Fri Sep 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger

ComicMix's Matt Raub Selected for Netflix Contest

Can he Watch More Movies in a Row Than Anyone Else?

ComicMix’s own Matt Raub has been selected as one of the eight contestants to participate in next week’s Netflix Movie Watching World Championship. The October 2-7 event will be seen by Manhattanites in the Times Square area.

The Quest for the Popcorn Bowl is expected to last until a new Guinness World Record, for most consecutive hours spent watching movies, is set five days later on October 7. The bleary-eyed winner will take home a $10,000 cash prize, a lifetime subscription to Netflix and the first-ever Popcorn Bowl trophy.

Contestants will be expected to watch a continuous run of movies in an effort to eclipse the existing world record of 120 hours and 23 minutes held by Ashish Sharma of Mathura, India. Sharma will be on hand to defend his title.

The event begins October 2 at 10:30 a.m. with competitors assuming their positions in the Netflix Movie Watching Arena, a plexi-glass living room in the center of Times Square.

“The Netflix Movie Watching World Championship is a showcase for die-hard movie buffs who possess incredible focus and discipline,” said Leslie Kilgore, chief marketing officer for Netflix. “It combines the love of movies with the thrill of competition at the crossroads of the world.”

Raub managed to earn a spot in the competition after Netflix opened it up to amateurs who posted entertaining audition videos at Facebook.  Raub’s entry can be seen here.  He’ll be posting his experiences once the competition ends and he gets some sleep.
 

The field of movie watchers includes record holders, as well as rookies to marathon movie watching. The competitors include:

    * Sharma, who watched movies for 120 hours and 23 minutes in June in Mathura, India, and is traveling to New York for the event.

    * Former three-time movie marathon record holder Claudia Wavra of Germany who will attempt to reclaim the title she lost to Sharma in June.

    * Suresh Joachim, a Canadian of Sri Lankan descent, who holds 32 Guinness World Records. Mr. Joachim is an endurance champion whose records include television viewing (69 hours, 48 minutes), dancing (100 hours), radio dj-ing (120 hours), and ironing (55 hours, 5 minutes), among other disciplines.

    * Cheryl Jones of Portland, Ore. who was a part of the team of Netflix members who broke the Guinness World Record for continuous movie watching in 2003.

    * Dallas movie buff Jeff Jones who won $250,000 on the movie edition of the popular game show series Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 2007.

    * New York-based competitive eating champion, Crazy Legs Conti, who also happens to be a cinephile with a penchant for ‘80s films, will join the ranks of endurance enthusiasts for a shot at the title.

Guinness World Records rules require the contestants to watch films non-stop without averting their eyes from the screen. Competitors will be given 10 minutes between each movie, or approximately every two hours, to refresh themselves. Eating, drinking, standing and stretching are allowed as long as eyes are on the screen. Gourmet, chef crafted popcorn will be provided by Dale and Thomas Popcorn throughout the event. Medical professionals will monitor the contestants’ conditions throughout the event and assess if contestants are truly “watching” or are simply staring blankly at the screen.

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