EXTRATERRESTRIAL
June 17, 2012, 6:00 P.M.
The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Outside the Box [Office] and Focus World invite you and a guest to a special preview screening of
Extraterrestrial
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900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Premiering on all VOD platforms June 15th, 2012 and in select L.A. theaters on Friday, June 22nd
About Extraterrestrial
Julio and Julia don’t know each other, but they wake up in the same bed, horribly hungover and with no memory of the night before. He falls in love with her almost immediately. She doesn’t reciprocate. It would be nothing more than an awkward situation... Until they see the massive alien ship hovering over the city.
Provided courtesy of Focus World. Not rated. Running time: 90 minutes. In Spanish, with English subtitles.
To learn more about the film and to view the trailer, click here.
Director's Note
In the century since H.G. Wells published The War of the Worlds, one recurring image has occupied the heart of the alien invasion tale: that of a crowd fleeing in panic as a terrifying alien device unleashes its explosive rays. No matter how sophisticated the image has grown, whatever the hyperrealism of its latest manifestation, the tradition remains essentially untouched.
The fears of that initial generation who fantasized about alien invasions were not too far from the notion of an actual world war. Military conflicts and political tensions established the very reasonable dread of a sudden apocalypse. After all, a bombardment or nuclear disaster could arrive - just as a flying saucer fleet could darken your city’s skies - in seconds. today, our fascination with this kind of story is still close to the fear of our lives falling apart, but instead of families building bomb shelters in our gardens, we live with the terror of a sudden tragedy once and again through our televisions and computer screens. While perhaps a safer proximity, it nonetheless doesn’t free us of confusion, or from a feeling of insignificance that makes you shrug your shoulders instead of wanting to save the world.
My main purpose in writing Extraterrestrial was to describe the periphery of an alien invasion. my characters witness the arrival of a huge UFO from the balcony of a flat in central madrid. But once the fear has vanished, they find themselves unable to react - they haven’t got the slightest idea what to do. the misinformation surrounding them is so great that it leaves room for a simple, sad love story to be born in the space of a few days.
In my previous film Timecrimes, the main character was essentially a puppet subjected to the tyranny of the plot; with Extraterrestrial I’ve tended towards the other extreme, and allowed the characters to carry the story, leaving little room for external meddling. I also felt the desire to return to the genre of my first short films: comedy enacted in an intimate environment. The truth is, the explosions are there, but none of them launched from as high as those in The War of the Worlds.
-- Nacho Vigalondo
About Nacho Vigalondo (Writer/Director)
Nacho Vigalondo was born in Cabezon de la Sal, Cantabria, Spain. He studied Audiovisuals at the University of the Basque Country, and is a member of the Academy of motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and of the European Film Academy (EFA). His 2008 feature, Timecrimes, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is in development to be remade by DreamWorks.
About Outside the Box [Office]
Outside the Box [Office] is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting world cinema, documentary and independent film titles. Recognizing a need for greater diversity on campus, the series will draw from around the globe to present movies that may challenge, inspire or simply entertain. The weekly screenings will be on Wednesday and Sunday nights (and other select dates, as they arise) in the School of Cinematic Arts Complex, George Lucas Building.
To view the calendar of screenings, click here.
Check-In & Reservations
This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 5:30 P.M.
All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.
Parking
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Metered street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.
Contact Information
Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu