SHAUN US RELEASE SOON
Focus Features has announced that it will release the British horror/comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD in the U.S. under its recently formed Rogue Pictures banner, which is also handling such titles as SEED OF CHUCKY and the ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 remake. Already a hit in its native Britain, where it has grossed over $12 million, SHAUN follows the titular slacker (Simon Pegg, who also wrote the movie with director Edgar Wright) as he attempts to deal with a zombie invasion of London and rescue his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield). While no exact release date has been set, SHAUN looks likely go out in wide release sometime in early 2005. (In addition, Variety reports that Focus is a strong contender to handle Guillermo del Toros PANS LABYRINTH in the U.S., as it has an informal first-look option on films from LABYRINTHs producing company Anhelo Productions.)
Meanwhile, Fango heard from a source who attended a recent SHAUN test screening in Long Island, and reports that it went very well: ‘The capacity crowd included one guy in an ARMY OF DARKNESS T-shirt,’ the source tells us. ‘Another fan, who hadnt been able to get in, went up to the theater box office and pleaded for a second showno such luck. The film played very well, with lots of laughs and reactions to the gore, sometimes at the same time. Those audience members who were invited to stay and discuss the film afterward didnt realize that the filmmakers had come all the way from the UK and were on hand nearby. But on the way out, the crowd caught sight of Shaun himself, actor Simon Pegg, who was deluged by friendly Yanks raving about the movie. The actor graciously stopped to chat and sign the screenings recruiting flyers, but was soon pulled away by the rest of the filmmaking team, who went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate.’
Courtesy of Fangoria
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