Tickets for the world premiere of Shane Meadows’ highly anticipated documentary THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE, about the legendary Manchester band, sold out to eager fans in exactly ONE minute yesterday.
The host venue, the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, sold out completely, with live satellite screenings of the event also generating a stampede for tickets. Eight cinemas participating in the UK wide simultaneous broadcast also sold out, prompting the distributor Picturehouse to put on additional screens to meet demand.
The tickets, which went on sale at 09 30 on Weds 17th April, were available to buy via gigsandtours.com. Details were published on the official Facebook site www.facebook.com/madeofstonefilm.
The premiere event, supported by Virgin Media, takes place on Thursday 30th May and will feature a rare public appearance by the band alongside director Shane Meadows and producer Mark Herbert. Herbert produced the film for Warp Films and the film was fully financed by Film4 and 4DVD.
Director Shane Meadows said: "I'd love to think the tickets selling out so quick was down to the fan base I've built up over the last 15-20 years, but I know it's them lot (the band) that everyone's really coming to see. Bald Chunkers like me don't sell out stadiums, but if we've got a Guinness World Record I would deffo take the credit.”
The event will be satellite-linked to over 150 cinemas as part of nationwide preview screenings running concurrently with the premiere launch. Fans will be able to ask their questions to Shane Meadows, either live at the event in Manchester or from cinemas around the country via Twitter.
Clare Binns, Programming & Acquisitions Director at Picturehouse Entertainment commented:
"This encouraging launch bodes extremely well for the theatrical release of this special film on June 5th."
With unprecedented access to previously unseen archive footage, THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE is a revealing journey through the life of one of the most revered and influential bands in British music history.
For details of the host venue and participating cinemas, as well as exclusive updates about the film, go to: www.facebook.com/madeofstonefilm.