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Early buzz on ‘The Hurt Locker’
If you’re planning your film viewing during the South by Southwest Film Festival, you’ll want to know about the area premiere of ‘The Hurt Locker,’ from director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal.
Bigelow needs no introduction to Texas movie lovers, but if you need your memory jogged, she directed 1987’s classic ‘Near Dark,’ starring Adrian Pasdar as a young Texan who falls for a girl who happens to be a member of a vampire gang.
Since then, she has gained a reputation as one of the nation’s most visually exciting directors, as she showed in 1991’s ‘Point Break’ and in 1995’s ‘Strange Days.’
‘The Hurt Locker’ premiered last year at the Venice Film Festival to widespread acclaim and has been making the rounds on the festival circuit before its official release this summer. The war thriller was shot on location in Jordan and deals with a bomb squad working in Iraq. It’s based on recently declassified information as well as personal observations by screenwriter Boal, who was an embedded journalist during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Jeremy Renner stars as the leader of the bomb squad, and supporting actors include Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes.
After the Venice premiere, ‘The Hurt Locker’ received a 10-minute standing ovation. Variety described it as a high-adrenaline jolt.
Bigelow and Boal will be in attendance at the Austin premiere at 6:30 p.m. March 17 at the Paramount.
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