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Wes Anderson at Music Box Screening Tickets Snatched up in 10 Minutes

By Serena Dai | February 25, 2014 6:46am | Updated on February 25, 2014 1:13pm
 Wes Anderson, a writer and director known for his irreverent comedies, will be doing a free question-and-answer session at the Music Box Theatre in March.
Wes Anderson, a writer and director known for his irreverent comedies, will be doing a free question-and-answer session at the Music Box Theatre in March.
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Getty Images/Ian Gavan

LAKEVIEW — Tickets to a free screening and Q&A with Wes Anderson at the Music Box were snatched up almost immediately Tuesday afternoon — but 100 fans will get another chance to snag a seat Wednesday at noon.

The director with a cult following and writer known for quirky films such as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Moonrise Kingdom" will be available for a question-and-answer session after a special free screening of "The Grand Budapest Hotel," at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" is showing on Saturday at 4 p.m., ahead of the citywide release date of March 14.

The 700 free tickets for the special screening became available at noon Tuesday and were gone within 10 minutes, making it one of the fastest selling events in Music Box history, according to Rob Walton, a theater spokesman.

By comparison, an August 2013 free double screening of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright appearance sold out in less than an hour, Walton said, though it did not benefit from an advance notice.

Fans can still attend the Anderson Q&A if they buy a $42 pass to the Music Box's Wes Anderson Anthology Series, screenings of all nine of the director's films starting this Friday. Only 100 will be sold, and they will go on sale on Wednesday at noon. Series pass holders will get priority to enter the Anderson appearance on Saturday, but they must arrive before 3:30 p.m., Walton said.

Tickets to individual Anderson films in the anthology cost $10 and will not get access to the free screening.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" follows the adventures of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel and a lobby boy who becomes his friend. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Tilda Swinton.

But even if you're one of the lucky ones to get an RSVP to the Q&A, the theater encourages you to show up early on Saturday — the event is overbooked and people will be allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis.