The Seattle International Film Festival announced today that the Opening Night Film for its 41st annual Festival will be Spy, the side-splitting, action-packed, globetrotting comedy from the mind of Paul Feig. Already a critics’ favorite, the film stars Emmy-winning and Oscar®-nominated comic tour-de-force Melissa McCarthy. Opening Night Gala celebrations will take place Thursday, May 14, at McCaw Hall, with a party at Exhibition Hall following the film.
A hilariously incisive send-up of the spy genre, Spy stars McCarthy as Susan Cooper, an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst who is the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. When her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham, spoofing the gritty roles that have made him famous) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer and prevent a global disaster.
The ensemble cast also features Allison Janney (“The West Wing”) as Cooper’s agency chief and Rose Byrne (The Neighbors) as a Bulgarian assassin. Bobby Cannavale (Adult Beginners), Morena Baccarin (“Homeland”), Miranda Hart (“Call the Midwife”), and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson round out the incredible lineup. The film, which is from 20th Century Fox, will open nationwide on June 5, 2015.
Director Paul Feig is scheduled to attend the evening’s festivities. He will participate in a Q&A following the screening moderated by SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. Notes Carl, “Paul Feig has done the impossible and catapulted Melissa McCarthy to even funnier heights than her previous roles in The Heat and Bridesmaids. I actually need to see this hilarious film again – the first time I saw it, the audience was laughing so loud, I missed some of the lines! Witty, smart, and thrilling, Spy is destined to be one of the biggest hits of the summer – it’s the perfect movie to open the largest and best attended film festival in the country.”
Every year, SIFF’s Opening Night Gala kicks off the Festival with a film and party that brings out a thoroughly dressed-up film-loving audience. The after-party at Exhibition Hall will offer a bounty of snacks and spirits (provided by a bevy of favorite local purveyors, of course) to fuel a killer dance party (last year, hula hoops appeared at one point).