"At the first screening of Hostel at the Toronto Film Festival," writes Roth, "we had not one, but TWO medical emergencies. One guy left in the middle because he was so distraught and dizzy, and he passed out and fell down the escalator outside the theater! Paramedics were called and, luckily, the guy was fine, although if he had died it would have been a better story." (Empire would like to disassociate itself from any suggestion that people dying makes good news, and to stress that Roth meant it in jest. Not that he's jesting about someone being ill, of course. That wouldn't be nice. Er…)
But that wasn't all the drama during the screening. "About 15 minutes later, a woman flees the theater thinking that the film's giving her a heart attack! She's having chest pains - so the festival people called the paramedics again!!! Turns out she was fine, too. Oh well, serves 'em right for leaving in the middle! But how crazy is that? Two medical emergencies the very first screening! William Castle couldn't buy publicity like that."
Whether this says something about the violence in the film or the appearance of Chris Hewitt, we are currently unable to confirm. However, the good news is that the film went down well with those who made it to the end of the film.
"The screenings went great. Audience went fucking nuts. Also, we've now announced that Quentin and I teamed up to make this film, and that it's going to be a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" so that's public information. I'm really psyched."
But that wasn't all the drama during the screening. "About 15 minutes later, a woman flees the theater thinking that the film's giving her a heart attack! She's having chest pains - so the festival people called the paramedics again!!! Turns out she was fine, too. Oh well, serves 'em right for leaving in the middle! But how crazy is that? Two medical emergencies the very first screening! William Castle couldn't buy publicity like that."
Whether this says something about the violence in the film or the appearance of Chris Hewitt, we are currently unable to confirm. However, the good news is that the film went down well with those who made it to the end of the film.
"The screenings went great. Audience went fucking nuts. Also, we've now announced that Quentin and I teamed up to make this film, and that it's going to be a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" so that's public information. I'm really psyched."
