Max’s Final Movie Nights

Posted by Madeleine Sardina in clubs

One of the privileges of going to a university with a prominent film school is the abundance of film clubs on campus. Perhaps one of the most popular clubs holds the coveted 10 p.m. slot on Thursday nights: Movie Night at The Screen. Movie Night shows newly released movies hot off the Blu-ray press, such as The Martian and Bridge of Spies, the most recent hits. For many SFUAD students, Movie Night offers a special viewing opportunity. “I come for certain movies that I haven’t seen,” says senior film major Angel Urquidi, “and that I want to see again on the big screen because sometimes I never got the chance to.”  

Max Marriner in The Screen lobby. Photo by Kyleigh Carter

But with club President Max Marriner’s final year at SFUAD drawing to a close, many are worried that the remaining Movie Nights are numbered. “The plan originally was to end it and just have somebody else start their own club,” Marriner said when asked about handing off the club when he graduated. “…But as I’ve been talking to more friends about it, it seems the less selfish thing to do would be to give it to the next person. So honestly it’s up in the air right now.”

Marriner, a senior Film major, is a familiar face around campus and around The Screen, especially. He has been the sole president of Movie Night for the past two years, and co-president with senior Zoe Dahmen for a year before that. “Originally the club was run by this guy named James,” said Marriner, “and the [former] manager of the screen.…Peter Grendel, wanted to find someone new because James was on his way out… And he mentioned it in a class that I had with him and I turned to him with this big ol’ smile on my face and [Dahmen] did the same and we were both picked.”

For three years, Marriner has brought entertainment and professionalism to The Screen. His disclaimer before each showing—“No sex, drugs, or alcohol…” —is the most thorough of any club and as the film rolls he “patrols” around the aisles looking for rabble-rousers and distracting little screens. “I like to run this club professionally and sometimes I’m a bit strict,” said Marriner. “…Because these are new movies that most people probably haven’t seen and are using their evening to come see it at Movie Night, I want them to have the best experience possible.”

As a senior, Marriner is facing one of the most daunting experiences of his life—graduating college and figuring out what’s next. When asked what his plans were, Marriner laughed and shook his head. “Isn’t that the question of the day!” he exclaimed. “I’m still trying to figure it out. Right now New York seems to be the destination.” After a grueling two month summer internship working on the documentary Gleason at a post-production house in Los Angeles, Marriner said he wants to give New York a try and see how the film industry works out there.

A pensive Max Marriner outside The Screen. Photo by Kyleigh Carter

It’s clear he will be missed as a prominent figure of SFUAD’s film clubs. While Bridge of Spies might not quite have been a full house, a few loyal fans of Movie Night still filled the seats. Marjorie Hodge, another senior film major, is a patron of many of the film clubs along with Movie Night. “What I like about the [film] clubs here is that they show some of the things that you probably would’ve seen or couldn’t have seen beforehand but now you can,” said Hodge. When asked about her favorite movie she’d seen at Movie Night, she quickly answered, “Her. [It] was from last year or so. That was the last thing we saw…It was sort of the perfect movie to end the whole year with.” With Marriner’s final Movie Night drawing closer, one of the biggest questions is what his last movie will be. Let’s just hope Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits DVD release sooner rather than later.