With more than 600 students planning to attend on Facebook, the most buzzed about event on campus this week is Thursday’s pre-screening of the first episode of season five of HBO’s hit show “Game of Thrones.”
Although the pre-screening doesn’t begin until 7:30 p.m., there’ll be fun for fans of all Houses when the line opens at 4 p.m., thanks to emcee sophomore Danny New.
“I’m going to be going around with a camera before the doors open just to talk to people and interview them and recruit them for games we’re going to do,” said New about his plan to entertain the impatient crowd outside the theater.
New’s experience wih comedy includes hosting “Off the Wire” at UMTV and writing as a humor columnist for The Miami Hurricane. To set up the pre-show, he spoke with junior Andrea Brook, an HBO College campus agent who helped coordinate the pre-screening.
New has high hopes for the pre-show. The night will be jam-packed with “Game of Thrones”-themed festivities, including giveaways, games and contests.
“We’re hoping that people are going to dress up,” he said. “ And we’re hoping to get the crowd riled up for the next season.”
Still, there were some ideas that were scrapped in the brainstorming process.
“Some of them were a little too crazy,” New admitted. “I had one for a twerking contest to recruit for the Night Watch: Twerking on the Throne. We ended up not choosing that.”
While he wouldn’t reveal any of the jokes he had written for the occasion, New did reveal that he hoped to strike a contrast with the tone of the main event.
“The things that we’re going to do are going to be a little more family friendly, because we had some ideas that were kind of too dark,” New said. “Because the show is pretty dark, and we want to keep it upbeat.”
Headed into a performance in front of hundreds of UM students, New was confident in his ability to create a memorable night for the crowd.
“My best skill is my crowd work,” he said. “Everything I do is for the crowd. The crowd is the throne and I am the servant. That’s all I am.”