Winners Watched 57 Movies in 123 Hours Without Sleeping Oscar(R) Winner Susan Sarandon Delivers Final Movie
NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Movie lovers Suresh Joachim and
Claudia Wavra today emerged as the winners of the Netflix Popcorn Bowl event
after 123 hours and 10 minutes of continuous movie watching. Hosted by
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, the
grueling movie marathon began on October 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET and concluded
today at 3:10 p.m. ET establishing a new Guinness World Record(R) for most
consecutive hours spent watching movies.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/AQTU120-a)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/AQTU120-b)
Held in a plexi-glass house in New York's Times Square, the event began
with eight Netflix challengers and narrowed to two by the 72-hour mark. The
participants began the journey with this summer's hit "Iron Man" (2008), and
concluded with the contemporary classic "Thelma & Louise" (1991). In total,
they watched 57 films, including "The American President," "The Bourne
Identity," "Chariots of Fire," "Kill Bill Vol. 2," "The English Patient,"
"Caddyshack" and many more. As a sign of support, Academy-Award(R) winning
actor Susan Sarandon dropped off the final film and gave the weary
participants words of encouragement in the final hours of the event.
"I have enjoyed watching so many wonderful American movies in the last
five days," said Joachim, a 39-year-old Sri Lanka native who now lives in
Toronto. "I currently hold 33 Guinness World Records and I am happy to be
achieving more of my goals by adding the Netflix Popcorn Bowl to my
accomplishments."
"Setting the new world record at the Netflix Popcorn Bowl event has been
an unforgettable experience," said the 31-year-old Wavra of Petersberg,
Germany. "This is the fourth time I am breaking this record, but doing it in
New York City is especially important to me because I've always wanted to do
something great here."
According to the contest's rules, each movie had to be viewed until the
last credit rolled. The participants were closely monitored by judges and
medical professionals who checked their vital signs on a regular basis to
ensure they could safely endure the challenge. Under Guinness World Record
rules, competitors could not divert their eyes from the screen, but were
allowed 10-minute breaks between movies.
Stamina, determination, love of movies, team camaraderie and the chance to
get in the Guinness World Records book kept the participants in the game. The
challengers chatted during movies, high-fived at milestone moments and
exercised together to keep awake. Exercise guru Richard Simmons visited on
day two of the event to lead the group in calisthenics. Contestants who
conceded returned to the arena to exhort their colleagues on.
SOURCE Netflix
