Alamo-At-Home Brings The Amazing ROAR To Your Living Rooms

All hail the real TIGER KING.

By Apr. 07, 2020

I remember succumbing to all this TIGER KING business about two years into quarantine. I hit play on the first episode at about 9pm, just curious to see what everyone was talking about, not expecting to watch more than an episode. Instead I binged the whole thing right there and then. I couldn’t stop. It turned out the journey was worth more than the destination, but what a journey.

Now everyone has tiger fever, which is probably the best of all possible fevers you can get at the moment. To show you what a real Tiger King looks like, Drafthouse has chosen the amazing 1981 film ROAR as its next Alamo-At-Home Virtual Cinema title. Pre-orders are available now; the show will start April 15th. If you haven’t seen it, definitely grab a drink as it can get pretty intense. More details below:

Homebound audiences around the world have been mesmerized by the antics of zookeeper “Joe Exotic” in the TIGER KING limited series, so this month Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is proud to re-release ROAR, the once-forgotten 1981 film that shows what happens when mere mortal humans meet dozens of tigers and lions. Called “the most dangerous movie ever made”, no animals were harmed during the making of the film, but hundreds of cast and crew members abandoned the project and 70 were injured, including the on-camera mauling of a 14-year-old Melanie Griffith.

After very successful Alamo-At-Home screenings of the programming series Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday, Alamo Drafthouse is using Vimeo’s VOD platform to bring ROAR to the masses beginning April 15th, along with a video Q&A featuring John Marshall, one of the film’s stars. The company is also aligning with fellow exhibitors and partners so that they can host their own virtual screenings. Advance tickets are on sale now at participating locations:

  • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
  • Studio Movie Grill
  • Showcase Cinemas
  • The Broad Theater (New Orleans)
  • Hollywood Theatre (Portland) 
  • Music Box Theatre (Chicago)
  • Scarecrow Video (Seattle)
  • Screenland Armour Theatre (Kansas City)

10% of ticket grosses at all theaters will be donated to The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s Pioneers Assistance Fund, which is dedicated to helping people who work in the motion picture industry. Currently, the PAF is providing financial assistance to theater employees furloughed by the COVID-19 crisis. 

"ROAR is so singular, so breathtaking... you've never seen a movie like it, and there will never, ever be a movie like Roar again," says Tim League, Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO. “I’m delighted we’re able to bring it straight into people’s homes.”

Originally released in 1981, ROAR was directed by Noel Marshall, a former Hollywood agent and producer on THE EXORCIST. It stars Marshall, his two sons, his wife Tippi Hedren (THE BIRDS), and his step-daughter, a teenage Melanie Griffith. The film was produced over a five year span on location at Marshall and Hedren’s wildlife preserve in California. A comedy, it follows the adventures of an American family living with lions and tigers on a nature preserve in Tanzania. 

The film was a box office dud upon its initial release, generating only $2 million in sales. But the cult status of ROAR grew, eventually leading to a theatrical re-release in 2015.

Links

ROAR Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2SjcO-18c4

Alamo Drafthouse ROAR Ticketing

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wwroar

Studio Movie Grill ROAR Ticketing

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/roarsmg

Showcase Cinemas ROAR Ticketing

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/roarshowcase

Hollywood Theatre ROAR Ticketing

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/roarhollywoodtheater

Music Box Theatre ROAR Ticketing 

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/roarmusicboxtheater

Scarecrow Video ROAR Ticketing

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/roarscarecrowvideo  

Alamo Drafthouse ROAR page, including an essay by Tim League

https://drafthouse.com/virtual-cinema/roar

Co-star John Marshall’s Reddit AMA about ROAR https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/33vhfn/no_lions_or_tigers_were_harmed_in_the_making_of/

IndieWire on the Making of ROAR

https://www.indiewire.com/2016/11/roar-tippi-hedren-people-hurt-insane-movie-1201748012/

About ROAR

An unprecedented – and wholly unpredictable – action-adventure, ROAR follows wildlife preservationist Hank (Noel Marshall), who lives harmoniously alongside a menagerie of untamed animals, including cheetahs, elephants, lions and tigers on a preservation in the African plains. When his wife and children arrive for a visit, a long-brewing battle for dominance between two lions erupts and threatens their very lives.

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