Film shot in region to get special screening

PREVIEW IN CITY FOR 28 YEARS LATER

- By BARBARA HODGSON Reporter

OSCAR-WINNING director Danny Boyle will be back in Newcastle within days for a gala screening of 28 Years Later.

News that his latest movie is to have a special preview showing in the region where it was made has just been announced and is warmly welcomed as shining a spotlight on the North East.

Boyle’s eagerly-awaited zombie chiller, which employed hundreds of local people as extras during last year’s lengthy shoot focused mainly around Northumberland, will be shown at Tyneside Cinema in the city on June 19, the day before its nationwide release.

It means that the local audience - to include locals who appear in the film - will be among the first to see what's already being tipped as a next-time Oscar contender.

Boyle, who was hands-on in the extra selection process, will be accompanied at the screening by Alfie Williams, a Newcastle actor who makes his feature film debut in 28 Years, which co-stars Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and is a follow-up to the director's 2002 hit 28 Days Later.

Also in the cast are Charlie Hunnam, who is originally from the region, and Jack O'Connell.