March 3, 2011 - 4:43pm
Scenes from the Ann Arbor premiere of 'Answer This!'
BY ANDREW LAPIN
- Marissa McClain/Daily
Lines formed around the block for Friday's special "Ann Arbor premiere" of the feature film "Answer This!," written and directed by 'U' alum Chris Farah. And with all the local businesses present, from Arbor Brewing Company's open bar to Underground Printing's T-shirts featuring the likeness of former English professor Ralph Williams, it felt like a homecoming for the filmmakers.
Williams, who has a key supporting role in the film, introduced the movie to a packed house and brought up Chris and producer Mike Farah to rapturous applause. Demand was so great for the film that a second screening was added at 10 p.m. Though the movie was made with an Ann Arbor audience in mind, the theater was packed with people from all over the country and the non-local talent still felt right at home.
"The speed of this town is exactly our speed. We fit in here really easily from Day One," said Chris Gorham (TV's "Covert Affairs"), who stars in the film as Paul Tarson, a perpetual University grad student trying to finish up his dissertation while winning a bar trivia competition. Williams plays his father, Dr. Elliot Tarson. Also featured were Arielle Kebbel ("The Grudge 2") as a freshman who becomes Paul's love interest and Nelson Franklin ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") as Paul's best friend.
The audience responded well to every recognizable location, including the Diag and Ashley's Pub, where a large amount of the trivia scenes took place. The Farah brothers are planning the film's festival premiere for next spring, and a national rollout will follow along with a second special Ann Arbor screening. Each audience member was handed a questionnaire to fill out, and the results will play a part in further shaping the film before its nationwide exposure.
Following the film, many of the cast, crew and audience members trekked to the second floor of the Michigan League, where an afterparty catered by University Catering gave movie personnel the chance to celebrate their first successful screening.
