"But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?  It's the little differences.  I mean, they got the same shit over there that they got here, but it's just ? it's just there it's a little different."

                                                ~Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction

Note: After reading the following post, be sure to check out Terrance Zdunich's own web site! 

It's my 4th day in England on this, the U.K. Repo Road Tour.  I too am noticing the little differences:

When you order water in a restaurant, you are presented with 2 options: still or sparkling.  Still water is water-water, just by another name.

Things are not only named differently, but are sometimes pronounced so distinctly that they might be mistaken as different words by an American ear.  Worcestershire?as in the sauce?is pronounced waw-stah, for example.

There are hardly any public trashcans, yet the streets are less littered.

Showers?at least in the hotels where I'm staying?are not fully encased in glass or curtains.  A small side pane is all that separates the spraying water from the rest of the facility (imagine a toilet stall without a door).  Further, the hot & cold water controls are more like bicycle handles than door knobs.  Trying (and failing!) to get the water temperature just right, I feel like I'm playing a theremin.

And speaking of restrooms (referred to as lavatories or loos), they are far more "designed" than in America.  From the airport privies, to the hotel heads, to the pub potties, washrooms here have a modern and deliberate aesthetic.  The face of an establishment may be rundown, but the crappers have the clean, couture look typically found only in American nightclub washrooms. 

And apparently?as demonstrated by our London Repo! screenings, movie audiences are far more reserved.  Or will tonight's 8:40pm screening at the Sheffield Showroom turn this theory on its head?

SHEFFIELD

It's 12:15pm.  Repo!'s co-creator, Darren Smith, director, Darren Lynn Bousman, his fiancé, Laura, Lionsgate UK publicist/UK tour guide, Luke Windsor, and I, meet in the lobby of our London hotel.  Outside, a cab is waiting to transport us to Saint Pancras rail station.  There, we'll catch a 2-hour train ride northwest to Sheffield.

I am told that Sheffield, an industrial borough in South Yorkshire, has only 2 main attractions: a university and the Showroom theatre?an intimate, arthouse cinema.  The fact that tonight's screening is already sold-out may have something to do with this.  Then again, it may be that REPO! has begun to "infect" Great Britain?

We'll be traveling by train to each of the remaining U.K. tour stops?a pleasant departure from the constant plane-hopping of the U.S. road tours.  Having grown accustomed to the less-than-high-tech metros of New York and Los Angeles, I'm confused at first by the button-operated nature of this train's mechanical doors and toilets.  The retro-modern corridors and sliding electro-entrances resemble those on the Starship Enterprise of the late '60s TV series (never a bad thing!).

It's 2:15pm.  We arrive in Sheffield and cab it to our hotel for the night, the Novotel, an oddly modern building in a seemingly old city.  We check in, have lunch, and then decompress a bit before heading to the 8:30 screening.

It's 7:45pm.  We enter the theatre.  The lobby is a bar?a feature that I've seen in every cinema in the U.K. thus far, but hardly ever see in the States.

I approach the bar to order a beverage and immediately spot a crowd of U.K. Repo! fans all dressed in homemade Repo! costumes.  There's an Amber Sweet, a Shilo, a Pavi, a Henchgirl with white-framed shades, a young woman dressed as GraveRobber, and a pair of Genterns.  Their fun and boisterous costumes and behavior, even in the theatre's lobby, completely discredits the notion that British movie audiences are reserved.  Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to say that Repo! is alive and (un)well and HAS infected the U.K.  TESTIFY!

Also in the lobby is Sami ("Gothicat"), a young lady who was also in attendance at the 2nd London screening.  When I met her, she was dressed as a Zydrate Addict.  Tonight, she's come bearing gifts: a Tupperware box full of candies, Kool-Aid packets, and a be-skulled metal finger talon.  Sami's also brought her fun and rowdy mum with her who's hilariously vocal throughout the entire Repo! screening, shouting things like "ring-ring" in response to Nathan's line, "Shi, your mother's calling me."

And it's not just the mothers who are mouthy tonight, but the entire audience.  It feels more like a party than a movie, and I am honored to be here, partying with them.

A group of us end up at our hotel's bar following the screening, including Tarrie Noir ("Tarrie"), a fan who I met on myspace almost a year ago.  She's been consistently trying to get us to bring Repo! to the U.K.  It's nice to finally meet her (and the fact that she's gorgeous doesn't hurt).  We discuss the pros and cons of hair metal, tattoo artists vs. traditional illustrators, and half-12 as opposed to 12:30.  Oy, Brits!

A SIDE NOTE FROM DARREN BOUSMAN:  And now for the most embarrassing moment of today!  While doing the signings after the screening ? a fan comes running up to me, telling me he loved Saw ? and I directed his favorite one!  As he is talking to me, I realize he is talking about Saw 5, not 2 ? 4? But, to make the issue more awkward he pulls out a picture for me to sign? And it's no other than DAVID HACKL!!!!!

Ahhhh, you wacky kids!