Do You Feel Lucky, Punk? CIFF's Surprise Movie is Free

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 15, 2010 5:30PM

If you the gambling type, Tuesday could be your chance to get a sneak preview of a movie before anyone else in Chicago. The catch is that you won't know what the movie will be until just before the opening credits start to roll.

The Chicago International Film Festival continues their tradition of showing a "surprise film" at the end of the festival, which they promise will be an "upcoming mega-hit movie." Tron? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Burlesque? We're skeptical, but still curious.

If you had shown up last year, you would have heard CIFF chief Michael Kutza announce The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus to the applause and delight of many. The year before, you would have been treated to... Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla (which was in theaters the following Friday anyway). So you are taking a chance.

We were going to take a stab at guessing the chosen film, but several hours with our Ouija board and a stack of back issues of Variety yielded inconclusive results. Even the magic 8-ball wasn't helping. So we consulted our lucky dartboard, which was unambiguously declared that the movie will be Welcome to the Rileys. You heard it here first.

Whatever the movie is, it will be free for anyone showing up at the AMC River East theater wearing official a Chicago International Film Festival shirt, until they run out of seats. We bet you could get away with one of their hoodies or sweatshirts, too.

If known quantities are more your thing, you can always check out our coverage of the fest to find some movies worth seeing and our picks for the festival.

The CIFF Surprise film is free to those in CIFF attire, Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., at the AMC River East 21 theater, 322 East Illinois.