Instagram/X/Eventbrite: Social sites are a great place to learn about online and in-person film screenings held by local organizations as well as major studios. You can follow the major film studios, local movie theaters, and radio stations on social media for a jump on the competition. You’ll need to sift through the immense array of free events for something that resonates with your particular tastes, but there are hidden gems to be found if you’re willing to dig. You can search for an upcoming film by name, or you can search “free screenings Montana,” for example, to find viewings near you.
Movie Screenings (Facebook Group): Members from around the US share promotional codes, links, and strategies in this open Facebook group.
Saturday Night Live Reservations: The Mount Everest of them all, SNL, is still going strong in its golden years. The show has a yearly sweepstakes where prospective visitors submit their email during the month of August for free passes to a specific episode. The website also is home to a weekly lottery for standby tickets. Each Thursday at 10:00 am, the SNL crew releases tickets for that weekend’s dress rehearsal and live show. Competition is intense, and seats fill up faster than the time it takes to ride the elevator from the 30 Rock lobby up to Studio 8H.
Warner Bros. Studios: The studio-sponsored site allows visitors to enter a promotional code from all the channels by which the codes are distributed—through the studio, from movie theaters, via local TV and radio stations, or at AdvanceScreenings.com—to unlock free ticket vouchers to a variety of WB television and movie offerings.
Helpful Hints
Be persistent, be early. Most ticketing platforms operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply for admission ASAP. Set alerts and check for new releases several times daily, especially for AdvanceScreenings.com. Once you get your free ticket, be sure to show up at the venue early. Events are often overbooked by the promoters to ensure a full house, so don’t get stuck at the back of the line.
Flexibility helps. Popular shows and films fill up quickly. If you’re open to lesser-known events, you’ll have a better shot at securing a spot.
Some waiting required. Even after getting in, expect to wait for possible production delays. For high-demand events, arriving hours early is key. Prepare by bringing snacks and wearing comfy shoes.
Know the etiquette. Each event has its own set of rules regarding age restrictions, mobile device use, and dress codes. Even if the invitation doesn’t offer implicit guidance, dressing well (business casual) enhances the experience. And, if you’re at a TV taping, it could get you a better seat.
Be kind to the event staff. These people work hard to give you the best experience possible, so follow their instructions and help make their lives easier. Today’s ticket collector could be tomorrow’s shot-caller with the power to grant you VIP seats.
The Ultimate Challenge: Saturday Night Live Standby Tickets
For the true die-hards, securing SNL standby tickets is an endurance test. At 10:00 am on Thursdays, fans flock to the NBC website to vie for seats to the dress rehearsal on Saturday evening, and the live show at 11:30 pm Saturday night. Then, they enter contact information, and successful visitors are assigned a numeric position in line. Hopefuls for the dress rehearsal start lining up on 50th between Fifth & Sixth Avenues at 6:00 pm Friday. (For the live show, we lined up at 49th Street & Sixth Avenue.) By 7:00 pm, they begin counting those the current queue to determine the permanent numeric order of the tickets. At exactly 12:01 am Saturday, numbered standby tickets are handed out—but even then these are just standby tickets, so whether or not you’ll actually get in depends on how many ticketed guests show up.
After trying for months, I was one of the lucky one-hundred-or-so site visitors to be assigned a number (#85) for the live show. That Friday, I got in line six hours early with ambivalence and a collapsible camping chair, unsure whether I would be given a physical ticket. I was also unsure whether I would last in the frigid 30-degree December weather.