Published on October 10th, 2023 | by Adrian Gunning
FAT PIZZA celebrates 20 years of mayhem with Special Event Screenings!
Adapted from his Australian landmark SBS comedy series, Pizza, Paul Fenech’s big, fat and cheesy Australian cult classic Fat Pizza is turning 20 this year – and we’re celebrating with two very special event screenings, with Fenech appearing in person for Q&As!
As Bobo Gigliotti (Johnny Boxer), an ageing, virginal pizza chef, impatiently awaits the arrival of his Southeast Asian mail-order bride, his hapless employees turn to juvenile antics to propel themselves through the doldrums of wage slavery in Sydney. But, when the grand opening of rival pie-peddler Phat Pizza threatens to run Gigliotti’s already dysfunctional restaurant into the ground, the desperate chef must struggle to prove he’s the “big cheese.”
“I hated Neighbours, because where is this, Summer Bay? I’ve been around Australia. I don’t see any Summer Bays. I wanted to make a movie that actually looks like the Australia that I see”.
– Paul Fenech (actor/director/co-screenwriter)
Still beloved, as seen with the success of multiple sequels and the 2019-20 reboot of the TV show, Pizza: Back in Business, Fat Pizza was one of the first big-screen Australian comedies to give representation to ethnic minorities, such as Maltese, Lebanese and Vietnamese communities, that were previously absent from our screens, winning the enduring love of an audience that grew up with Pauly, Habib, Bobo, Sleek The Elite and a pizza shop full of misfits and reprobates.
Fat Pizza also stands as a look back on a dynamic time in Australian comedy, boasting an impressive cast of Australian comedic stars and local icons including Ahn Do, George Kapiniaris, Angry Anderson, Merv Hughes, Jeff Fenech, Tim Ferguson, the late Annalise Braakensiek and introducing future Hollywood star Rebel Wilson in her screen debut.
Friday November 3rd – Chauvel Cinema Sydney
Saturday November 4rd – Astor Theatre Melbourne
6:30pm DOORS OPEN FOR PHOTO & SIGNING OPPORTUNITIES
7:00pm Q&A AND FILM BEGIN
TICKET PRICES
$35 (General Admission)
$70 (Premium Admission + signed
Fat Pizza 20th Anniversary blu-ray)