Universal Pictures Home Entertainment wants to make certain that you're entertained during the coronavirus pandemic, and so the studio has organized weekly watch parties of some of their most beloved and iconic films. Every Saturday, starting May 16th, audiences can watch a Universal Pictures film along with special guests and hosts for fans around the world to share reactions and discuss their favorite scenes together on Twitter.
The festivities will begin on May 16th with a viewing of David Gordon Green's HALLOWEEN, which is set to be hosted by Blumhouse with Green, Jamie Lee Curtis and special guests all set to attend.
Below you'll find the Universal's official May schedule with additional watch parties and special guests set to be announced soon:
May 16th – Halloween hosted by Blumhouse with Director David Gordon Green, Jamie Lee Curtis and special guests:
No one does horror quite like Blumhouse and Michael Myers. Join the production company that specializes in horror as they watch the return of Halloween alongside the film’s director David Gordon Green, Jamie Lee Curtis and special guests including: John Carpenter, Jason Blum, Judy Greer, James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle. Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. Halloween is presented by Universal Pictures, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions and Trancas International Films. #HalloweenAtHome
May 23rd – Apollo 13 hosted by former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly
A look at space with someone who has actually been! Join retired NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, a veteran of four different space flights, as he watches his predecessors try to return back to Earth. Stranded 205,000 miles from Earth in a crippled spacecraft, astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) fight a desperate battle to survive. Meanwhile, at Mission Control, astronaut Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and a heroic ground crew race against time – and the odds – to bring them home. #Apollo13AtHome
May 30th – The Breakfast Club hosted by Nerdist
Please report for Saturday detention at the library! Join Nerdist as they revisit the misfits of the John Hughes 80’s classic The Breakfast Club. They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library. At 7 a.m., they had nothing to say, but by 4 p.m. they had bared their souls to each other and become good friends. To the outside world they were simply the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, the Princess and the Kook, but to each other, they would always be The Breakfast Club. #BreakfastClubAtHome
In order to join, all you have to do is follow the hosts on Twitter, purchase the weekend's movie in a format of your choosing, and press play at exactly 1 pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST! To add to the experience, some film presentations will include a pre-show 15 minutes prior to go time. Be sure to follow and use the designated hashtag for each title to participate and discuss with friends and other excited fans.
Thank goodness for the internet, right? It goes without saying that all of this coronavirus business is terrible indeed, though it's nice to know that people are still finding ways to enjoy films together, even while being under strict shelter-in-place orders. With any hope and a lot of hard work, we'll be back to packing theaters real soon. In the meantime, why not take advantage of what we've got? Who knows? You might even make a few friends, or get to interact with one of your favorite celebrities, thanks to one of these watch parties. Anything is possible, and so I urge you to get involved. Stay safe out there, everybody!