On Monday night, Yorgos Lanthimos die-hards gathered at the Culver Theater in Los Angeles for the chance of a lifetime: a free advance screening of his newest feature film, Bugonia. But! There was a catch.
Here’s what the event’s Instagram said specifically: “10/20, head to @theculvertheater for a FREE advanced screening of @bugoniafilm —the new @focusfeatures fever dream from Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons 🎬🍿
Have hair? A barber will be on-site starting at 6PM to shave it all off 🪒💇♀️ Screening starts at 8PM. This is real. And yes, part of it will be filmed.”
Attendees were required to arrive bald or be willing to shave their heads before entering the theater. And honestly, I can’t blame them for taking the deal. A free movie and a free haircut? In this economy!? You have to take advantage.
Guests with hair still on their heads were ushered to the red carpet, wrapped in a Bugonia-branded cape, and had their hair shaved off on camera. Some proudly held signs reading “BALD FOR BUGONIA.” You love to see the bald solidarity!
Went to the screening that makes you bald and everybody knew you.
Thanks to all who joined us for our BUGONIA special screening last night.💇 In theaters October 24, everywhere October 31! pic.twitter.com/xrfZgKbJUv
The film follows Emma Stone as a girlbossing CEO who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists, Jesse Plemons and Don Melbis, who are convinced she’s an alien sent to destroy Earth. The dark comedy—Lanthimos’s 10th feature and his 4th film collaboration with Stone—will hit theaters on October 31st.
Stone, who actually shaved her head for the role, told The Hollywood Reporter: “I just assume it’s people who already wanted to shave their heads and were like, ‘OK, I could just do that at home—or I could see a movie right after,’ you know? It’s a good time. It’s just a good time if you’re already wanting to shave your head.”
“The bald screening,” as it’s been dubbed, was by all accounts a success. However, a conspiracy has already emerged: a Reddit thread titled “Some People at the All-Bald Screening of Bugonia Are NOT Bald!” alleges that “people with bald caps, partial hair, and full on hair have been admitted.” To the people who didn’t go bald: we will find you.
Does the bald screening signal our collective mental breakdown? Maybe. But the last time I went to the movies, it cost $31 to watch a green-screen Marvel crap fest. So I would gladly shave my head to get that money back and to see a movie with an actual artistic vision. Stone and Lanthimos promise another surreal, hilarious collaboration with Bugonia, so make no mistake: I will be seated (and maybe even bald) when it premieres.
