a movie marathon, but it really is quite a bit more than that.  This is my cinematic mix-tape – I jack in through your light & sound detectors without the safest of intent.  I will take this audience on a quest to illuminate once again, just how many possibilities there are to loving film.  Sometimes we birth cults right on the spot.  You’ll be handed a yearbook that will have the faces and names and something probably unexpected of everyone you’ll be seeing these movies with.  In-between films in the breaks (which won’t be long enough to complete that cinematic buzz rattle you have to get out of your head before moving on, but tough up, this ain’t for pussies!)  you’ll meet movie lovers from all over the world.  Audience members can be just like you, if they fill out the application and jump through all the hoops…

Why the process?  Because thousands want in and there’s less than 200 seats – we want to put together the most astonishing selection of film – but we want to make sure that you’re in the most amazing audience too!  SO – want to see what it takes to sit with the most amazing film lovers in the world and watch the most amazing shiitake mushroom that you can never describe to anyone that wasn’t there to see it with you, so you become… ONE OF US?  shiitake mushroomfire, let’s do this:

Applications are due by midnight, October 31st, 2013!!!  Don’t want to miss that Halloween party, get it done early then.  And as a matter of fact, waiting til the last day is never a good idea, so many applications begin coming in that I’ve had some get lost in the ether due to the glut.  But if you need every second, go with Cthulhu my child.

Every attendee must complete this…  IF you are trying to attend with more than one person – they must send in their own application.  If you list them as attending with you and they do not send an application, then you will be eliminated.  So be sure about your BNAT BUDDY!

Now onto the questions that will govern your future very closely!

Tell me the first time and the last time you cried in a movie theater with a smile on your face.

Alright, now I need your name – by this I mean your full legal name, your email address & your twitter handle

State the full names of your BNAT BUDDIES (ie, those who you are applying and sitting with – with the knowledge that if they are lame and don’t supply an app, you’re totally happy funtimeed, but they wouldn’t do that because they’re your BNAT BUDDIES and you trust them with your life!) Oh – and tell me what gives them that space in your life.

Have you ever attended BNAT before – what has the experience meant to you, which one?

Where were you born?  Where do you live?  Mode of Transportation to Alamo Ritz in Austin, Tx for BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 15TH ANNIVERSARY.

There’s a movie you love.  You really happy funtimeing love this movie.  And it really really needed a sequel and you know exactly what it should be.  C’mon, don’t keep it a secret.  Share!

T-Shirt Size (This is needed so your BNAT shirt fits you, not because of creeper reasons)

OK – So you’ve seen THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (via Netflix Instant or as an AMAZON PRIME member) and here’s the question I had to ask ya.  WHAT THE happy funtime?  I mean, that ending?  What is that?  I’m kinda terrified for the kid, right?  What a terrifyingly tense flick, right?  What’d you love about it?

Ya know that time you’ll never forget, tell me about it.

PHOTO: Take a photo embodying in some fashion you in your favorite film genre.  Have fun with it!

PHOTO: Favorite photo of you as a child!

What do you do in this world professionally? And who should play you in the movie?

What’s your favorite Roger Corman film? Why?

Strangest film you love is?

VIDEO (Bonus) – Make ON THE GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP your own!  Videos can be product of individuals or groups.  Feel free to push the limits of good taste.  Play with genres.  (Upload to YouTube and provide a link in your email)

Worst place you’ve ever used the bathroom, why there?

Why must you be at BNAT 15?

List 3 Dream Films for BNAT 15 (Vintage or New).

Your Top Ten Favorite Films

Name your favorite cartoon short

That’s the 20 things ya gotta answer.  Send that to hk@aintitcool.com with the subject line:  I’ll Take Mahler’s Seat!!!  (Note: it must be exactly like that, same letters capitalized, 3 exclamation points and all!  This is what gets your app to the correct folder for consideration)



Winners will be notified on November 5th with further instructions.

Quoting ateo357:

Quote:
...

You completely lost me on that rambling wall of text bump of a five year old thread.

One thing I think was missed in the original thread: This is fine for big movies but plenty of movies never really get a theatrical release. They play some festivals, then go to video. For indie films, the point of festivals is often to find a distributor and they can bounce around a couple years before this happens.