The world premiere of “Tetris” gave audiences at South by Southwest a whole new look at Taron Egerton.
From his first on-screen appearance, Austin audiences couldn’t stay silent, cheering and applauding his impassioned speeches, dad jokes and 1970s porn stache.
The film, which unveils a political thriller hidden in the story of its eponymous video game, stars Egerton as designer and entrepreneur Henk Rogers. After a simple deal goes awry at an electronics trade show in Las Vegas, Rogers finds himself caught up in intersecting conflicts between every gambling company, an English billionaire and the Soviet Union itself, with his life threatened on numerous occasions.
The story behind “Tetris” is true – at least in part. Real Henk Rogers appeared for a post-screening Q&A alongside Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian designer behind the game, who is played by Nikita Yefremov in the film. If SXSW was excited to see Egerton, they were completely impressed by Rogers and Pajitnov, who received a standing ovation when introduced on stage.
As host, SXSW film and television director Claudette Godfrey asked the “Tetris” crew which of the film’s unpredictable events were correct and which required more creative freedom. You were mom to reveal the details.
“Everything is emotionally right,” says screenwriter Noah Pink with a grin.
Pajitnov agreed, “It was a very honest film emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.”
Godfrey pressed and questioned the reality of a scene in which Rogers signs a non-disclosure document for two Nintendo employees, who then show him a prototype Game Boy — the company’s first foray into handheld devices.
“I’m still under the NDA,” Rogers joked.
Egerton found that working on Tetris reconnected him with his favorite things about his job.
“I think what struck me about the script is pretty universal, because while it’s an extraordinary story – a global phenomenon that’s universally recognized – it’s actually the story of a friendship between two guys two very different geographical locations and ideologies. but they connect through something very childish,” he said. “It’s the love of the game. And I’m an actor and that’s what I do.”