Punching, pinching, kicking, screaming and crying were the weapon of choice on Saturday the 15th of November. This was not an EFC match but a mass swarm of teenagers riled up and fighting their way to the front of the line upon the appearance of the ‘Spud 3: Learning to Fly’ cast. Promoting their latest installment in the Spud franchise, the cast was present to sign autographs and promote their new movie. An unfamiliar scene for South Africans, a local might have expected to see a Hollywood A-Lister such as Brad Pitt or the President behind the mass bodies of teenagers and paparazzi, but it was Troye Sivan, Casper Lee, Sven Ruygrok, Thomas Burne, Byron Langley, Travis Hornby, Blessing Xaba and Genna Blair. For a country that generally does not celebrate its local stars, this was certainly a refreshing site to see local actors being embraced with such appreciation, idolization and insanity.
The hysteria only escalated following the abrupt close of the autograph session, some teenagers standing in line for 2 hours would not get the prized signatures that they came for, this prompted one girl to burst into tears uncontrollably chasing after the movie stars who had now made their way into the adjacent Hard Rock Cafe. The afternoon riot was the first wave of the teenage hysteria, more would follow later that night during the red carpet.
‘Spud 3′ Cast being escorted out of the premier
Escorted by dark suited security and their entourage the young cast made their much anticipated appearance on the red carpet, within seconds the screaming echoed the room, soon replaced with chants of ‘Spud! Spud! Spud! Spud!’.
For the full ‘Spud 3: Learning To Fly’ premier images: Click here
Following thank you speeches and the screening of the movie, the only response by the media, sponsors, friends and family was a standing ovation, it would be presumptuous to say that the standing ovation was for a brilliant movie and not for the customary appreciation of the immense hard work put in by the cast and crew. One thing is clear, the mass teenage hysteria is much deserved for a movie and cast that has earned its hype, Spud has not only been consistent over the 3 chapters but it has carved its own niche in South African film, a movie for the family, the teenagers and fans of the novel.
Full movie review coming soon….
‘Spud 3: Learning To Fly’ Opens publicly nationwide on Friday 28th of November 2014.
WRITTEN BY:
Kgosana Monchusi @kgosanamonchusi
