Fans shave head for screening of Emma Stone's film ‘Bugonia’

Film distributor invites filmgoers to go bald to watch sci-fi comedy

LOS ANGELES:

Fans arrived for an early screening of the absurdist sci-fi comedy film Bugonia, on Monday night in Los Angeles with one unique condition—the theater only admitted bald people.

The film's distributor, Focus Features, challenged audiences to shave their heads to see Bugonia, starring Oscar-winning actor Emma Stone.

Stone and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos gained a powerful fanbase after teaming up for Oscar-nominated films Poor Things and The Favourite.

Bugonia will be released in select theaters on Friday and then across the US on October 31.

In Bugonia, Stone plays a powerful pharmaceutical CEO named Michelle Fuller, who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorist-cousins who are convinced that she's an alien - so much so, they shave her head.

With a barber in the foyer, fans like Sam Sherman from Los Angeles stepped up to get their buzz cut to gain entry to the screening. "I was already thinking of shaving my head," Sherman said.

"I saw, like, a post about this and I was like, that's a perfect excuse because I want to see Bugonia anyway and I get to see it two weeks early or whatever it is, and then I get a free haircut and a free movie. It's hard to say no to that,” he added.

Matthew Lopez, 29, from Los Angeles, thought the bald screening inspired by Stone's shaved head was a great idea. "It's almost feeling immersive, like, ok, 'I did it, she did it.' I can feel some connection to the story,” he said.

For Richard Chong, 36, it was a chance to appease his friends and family. "I like the director. I think he's really good, very weird and my friends hate my bowl cut, so this is for them, also my wife, she really hates it," Chong said.