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Host Guide

GASLAND PART II Movie Party
Host Guide

QUICK LINKS:

EVENT HOST TRAINING CALL:

*If you do not see the audio player above, click here to download the recording.

Overview

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On Sunday, July 14, thousands of MoveOn members will gather in living rooms and community centers across the country to watch Gasland Part II, the brilliant new documentary from Oscar-nominated director Josh Fox—and we’ll strategize about how we can fight fracking town by town, city by city. Thank you for hosting!

Hosting a movie party may sound intimidating—but it’s actually pretty simple. This page covers everything you’ll need to organize a great event; if you read it and still have questions, email help@moveon.org and a MoveOn volunteer will help you out.

Before Your Event

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Invite friends and co-workers

To invite folks to your party, just log in to your host tools page. (We sent the link to this by email. If you can’t find the link to your host tools page in the email we sent you after you signed up, click here.) On the main page, you’ll see a box that says “Invite Others.” All you need to do is fill in the email addresses of friends and colleagues to invite, write a message in the lower box, and hit “Email invitations to this event.” Be sure to include the event URL shown on your event coordinator page in your message so that guests go directly to your event. A simple email will do the trick.

Decide if you want to invite other MoveOn members

If you marked your party as private during the meeting creation process, only people you send the sign-up link to will be able to sign up. If your party is public, MoveOn members in your area will be able to find it and sign up to attend. It doesn’t mean that your event will be open to the public, just to other MoveOn members. You can change the setting any time by going to your host tools page and changing the setting in the “Event Host Tools” box.

Read through the party agenda and print materials

Download and print the agenda here.

Print sign-in sheets here.

Review the additional materials to the right and print any you’d like to have on hand

The best way to have a party that flows seamlessly is to think through the agenda from start to finish beforehand. Some questions to consider:

  • If you live in an apartment building, will people need to be buzzed in?
  • If you’re holding the party at home, which room will be most comfortable for watching and discussing the movie? Do you have enough chairs?
  • If you’re holding it somewhere else, scout out the location — will it serve your needs?
  • Where will you sit to lead the meeting part of the agenda so that everyone can hear you?
  • What will you say to transition between agenda items? Do you need a timekeeper?
  • Do you have pens available for people to sign in, and scrap paper for notes?
  • Do you want nametags?

Taking a few minutes to make sure you’re clear on the agenda will make everything go smoothly on the day of the party.

Make sure your technology works

This is important. Check your local HBO listings to confirm that Gasland Part II is playing at the time you think it is. If you have HBO East, the movie starts at 3:15 p.m. ET (2:15 p.m. CT/1:15 p.m. MT/12:15 p.m. PT/9:15 a.m. HT). If you have HBO West, the movie starts at 6:15 p.m. ET (5:15 p.m. CT/4:15 p.m. MT/3:15 p.m. PT/12:15 p.m. HT). If you have both, you can pick which time works best for you. Your party should start 15 minutes before the movie begins, so that you have time to welcome your guests.

If you plan to use HBO GO to stream the movie on your computer, test out HBO GO in advance, on the device that you will use during your party.

Be sure to test your equipment before the day of your event—because it’s no fun to have your guests arrive and then discover that your TV no longer works or your roommate cancelled your HBO subscription. And if you have a digital camera or cameraphone, make sure it’s charged before the event. We’d love to have a photo from your event to share with other MoveOn members.

Start your petition to ban fracking in your community

After watching Gasland Part II, your guests will likely be fired up to take action to stop fracking. Dozens of communities around the country have passed bans or moratoria on fracking and other steps in the fracking process, like dumping fracking waste. Imagine if every group of MoveOn members who watch Gasland Part II started a local campaign to ban fracking in their town—and won! You can take the first step by starting your petition today and having guests sign it when they come over Sunday. And we’ll help you gather more signatures by sending your petition to other MoveOn members, and supporting you every step of the way. Click here to start your petition.

Decide on snacks.

All you need to make your party a success is access to HBO, and a television or computer monitor. But food and drinks certainly are a plus—and they make socializing with new people a little more comfortable.

We’ve asked people to sign up to bring snacks. To see who signed up, and to ask them to bring specific items, log into your host tools page. In the “Guests” section, look at the final column, “Volunteered”, to see who has offered to bring refreshments. You can send them an email from the page to ask them to bring something specific. Check the box next to the guest you’d like to email and select “Send email.”

Remind your guests

The best way to ensure a successful party is to remind people to come. Usually the “law of halves” applies for events like this: you should only expect half of the people who sign up for an event to actually show up. It’s not because they don’t want to be there, but because we all lead busy lives and can’t do everything we sometimes think we can. But you can always increase your show-up rate by giving people reminder emails and especially phone calls.

Invite the media

Fracking is in the news all over the country, and many reporters are interested to know that residents are organizing to get informed and fight back. Download this sample press advisory, fill in the details specific to your event, and email or fax it to media outlets in your area. Click here to get a list of local media outlets near you.

Then, call the media outlets to let them know about your event. Calling the media sounds scary, but it’s really simple. If you can call someone up and invite them to a party, you can do this. To be really thorough, call them twice: once a day or two before the event, and then again on the morning of the event to give them a reminder.

During Your Event

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Your main responsibility once people arrive is to manage the flow of the party. The movie is long—2 hours and 10 minutes—and you’ll want time for discussion and next steps after the movie ends. It’s important to stick to the agenda so that guests who can’t stay as long still get to participate.

But don’t worry if this is your first time hosting a party like this. You just need to get the discussion started, remind people of the agenda if the discussion runs over, and summarize any decisions. Your guests are all there because they want to help make a difference, so they won’t care if you don’t get things perfect.

Use your agenda

Click here to download the agenda. Print a copy to use during your movie party.

Ask a guest to take photos

If you’ve got a digital camera or cameraphone, you may want to assign someone to take photos so that you can stay focused on running the meeting.

Join the call with director Josh Fox at 8:30 p.m. ET or 5:30 p.m. ET

Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of Gasland and Gasland Part II will join MoveOn members for a special strategy briefing after the movie airs on HBO. If your movie starts at 6:15 p.m. ET, join the call at 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 CT/6:30 MT/5:30 PT/2:30 HT). If your movie starts at 3:15 pm ET, join the call at 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. MT/2:30 p.m. PT/11:30 a.m. HT).

Call-in Details:
Number: 1 (310) 409-2027
Pin: 564448

Circulate your petition

If you started a petition to make your community a Frack-Free Zone, ask your guests to sign it (on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, since it’s an online petition). If you didn’t start a petition before your party, that’s OK—ask one of your guests to start the petition for the group!

Have fun!

After Your Event

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Accept help

So that you don’t have to do all the work, we asked other members to volunteer to stick around and help you clean up. To see who agreed to stay late, log into your host tools page here. In the “Guests” section, look at the final column, “Volunteered”, to see who has offered to help clean up.

Tell us how it went

After your event, fill out a brief survey telling us how your party went. (Coming soon!)

Spread your petition to build your local campaign

If you or one of your guests started a petition to make your community a Frack-Free Zone, start gathering signatures by emailing your petition to everyone you know, posting it on Facebook and Twitter, and by sharing it with local organizations who care about stopping fracking. Click here for more tips on growing your petition.

If your group hasn’t started a petition yet, get it going now by clicking here.

Send in your photos

Send photos from your event to photo@moveon.org. We’ll make a slideshow of photos from all of the movie parties so we can see how big our movement is growing and inspire other MoveOn members and allies to join us.

Thank guests for coming

A quick follow-up thank you note is always appreciated. Go to the “Guests” section of your host tools page to send an email. If your group decided to meet again, you can remind folks of the meeting details. If you started a petition, you can email your guests and ask them to share the petition with their friends.

Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Email help@moveon.org.

Must-have Materials

Host tools page

This is how you invite people and contact attendees. We sent you a link to this by email. If you can’t find the link to your host tools page in the email we sent you after you signed up, click here.

Movie party agenda

Download and print this here.

Sign-in sheets

Download and print these here.

Signs

You can print these out to use in photos for a record of your party. You can also make your own signs. Include the name of your city or state so we can see all the places that MoveOn members are getting organized to stop fracking!

Sharing and social media

Email photos and video to photo@moveon.org.

Tweet using hashtags #USAgainstFracking and #BanFrackingNow, and mentioning @gaslandmovie

Get in touch with local allies

Chances are there are like-minded folks near you who are also working for an end to fracking. Consider reaching out and inviting local allies to your movie party. We are stronger together!

Start your petition

Imagine what could happen if MoveOn members and allies in hundreds of cities and towns across the country launched and won campaigns to ban fracking locally—from drilling to dumping waste to exporting. You can help get this wave of organizing started by starting a petition in your community. If you start the petition before your movie party, you can have your guests sign it and you can invite them to help you spread the word. Start your petition here.

Fact sheets

Allies have produced excellent materials on the threat of fracking. Gasland Part II is perhaps the best educational tool of all, but if you’d like more info on fracking, check out:

Need help? Email help@moveon.org