What’s big and fits into the O2, from August 12-14?
Don’t bother coming up with a punchline* for that – we’ll just tell you. It’s our sensational movie event, on a scale never before seen in this country: Empire Presents… Big Screen.
The official press launch for the event took place today at the Gaucho at The O2, following a boat ride along the Thames, while most of the full line-up of events, exclusive screenings, movie previews, movie star appearances and Q&As won’t be confirmed until a couple of weeks beforehand, we still announced some doozies.
The event will kick off, on the evening of Thursday August 11, with the European premiere of Jon Favreau’s eagerly-awaited sci-fi Western mash-up, Cowboys & Aliens. Favreau himself will be there, and he may even bring one or two members of his cast with him...
And if you miss that, there’ll be chances over the weekend to see the film as part of your Big Screen ticket.
That won’t be the only premiere in town. The closing film, on Sunday night, will be the European premiere of Craig Gillespie’s vampire horror remake, Fright Night, with an introduction from its star, David Tennant himself.
But, wait! There's more! Seriously. For starters, there's a huge Star Wars set replica coming to The O2, plus a chance to join the Padawan Training School, as well as Nick Park's world-renowned Aardman team, who'll show footage from their upcoming features – Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists -- while revealing just how they go about bringing the likes of Wallace and Gromit to life.
Then there are the sneak peeks at the likes of The Muppets – who will appear via satellite link-up - Real Steel, with director Shawn Levy appearing alongside some kick-ass fighting robots, Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-Potter effort, The Woman In Black, brand-new footage from James Cameron’s Titanic 3D, and more.
Much more, as it turns out, with a first look at Pixar's Brave – alongside a celebratory screening of all of the Pixar films and shorts – plus an exclusive sneak of footage from Gary Oldman’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, while films showing in full at Big Screen include The Help, The Change-Up, The Guard (including Q&A with director John Michael McDonagh) and Trollhunter. Each day will also feature a secret screening of an upcoming movie. We could tell you what they will be, but then we’d have to kill you, then ourselves.
And there's still more to be announced in the upcoming weeks. Lots more.
OK, maybe we’re biased, but believe us, when we say that Big Screen is going to be huge. Think of it as Glastonbury for movies, with over a dozen screens offering fantastic content to thousands of movie fans every day, from Kim Newman’s Chamber Of Horrors, to Small Screen (a look at the very best TV has to offer), to Comic Book World, featuring Q&As with the likes of Mark Millar, and Empire Comes Alive, in which you can see your favourite magazine features brought to life. Ever wanted to see someone tackle Pint Of Milk in the flesh? Now’s your chance.
For more details, and to book your tickets for this amazing, unprecedented event, head to www.empirebigscreen.com. Like, now.
** Here are a couple of ideas to start you off, anyway: Manchester City’s transfer budget. An O2-shaped bouncy castle. Will Smith’s trailer. Optimus Prime’s special love attachment. And… GO!*