Film on the Rocks rolls out fake 2011 summer line-up, Facebook war ensues

Dudes, chill. There will be no showing of Glitter this year at Red Rocks.

​Judging by this weekend's Facebook frenzy over the Denver Film Society's "Bargain Bin" film selection of picks for the 2011 season of Film on the Rocks, there is just no fucking with moviegoers. On Saturday night, Karla Rodriquez, Director of Social Media for the organization and its summer program, dropped a list via the Film on the Rocks Facebook page that included titles like Glitter, From Justin To Kelly and the fantastically awful Eddie Murphy drag show, Norbit, to be included in the summer season.

The people of Facebook have spoken.

​The backlash was so great that Rodriguez posted the actual schedule within 30 minutes of her first status update, just to calm fans' nerves. "It was amazing that we could even get people's attention on Facebook on a Saturday night," Rodriguez says of the surprising amount of social networking chatter.

Rodriquez insists that it was all in fun, and stresses that the amount of planning and decision-making that goes into each year's movie picks is not only a long and detailed process, it is a labor of love. Rodriguez and her Film Society cohorts compile the ultimate list of film possibilities by gathering their own choices and audience picks culled from surveys -- and go from there. "We know what will sell out -- The Big Lebowsksis and Princess Brides are givens," she says. "But it is our job to find a way to balance it all."

The Social Media Director also says that each year of the Film on the Rocks programming aims to maintain the integrity of The Denver Film Society's commitment to bringing art house, commercial and cult films together for everyone to enjoy. In honor of The Cohen Brothers' work True Grit, this year's opening film, The Big Lebowski, was picked by Westword readers in battle between O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Fargo.

For a full list of movies featured at this year's Film on the Rocks season, plus information on ticket purchase and other Film on the Rocks-related events, visit the Denver Film Center's website.

UPDATE: A list of local bands playing with the films was announced today -- for the full lineup, consult our Backbeat blog.

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