Director Joe Cornish’s sci-fi cult classic stars John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker.
“So, for me, it was a shot in the dark.
I remember having no idea how people would react to it at all.
John Boyega in ‘Attack the Block’.Columbia Pictures
So, that was a bit weird.
I had no idea what the response was going to be [at SXSW].
No idea at all.”
The cast of ‘Attack the Block’.Columbia Pictures
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Had you been to SXSW before?JOE CORNISH:No.
It was a fantastic few days.
It’s a beautiful little city for someone from London who’s used to the dark and the rain.
Cassie Wright/WireImage
[Laughs] So, I just sat there like a gooseberry.
So, really, I felt a little bit inferior.
Was the film’s distribution set at that point?No.
What do you remember about the screening?
Were you nervous?I was very nervous.
The guy who was hosting the screening asked me, “What are your influences?”
I remember reeling off about 40 different films.
I’d waited so long to make a film, there were alotof influences onAttack the Block.
I couldn’t sit in the theatre.
I was too nervous.
It was too strange.
I guess that was when I realized that they were digging it.
I don’t know what the fate of the film would have been without SXSW.
It was picked up by Screen Gems after that screening.
ButAttack the Blockhas made its reputation on a sort of a slow burn.
And that’s what’s kept it alive.
She’d been in that movieVenuswith Peter O’Toole.
After South-by, the movie really got a big buzz in Hollywood.
I think pretty much every producer and director saw it within the next few months.
John went for a meeting at Bad Robot, he ran into J.J.
So, it served as an incredible calling card for us.
Do you know what you are doing next?I’m doing a bunch of stuff.
Then, I have another feature.
Yeah, a bunch of stuff.
ButLockwood & Co. is the next thing.
And what is the chance of yourevisiting theAttack the Blockuniverse?We’re working on it at the moment.
So, yeah, we’re working on that.
Watch the trailer forAttack the Blockabove.
