First Screening of Appaloosa
First-hand report from the test screening of Appaloosa
Source: Thanks to Liz at Viggo-Works who attended the first screening in California last night
© New Line Cinema/Warner Bros
Quote:We just got back from seeing "Appaloosa" and it was a test screening....after we were seated we were informed that it was the first showing anywhere and that things might be a bit out of sinc....but they weren't......it ran a little over 2 hours and not once did we get bored...your could hear a pin drop in the theatre it was so quiet...
For those of you who have read the book I can assure you that you will not be disappointed...there were just a few minor changes but they hardly made a difference...
For those of you who haven't it's about two men Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch who go from town to town enforcing the law and they come to a town called "Appaloosa" that is basically being terrorized by Randal Bragg who killed Jack Bell the Sheriff who Virgil happened to know...so he and Everett take the job of enforcing the law in "Appaloosa" and the story goes from there...
Jeremy Irons as Randall Bragg played his usual bad self in top form and Renee Zellwegar made you really dislike Allie to the point that I wanted to reach up and slap her myself along with shooting Randall...I know wishful thinking...
But the heart of this film was the relationshiop between Virgil and Everett...play to perfection by Ed Harris and our own Viggo....Ed Harris IS Virgil and Viggo IS Everett...it was the chemistry between these two men that made this film so good....it wasn't that the dialogue was so spectacular....it was the body language, the looks, nods but most of all you could feel the love and respect they had for each other...and it was that love and respect....that made Everett make the ultimate sacrifice in the end for his friend....
This was a great way to spend an evening....we had to fill out forms before we went in and after the film ended they passed out critique forms for us to fill out and we did....it was a great way to spend an evening...getting to see the first showing of a Viggo film that I might add he looked very hot in and I will tell you it was an excellent film....hopefully it will be released in theatres soon....
These are questions from Viggo Works members and answers from Liz...
Q: How big was Ariadna's role as Katie? Did they keep that close to the book?
A: Ariadna's role as Katie was a very small one even smaller than it was in the book 1 sizable scene and 2 very brief ones...and the dialogue in the first scene was pretty accurate with what she told him...even though it was condensed to that one scene....
The audience reaction was very positive...we all applauded when it ended...
Q:Did the film seem to be ready for release, or was there still work to be done?
Was there anybody there to introduce the film?
A: It seemed pretty complete to me kaijamin but I'm sure they will fine tune it even more before they release it...and yes there was a gentleman there to introduce the film but no one involved in the film itself.....I believe he was someone from Warner Brothers....but I don't remember his name...
Q: how big was the movie theatre, how many people did you think were at the screening?
A: if I had to guess between 500 and 600 people...and the theatre had a really high screen so that people sitting in front of you didn't obstruct the view...that's so important when going to a Viggo film...
Q: what did the guy introducing the movie say? Did he give you any clues about how the people at Warners feel about the movie?
A: He just told us that the film would probably be fine tuned before it was released in theatres...thanked us for coming and for us to enjoy the film....not a clue about how WB felt about the film..
Response: Thanks Liz, that's what I wanted to hear! It sounds like they have good intentions towards this movie, which is positive enough for me.