LOS ANGELES — It was shear madness.
Dozens of daring moviegoers lined up to get their heads shaved for admission into an early screening of the film “Bugonia” in Los Angeles — an homage to the bald main character played by actress Emma Stone.
Audience members were instructed to arrive bald or be willing to get their strands sheared to enter the Culver Theater for the early screening of the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film Monday night.
Those who were willing to brave the baldness could watch the screening for free, though tickets were still available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Fans weren’t afraid to lose their locks for in homage to Stone’s hairless character, a CEO who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien who wants to destroy earth.
Lines formed as early as 2 p.m. to get into the 8 p.m. screening, with roughly 25 people out of over a hundred huddled up to get a buzz.
One audience member, Matthew Lopez, told The Post he couldn’t resist the opportunity for a free haircut, especially if it meant he could catch an early-bird screening of the long-awaited film.
The Disneyland employee arrived at the screening with a full head of hair he’d been growing out for a year-and-a-half and entered the auditorium with a fresh buzz.
“I’ve been waiting for this movie since it’s been announced, since I saw the trailer six months ago.
And when I saw that there was an exclusive screening and I get a free haircut with it, I said, might as well,” Lopez said.
“A lot of my co-workers are asking me, why am I doing that? Because they love how my hair
was before. But I just told them, I’ve done this before. It’s a free movie that I’ve been waiting for,” the dedicated fan reasoned.
Lopez had no regrets after the chop. He got to see the film he’d been eagerly awaiting and said going bald was “freeing.”
“I haven’t felt air on my head in a while.”
Other attendees were more pragmatic about their attendance.
Rita Frenzel, a freelance actress who frequently shaves her head, arrived at the screening in hopes of getting another one of her regular buzzcuts.
“I want to see the screening, and also I want to get my head shaved. Because it’s getting long, I need a haircut,” she said.
“I just thought it seemed like a cool experience. It’s something new, it’s not something I see happening every day,” Frenzel continued.
Another moviegoer, David Vargas, took advantage of his existing baldness to attend the screening for free.
“I’m here because [a friend] invited me. He knew that I was already bald, and he said, ‘Hey, you’re bald, let’s go to a free screening.’ And I said, Yes, because I love movies,” Vargas said.
“I like Emma Stone, but I don’t know anything about this movie, and I usually like to keep it that way. I enjoy not knowing about a movie and seeing what it presents itself as,” he said.
Vargas, of Anaheim, said the screening’s peculiar requirement could teach others that they “shouldn’t be afraid of being bald.”
Barber KP Kalama — who was handling the clippers at the screening — told The Post he shattered his record for the number haircuts he’s done in a single day during the event.
“I thought it was pretty cool, I’d never done an event before, I said why not,” Kalama said.
“Bugonia” premiered at the Venice International Film Fesitval in August and has played at several festivals ahead of it’s official release Friday.
Stone stars alongside Jesse Plemons, Stavros Halkios, Aidan Delbis, and Alicia Silverstone in the English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film “Save the Green Planet!”
