Film critic Jackson Murphy (aka Lights Camera Jackson) has sat in hundreds of movie theater chairs throughout his career. On Tuesday, Aug. 8, he will sit in thousands. As part of LCJ Chairathon 2017, Jackson will do the unimaginable by sitting in every seat in the Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13 & RPX Theater (Albany, NY) , non-stop.
The 18-year-old member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association is performing the feat to raise funds for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
A Personal Cause
“I have a close family member who’s fighting Parkinson’s right now, so she’s my inspiration for this,” Jackson said. “Plus, I’ve always been a big fan of Mr. Fox and how he has lived and worked with Parkinson’s disease.”
The Emmy-winning critic and entertainment reporter initially reached out to the General Manager at Regal Colonie with the idea. He liked it and passed the idea on to the execs at Regal Entertainment Group, and who also responded enthusiastically and signed-on.
Training for the Event
Jackson’s training regimen for the event involves a lot of stationary bike at home, but there’s no substitute for the actual venue. Jackson trains regularly at the theater itself. He started with the smallest theater, but has now moved on to more, and larger, auditoriums.
“I started training a few months ago. For a typical movie I spend at least two hours in the same seat,” says Jackson. “For this event I’ll be spending about two seconds in each seat, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge.”
Working With Team Fox
Although Jackson hasn’t yet spoken personally to Michael J. Fox about the event, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is involved.
“I’m working with ‘Team Fox,’ which is the group that deals with the hundreds of individual fundraising events that people do to support the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research each year,” Jackson says. “Hopefully, Michael will hear about my event, because it’s different from anything anyone has done before for MJFF. I don’t think he’ll be attending, but a representative of MJFF may come to watch.”
Where to Watch, Where to Donate
LCJ Chairathon 2017 will be streamed live on multiple platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), so people around the globe can follow Jackson as he goes row by row, section by section, auditorium to auditorium, sitting in every chair in the multiplex – all 2,740.
Jackson is asking movie fans throughout the world to donate a penny per chair ($27.40), though donations of all sizes will be appreciated. As a Team Fox event, 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Donations can be made at: fundraise.michaeljfox.org/LCJChairathon. Jackson Murphy is a contributor to numerous media outlets, including WGNA-FM, Animation Scoop, CT Style, The Morning Show (Australia), and Teen Kids News. His reviews can be found at lights-camera-jackson.com.
Jim Dixon 