Monster deals in film

Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd

FREE You don’t have to be Moriarty from Ain’t It Cool News to catch free advance flicks. Media-sponsored screenings (like the ones organized by this magazine’s marketing department—see tonyfreeflix.com for info) are easy to find weekly. But hard-core cinéastes stand right outside AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 weekend evenings and look for a dude with a clipboard. He’s from Movie View, a marketing company that holds test screenings waaaay in advance. Last Sunday at 5pm, we were offered same-day tickets—for as many friends as we wanted—to a rough cut of Baby Mama, a comedy starring Tina Fey that’ll be released in April. To register without stalking anyone, go online to screeningsexchange.com, or call 877-842-9247, and sign up for e-mail invites.

$6–$11 As for first-run films, AMC charges only $6 for all shows before noon on weekends and holidays, the perfect price for the unemployed. Outer-borough multiplexes are also a buck or so cheaper than the usual $11. Try our favorite place for an $8 Saturday matinee: UA Kaufman Astoria. The suburban megaplex is blocks from the Museum of the Moving Image, which is also a sweet deal—like Film Forum, it offers double features of classics for the price of one ticket ($10.50 at Film Forum and $10 at Moving Image).

$18–$40 For a few bucks more, Moving Image and the Film Society of Lincoln Center host special screenings and previews, and tickets usually sell out fast. LC hosts “Fresh Blood: An Evening with Tim Burton,” featuring footage from the forthcoming Sweeney Todd, on November 14. The top price is $60 for an orchestra seat. At Moving Image, Javier Bardem presents No Country for Old Men on November 8 ($18 for nonmembers). Members find out about such events first via an e-mail (they also get reduced admission). But sign up for the general newsletter—at movingimage.us—and you’ll be second to know.

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