Star Wars Contest Lasts 30 Hours, Victor Sees Force Awakens 9 Times

StewShearerOld

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Jan 5, 2013
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Star Wars Contest Lasts 30 Hours, Victor Sees Force Awakens 9 Times

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Jim Barden won a Star Wars marathon competition after staying awake through 30 hours of Star Wars films.

After waiting for years to see <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/cinemarter/15178-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-Review>Star Wars: The Force Awakens you'd think there would be no such thing as seeing too much of the movie. Intent on testing that theory, the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain in Austin, Texas decided to test fans' endurance by <a href=https://drafthouse.com/news/star-wars-the-marathon-awakens>hosting a contest to find the "ultimate" Star Wars fan. The terms of the competition? Watch a butt-ton of Star Wars and stay awake.

While that might not sound too difficult, it's a task that's easier said than done. Just ask Jim Barden, the contest's winner who sat through 15 Star War movies (the prequels, original trilogy and 9 screenings of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/star%20wars%20the%20force%20awakens?os=star+wars+the+force+awakens>The Force Awakens, to claim victory. The whole process took a grueling 30 hours which Barden conquered with careful advance planning. "I was really careful about what I ate," he said. "One meal a day, a light chicken wrap, at lunchtime, supplemented by tons of water and little snacks like a sliced apple." Eschewing common gamer practices for staying awake at length he also avoided high caffeine drinks like Red Bull. " stuck with a cup of black coffee every 6 hours, which is the maintenance dose for getting the benefits of caffeine." He also employed other small "tricks" like "deep diaphragm breathing," peppermint gum and sniffing lemon wedges. The contest obviously didn't allow for other, less legal stimulants. (Though it did give participants bathroom breaks.)

Outlasting eight other competitors after 30 hours of movie viewing, Barden found himself the recipient of free Star Wars movie tickets for life as well as a collection Star Wars merchandise and a seat named after him in the theater where the contest took place. He also won the honor of being proclaimed the ultimate Star Wars fan by the theater, though we'd imagine that might be a less than official title. As for Barden himself, he's still not done seeing The Force Awakens. "I think it has a bit of a Stockholm Syndrome-like hold on me now," he said. "I've come to love my tormentor. My parents are coming into town for Christmas, and I've already gotten us tickets to see the movie while they're here. And I can't wait to see it again."

Source: <a href=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-film-marathon-winner-850715>Hollywood Reporter


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Silentpony_v1legacy

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Jun 5, 2013
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Well...I had goat curry, a beer and some sleep in the last 30 hours, so I guess we know who spent their time better.
 

Scarim Coral

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Wasn't there was something similar to this but not as a competitions?

It was a marathon on seeing ALL of the Marvel Cinematic Universes before Age of Ultron was out. I can't remember the total length of it thought which I can guess it was over 24 hours?
 

Spygon

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May 16, 2009
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All that to keep awake for 30 hours i pretty much did that time just playing fallout 4 when it came out and i got drunk on the night.
 

Jadak

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Spygon said:
All that to keep awake for 30 hours i pretty much did that time just playing fallout 4 when it came out and i got drunk on the night.
Not really the same. Staying awake is magnitudes easier when you have something to be involved in (although being drunk wouldn't help).

Watch even a great movie more than a couple times and good luck staying interested. 20 of those 30 hours probably weren't much easier than staying awake while staring at all.

Still, you're not wrong, 30 hours does is not that impressive a figure. Watching a movie for that long is by far more of a challenge than simply staying awake that long.