'Pearl Jam Twenty' Sells Out the Siskel Film Center

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 18, 2011 8:00PM

The Cameron Crowe documentary about Pearl Jam's twenty years as rock icons will be showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center, starting Oct. 1. But if you want to get tickets, you're too late. All of the showings sold out by Sept. 15.

This is another big victory for the Siskel. They aren't showing "Cowboys vs. Aliens" or whatever unnecessary Katherine Heigl romantic comedy some desperate movie studio created, yet they are finding success by showing the right kind of films. The theater just hosted its highest grossing film ever with its recent run of "The Interrupters," the intense and touching documentary about those working to prevent violent crime on the south side.

It seems the Siskel is reaching just outside of their usual niche audience of cinephiles who love obscure independent films. And they're doing it without straying from the kind of quality films they've always shown. Perhaps it's luck, perhaps it's PR, but you should definitely be paying closer attention to the quality events the Siskel hosts.

If you didn't get tickets for "Pearl Jam Twenty," at least you can watch the trailer. Or here is a video of Pearl Jam playing "Yellow Ledbetter" and the national antehm at their soiree at Alpine. Maybe that will make you feel better.