In what seems like an overdue payment for subjecting its poor citizens to a lifetime of hearing people say “oh, I didn’t know that was a real place,” The Hollywood Reporter says that Amazon is giving everyone in the real Manchester-By-The-Sea a free year of Amazon Prime. Kennth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea movie was distributed by Amazon Studios and is coming to Prime on May 5, so the idea behind this stunt is that Amazon is treating these small-town Massachusettsans to a movie night. The online retailer/streaming service is also throwing in free popcorn, so all 5,000 or so people in Manchester will be able to have a good time watching the movie about a guy who accidentally let his kids die in a fire.
But hey, Manchester By The Sea won Amazon its first two Academy Awards, so it’s worth celebrating even if it’s a very tragic and depressing film. Also, the lead actor—who won one of those Oscars for the film—settled out of court with two women who accused him of sexually harassing them a few years ago, so this free year of Amazon Prime is coming with a little bit of baggage. At least everybody in Manchester-By-The-Sea gets to enjoy free shipping for a while.