Movie Watching World Championship

On Thursday 2 eight iron-willed competitors will enter a Plexiglas booth in Times Square and watch movies for five days straight (or longer!) in an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for movie marathoning (and win $10,000, courtesy of Netflix). Here are the best times to check on their progress.

Thursday 2 at 10:30am Look for an Olympicsesque ceremony wherein contestants sport tracksuits bearing their countries’ flags. Says two-time competitor Cheryl Jones, 39, of Portland, Oregon, “I’m a big fan of the Red Bull; I mean, just the credits for The Matrix Reloaded were, like, 20 minutes long.”

Friday 3 8am–noon Richard Simmons will lead the eightsome in stretching and a light workout. Competitor Jeff Jones, 30, of Dallas, is pysched: “I’ve turned into a couch potato!”

Sunday 5 5–7am See ’em drop like flies! Competitor Claudia Wavra, 31, of Petersberg, Germany, says, “By this time, you’re asking yourself, Why am I sitting here? It is a game between spirit and body. ‘Winners are simply willing to do what losers won’t.’ That’s from Million Dollar Baby.” Cruelly, each contender is also allowed to add a “secret weapon” to the movie playlist. (Jeff Jones is leaning toward The English Patient.)

Monday 6 1am–6pm If anybody knows endurance, it’s challenger Suresh Joachim, 39, of Toronto. He’s set records for 84 hours of continuous drumming, 75 hours of singing Elvis tunes and 100 hours of bowling. “My breaking point would be the fifth day between 1 and 7am,” he guesses. Lucky for him, Susan Sarandon is slated to make a guest appearance this day—and if Bull Durham is any indication, that’d keep any athlete motivated.