“I’ve a narrative for you. You would possibly kill me.”

These are phrases no author needs to listen to from their editor, and but on Thursday at 3:04 p.m. they got here ringing in my ear like a loss of life knell.

“So there’s a screening of ‘Dune: Half Two’ at 3:15 within the morning,” he mentioned. I see the place that is going. “Wouldn’t it’s enjoyable in case you went?”

That’s when the dread set in. Not as a result of I had simply agreed to drag an all-nighter on the planet Arrakis however as a result of that meant I needed to spend the remainder of my afternoon watching the primary “Dune,” which, for no matter purpose, I managed to keep away from within the two and a half years since its launch. I went residence and set to work.

I considered how I’d method this merciless project. Ought to I drive myself to sleep at 9 p.m. and set an alarm for two:30 a.m.? Deal with the AMC plush rocker as a cradle and settle for early on that there is no such thing as a means my eyes will keep open all through the movie? My girlfriend supplied me a few of her prescription Adderall to remain awake, which I thought-about earlier than — don’t chuckle at me — Googling “Does Adderall provide you with a foul comedown?” The primary end result was a helpline quantity.

So, after a number of failed makes an attempt at falling asleep earlier than the film, I surrendered and drank a espresso an hour earlier than showtime. I grabbed an Uber and arrived on the AMC Lincoln Sq. at nighttime, the place I lined up with round 200 other freaks and/or insomniacs to witness Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi spectacle in wonderful 70mm Imax on America’s greatest film display screen.

It was primarily dudes. And apart from one man wearing bedazzled cowboy boots and draped in glowing chains, the gown code was schlubby-casual. In any case, this isn’t “Barbie.” (Although one older gentleman confirmed his studio spirit with a Warner Bros. bomber jacket, a nod to the corporate footing the invoice for Villeneuve’s imaginative and prescient.)

Whereas in line, I chatted up a trio of mates of their 20s who had trekked 45 minutes from New Jersey. They noticed the primary “Dune” just some days in the past at a fan screening and purchased “Half Two” tickets for 3:15 a.m. as a result of basically each different 70mm Imax displaying was bought out. 

That was a standard theme. At this ungodly hour, individuals got here to this place not for magic however as a result of they procrastinated. Chris (26) and Kristina (23), a pair who drove in from Lengthy Island, didn’t sabotage their Friday and spend their afternoon power-napping as a result of they wished to — it was their solely choice. Identical goes for 22-year-old Victor, who camped out in an NYU library till 2 a.m. to keep away from commuting backwards and forwards to Jersey Metropolis. Emily, a 21-year-old movie scholar at Tempo clutching two Dasani bottles, was right here as a result of she was “bullied into it” by her mates.

For all its star energy — the movie’s forged is an elite roster of hotties and heartthrobs — not one of many dozen or so individuals I talked to even talked about Timmy Chalamet, Zendaya or Austin Butler. Relatively, the caffeinated fanaticism appeared fully centered on the movie’s specialty format. Transfer over Florence Pugh, we got here for the 70mm Imax.

For 31-year-old filmmaker Orges Bakalli, it was basic math: “It’s ‘Dune.’ It’s Imax. It’s 70mm. That is the display screen.” Standing behind the concessions line, which even at 3:30 a.m. continued to snake past the stanchions, Bakalli smiled. “Cinema is again, child!”

Amy, a 19-year-old assistant supervisor scanning tickets, informed me earlier than the film began that her shift sometimes ends round 3 a.m., reminding me that AMC isn’t usually a 24-hour institution.

“Normally our final showtimes are round 11 or 12, however for ‘Dune’ we added yet another as a result of we knew individuals would come for it,” mentioned Amy, who clocked in at 5:45 p.m. and deliberate to go residence round 5 a.m. “To be trustworthy, the subsequent time I’ve the sort of shift I must have sufficient meals and sufficient vitality.”

It was solely 3:40 a.m. and my eyelids have been already swelling, so I bought an enormous Weight-reduction plan Coke. A lot to my dismay, AMC had already bought out of these fuckable popcorn buckets. 

Contained in the theater, individuals have been pumped. The room was about 80% full, however I discovered a pocket of empty seats to inhabit. As a brand-new Nicole Kidman advert hypnotized the viewers, one man screamed, “I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!” Not even the title card studying “Dune: Half Two” prompted that stage of enthusiasm.

About 45 minutes into the film, I believed for certain I used to be toast. These attractive desert sand dunes jogged my memory of pillows, and I questioned what life selections I made that led me right here, to seat H35. However then I noticed a man nod off two rows forward of me, and I considered how annoying it will be to need to see this film once more simply to catch the elements I missed. I’m not weak like him, I believed, inhaling my Weight-reduction plan Coke. And, to even my very own shock, I powered by means of, savoring Paul Atreides’ larger-than-life odyssey all the best way till the credit rolled at 6:18 a.m.

On the escalator down, I caught up with the three mates from New Jersey. “What are your plans this morning?” I requested, they usually informed me they have been going to stroll west to look at the dawn over the Hudson. I didn’t have the guts (learn: mind cells) to inform them the solar rises within the east.

Emily and her mates have been heading to the Flame Diner for breakfast, certainly one of them mentally getting ready for her NYU rehearsal at midday. Me? I received an Uber residence. I had different enterprise to take care of.

After I exited AMC, deliriously drained, the solar was smiling down Broadway. A smattering of individuals emerged from the subway, strolling with function up and down the road. It was tomorrow, and these individuals have been residing sooner or later. I couldn’t wait to slither like a sandworm into mattress.