The Illini Union Board kicked off its weekend film series with a showing of “F1” in the Pine Lounge Friday evening.
“F1” was released in theaters June 27 and stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. It details the return of a retired Formula 1 driver and the start of a hotshot rookie as they race on high-stakes circuits.
Students gathered before 7 p.m. with chatter filling the lounge. Typically used as a study room, the Pine Lounge was transformed: Tables were pushed to the edges of the room, and a projector screen, flanked by two speakers, preceded neat rows of chairs.
A few groups staked out the lounge early, claiming their seats nearly an hour before the start time. For some of them, weekly movie nights have become tradition.
“This is just what we prefer to do on Fridays,” said Caitlin Ku, freshman in Business, about her friend group.
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They were not the only ones; the seats filled up quickly, and before long, the free popcorn ran out. People brought their own snacks too, ranging from chips to a whole Domino’s pizza. Some resorted to sitting on side tables, leaning against the walls or dragging in chairs from the Courtyard Café.
“Usually, it’s enough seats,” said Jessica Lam, senior in LAS. “Given how popular the movie is, maybe we should have gotten a slightly bigger space. There’s people on the window ledges, which is insane.”
At 7:01 p.m., the lights dimmed and people fell quiet. Engines roared as the intro started, the bass reverberating in the far corners of the room. While pillars obstructed part of the audience’s view, the audio could be heard throughout the Union’s halls.
“We’re really diligent about the sound,” said Elaina Gipson, junior in Engineering and Union multimedia technician. “We want to make sure everybody can hear in the back, so we do a lot of tests, and we don’t want to blow out anyone’s ears in the front.”
A few people filtered in late, peeking in curiously to see what the noise was. With no seats left, a couple of people lounged on the floor while others decided to leave.
Despite how packed the lounge was, Lam enjoyed the setup.
“I like the vibe,” Lam said. “It feels like a movie theater.”
People followed movie theater rules, too. Phones were put away, and if somebody dared to speak, it was a gentle whisper. As the movie played, light danced across viewers’ faces, their attention held rapt by the screen. Gasps and held breath filled the room as Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) raced to the finish line of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The night ended with a smattering of applause and cheers.
Some students, like Sai Venkatakrishnan, senior in Engineering, are unaware that the Union hosts movie nights. He walked into the Pine Lounge with plans to study. Instead, he multitasked, the majority of his attention stolen by the movie.
“I would 100% show up again,” Venkatakrishnan said. “This is going to be my new Friday night. I’ll take my friends here.”
The Union presents a movie every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. for the duration of the semester, and most are recent blockbuster titles. Future films scheduled include “The Naked Gun,” “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and “Caught Stealing.”
