SIFF Announces Opening Night Gala: “Spy” Starring Melissa McCarthy & Jason Statham

Yes, bajillions of film festival are now upon us in the next 4 weeks: NFFTY, STIFF, Translations, and the Big Daddy of them all, SIFF, aka “The Seattle International Film Festival” which kicks off its 41st festival on Thursday, May 14, 2015 for a LOOOOOOOONG run. One of the biggest film festivals in the world, SIFF 41 will wrap up business on Sunday, June 7, 2015 after screening aproximately ONE BILLION (actually, 250ish feature films/150ish short films) at cinemas all over Seattle including SIFF’s own cinemas at The Uptown and The Egyptian, and JUST for this year, SIFF will close out the beloved and recently shuttered Harvard Exit Cinema on Capitol Hill which is slated for a massive remodel and will no longer serve as a cinema venue after the festival ends.

But, to get to the nitty gritty, SIFF has just announced the Opening Night Gala film for this year and it’s a big, commercial doozy: the Paul Feig directed, Melissa McCarthy starring comedy, SPY.

Read more, courtesy of some hard working SIFF publicist:

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. Tickets available HERE!

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 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 Autistic 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.”

This is just the first of MANY more SIFF announcements for this year’s festival. Every year, we cover the festival in general, but we also (obviously) focus on the 20 or so LGBTQ themed films that they program every year including the big Gay La Gala which happens in June and at The Egyptian. Expect to hear LOTS more about the festival in the weeks ahead.

Oh, and passes are now available for SIFF 41. Individual tickets go on sale after the full line-up is announced later this month/first of May.

Oh/Oh: Jason Statham also stars in this film. If they can bring up his hotness for the Gala, it’ll sell out in 20 seconds….

The Trailer!