News / Aardman
Cinema de Lux hosts Bristol premiere of Early Man
Almost 200 people, many of them from Bristol, worked on Aardman’s latest feature film, Early Man, with animators, artists and assorted other crew each taking their turn on the green carpet as the film got its Bristol premiere.
They were joined by the more familiar faces of Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park, who directed the film; and Bristol-born Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams, the voice of Goona, described as a “gallant and indomitable rebel”.
Also on the green carpet were a few patients from Bristol Children’s Hospital, with the premiere at the Cinema de Lux in Cabot Circus on Sunday afternoon raising money for The Grand Appeal.
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Grand Appeal supporter Leah Dunn at the Early Man premiere in Cabot Circus
“I’m so excited,” said ten-year-old patient and Grand Appeal supporter Leah Dunn from Mangotsfield as Aardman co-founder Peter Lord, dressed in a fashionable leopard-print jacked, cavorted on the carpet in front of the photographers.
“I don’t really know what to expect. I’ve never actually seen anything like this in real life before.”
A few minutes after talking to Bristol24/7, Leah herself and a few other children in white Grand Appeal t-shirts were in front of the photographers alongside Maisie.
Speaking before the premiere, 20-year-old Maisie, who grew up in Clutton, said: “It’s so nice to come back, all of my friends and family are here.
“About a month before I started recording, I moved to London because I was always working there and then I got my first job here.
“It’s really nice to share this world with all my friends and family that I love, because I don’t get to normally.”
Hundreds of invited guests including many of the film’s crew and their families attended the premiere
Hanging back from the press pack, Aardman co-founder David Sproxton surveyed the scene while eating an ice cream.
“The crew have all worked so hard,” Sproxton told Bristol24/7, also revealing that many of the Early Man team will be having a short break before filming starts on the second Shaun The Sheep Movie.
“They have worked weekends, sometimes late into the night. We’re taking these people away from their families so it’s great that they can all bring their families here today and show them their hard work on the big screen.
“People always think that the film industry is in London. But it’s places like the Bottle Yard and events like this in Bristol that put our city on the map.”
Early Man is released in cinemas on January 26
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