Los Angeles

This page is designed to compile all known ways to attend a free advanced movie screening, both online and offline. If you live in Los Angeles and know of other providers or offers in your area, please leave a comment and help us out.

General Providers

When you attend enough advanced screenings, you start to notice that the same providers keep sponsoring them. So it's in your interest to find out more about these providers.

1. Local Radio

Generally, local radio stations can give out screening passes six ways:

• Listen to win: "Our 29th caller gets tickets for two to see.."
  
• Pass pick-up: "Drop by our station office and pick up passes..."
• Expo or festival: "Stop by our booth and be sure to grab tix..."
• Follow the van: "Our wacky afternoon DJ has driven the prize van over to some local business and is giving away free hot dogs and movie passes!"
• Point system: "Join our listeners club, and when you earn enough points..."
  
• Online contests: "Enter by Monday. We'll select five winners then to attend..."

In addition to its on-air contests, you'll see K-EARTH 101 offer a movie screening online every now and then. Hot 92.3 and Star 98.7 operate on a point system.

Also try News 980, Jack 93.1, Movin' 93.9, 94.7 The Wave, Free 97.1, V100, 102.7 KIIS, Indie 103.1, KOST 103.5, MY 104.3, and Power 106.

Feel free to find other local stations by using Radio Locator or your favorite Internet search engine.

2. Local Print

The Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and LA Daily News do not appear to have regular pages for online contests.

You should also look for any weekly or community papers that you might find in libraries or in colorful boxes along city sidewalks. The LA Weekly, for example, might offer a little extra in their Insiders page. The OC Weekly will offer a movie or two, either as an advanced screening or for the run of engagement. The Inland Empire Weekly (in Corona) has a contest page. There's also the LA CityBeat, Easy Reader (Hermosa Beach), and Random Lengths (San Pedro).

Don't forget to check the print editions of the above papers to see if movies are offered there.

3. Local TV

ABC 7 may sponsor a watch-and-win offer for a movie screening. NBC 4 offers movie-related prizes, but no screenings. Also visit CBS 2, My13 TV, and The CW.

4. Local Internet

Film Metro has gone national, but is still based in Southern California. Look for multiple offers in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Almost all of the screenings from Campus Circle address the greater Los Angeles area. Often, for major film releases, there will be a pair of simultaneous screenings: one in Hollywood, one elsewhere.

Creative Screenwriting has the occasional free screening. Sometimes it's for a recently released movie; other times it's for a movie yet to be released.

Sign up for the Sneak Preview Club at Laemmle Theatres. You'll receive an e-mail invite about once a month for an advanced screening of an arthouse film.

My Cinema Access offers multiple screenings throughout Los Angeles. They send out e-vites to registered members.

The sign-up form for Black in Los Angeles mentions giveaways for movie premieres.

Edge Los Angeles should soon have a great contest page with frequent and consistent movie offers. Understand that the site addresses gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender culture, so it's important to keep an open mind. After all, a contest is a contest, and anyone can enter. Besides, Edge is just one of several sponsors of a single screening -- they get some passes, and maybe a radio station gets others. So if you win passes, you'll be in a diverse crowd; it's not like they check your sexuality at the door.

5. Regional and National Internet

Blackfilm is based in New York City, but will sometimes include Los Angeles when it offers a screening in multiple cities.

The Screening Exchange will offer screenings that are months in advance of a movie's release. Once you register, you'll be contacted about upcoming screenings, and given a special code and instructions on how to confirm your admission.

Then there's the Landmark Theatres Film Club and The Cinema Source, where you can sign up to receive screening offers by e-mail. (They may be other film clubs out there with paid memberships, but that kind of action is beyond the scope of this site.)

Be sure to check the national forums at Fat Wallet and Slick Deals as well. THE MOVIE OUTSIDER has a representative that posts offers on each of those forums, and compiles a list of screenings by city that links back to here. More importantly, other members in the forums will relay info about multi-city screenings sponsored by the movie studios and PR firms. Use these sites in tandem, and you'll get about as much publicly available information as possible.

Specific Offers

THE BUCKET LIST (already in limited release)

K-EARTH screening
Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30pm in AMC 30 at the Block

HOW SHE MOVE (otherwise opens January 25)

ABC 7 screening
Date, time, and location unknown

TEETH (limited release January 18)

Campus Circle screening
Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7:30pm, location (in West LA) unknown