By Sarah George
Contributor
With the zombie craze sweeping the nation, thankfully not literally, film majors and movie lovers in the Austin area will be excited to hear about filmmaker Edgar Wright’s upcoming appearances at the new Slaughterhouse Lane Alamo Drafthouse. Friday and Saturday night, the Drafthouse is welcoming Edgar Wright for screenings of his films “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.”
Kit McNeil, a senior at University of North Texas majoring in radio, television and film, praised Wright’s talent as a director.
“Edgar Wright has the magic touch in his ability to blend genres. Also, his films are especially funny in the way he makes foreshadowing seem so melodramatic,” McNeil said.
Each of the three films being screened reveals something about Wright’s style of filmmaking.
The film adaptation of the popular comic book series by Brian Lee O’Malley, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” follows the quest of Scott, played by Michael Cera, to destroy his new girlfriend Ramona’s (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes.
“Shaun of the Dead” stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two immature, naive adults trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. “Shaun of the Dead” can be described as a zombie-fied romantic comedy.
“Hot Fuzz” follows the once promising career of policeman Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg) in his exile to a small country town that is far from what it appears. This film takes the audience on his ridiculous journey to bring respect to the police force and to investigate the strange happenings around the town.
Not only will Edgar Wright be present at the screenings of the screenings, but Friday night, the Drafthouse will serve a meal at its first showing of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Saturday night will bring more excitement, as ticket holders for “Shaun of the Dead” will be able to participate in a quote-along, and receive plastic bats to hit other audience members with as the zombies are being killed in the film. Edgar Wright will also speak after each of the screenings.
Film majors are especially excited about the chance to hear Wright speak about these films and the potential of meeting him.
Roseville, Calif., senior Nick Mater, a film and digital media major and an Wright devotee, said, “I consider Edgar Wright to be a personal hero of mine. The opportunity to view the film’s creator is a huge chance that doesn’t really come along very often, and I really can’t be more excited.”
For more information and tickets, visit www.AlamoDrafthouse.com. Tickets are still available for the 7:15 p.m. Friday dinner party showing of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” for $50. The second showing of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” will begin at 10:40 p.m. The “Shaun of the Dead” quote-along starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, followed by a screening of “Hot Fuzz” at 10:10 p.m.
