Entertainment

A24 Is Holding Free Screenings of Its Movies Where They're Set, and It's Going to Rule

From 'Lady Bird' in a Sacramento parking lot to 'Good Time' under a set of elevated subway tracks in Queens.
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US
The Witch, Moonlight, and Lady Bird.
Stills via IMDB

Since its launch in 2012, A24 has consistently made knock-your-socks-off movies, releasing some of the best films of the past seven years—but apparently, that's not enough for the indie distributor. It didn't just put out Swiss Army Man; it gave us a way to sext the main character. And if you saw a midnight screening of Hereditary at SXSW, you might've woken up with one of those creepy-ass dolls from the movie on your doorstep. A24 is constantly coming up with weird new ways to literally bring its films to life, from handing out an award for the world's best Tommy Wiseau impression to selling plastic bear toys inspired by Midsommar—and now the distributor is unveiling its wildest promotion yet.

Advertisement

This summer, A24 is screening some of its biggest movies in the locations where they're set, and each showing is free and open to the public. The series, dubbed "A24 Public Access," kicks off with Lady Bird, which will be shown on a billboard in a Sacramento, California parking lot. Anyone lucky enough to live close by—or willing to make the trek—will have the chance to stake out a viewing spot, spark up a clove cigarette, and cry about their mom in front of a bunch of strangers.

From there, it'll be showing Good Time under a set of elevated subway tracks in Queens; The Spectacular Now in downtown Athens, Georgia; and The Witch in middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire next to a big, dark forest, which sounds unbearably terrifying. It's also showing The Bling Ring outside a liquor store in LA (surely a missed opportunity to screen it in Paris Hilton's closet) and Moonlight in Miami. As Indiewire notes, A24 will be projecting the movie onto a billboard just a few blocks from Moonlight Way, which the city named in honor of the Oscar winner.

You can find all the details on when and where the screenings will take place on A24's website. There's no word yet on whether you'll have to RSVP to the screenings or if you can just kind of show up, leaving you forced to jostle for a good spot against, like, a thousand other hardcore fans, and turning what should be a nice, wholesome event into complete and utter chaos. But let's hope for the best!

There's really no way to complain about something this objectively tight, other than to wish A24 would host a few more screenings. If we're lucky, maybe Public Access will go even bigger next summer, and we'll have a chance to see High Life in space or something. One can dream.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.