Camping For ‘Independence Day’

The White House - gone. New York City - gone. Los Angeles - you know it.

Thousands of people around the country are camping out around the clock through the July 4 holiday to watch mankind defend the planet against aliens in “Independence Day,” which opened Tuesday with 24-hour-a-day showings at urban theaters.

Ten theaters in the United States and Canada are showing the movie continuously.

Washington’s Uptown theater, with a screen two stories high and a sound system that makes it seem as if the alien ship is in the building, filled nearly 900 seats in sold-out shows through Wednesday at 1 a.m. and nearly packed the theater at 4 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“I’ve never slept on the sidewalk before to see a movie,” said Rebecca Osvath, 21, who camped out for five hours with a blanket and playing cards to get into the 4 a.m. show. “The weirdest part was that it was as good - no, better - in the middle of the night. And when we got out, the sun was up.”