Artcraft showing special screening of 1984 classic ‘Revenge of the Nerds’

It’s brains over brawn all over again.

The Historic Artcraft Theatre will host a special screening of the cult classic “Revenge of the Nerds” at 9 p.m. today. Before watching the hijinks of the nerds from Lambda Lambda Lambda, audience members will have the chance to interact with stars Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong in a Q&A session.

Hardcore fans will even have the opportunity for a special meet-and-greet dinner with the pair.

The screening is part of this year’s Indy PopCon, a pop culture convention bringing together fans of TV, movies, gaming, internet culture, cosplay and comics. Though the main thrust of the event will be at the Indianapolis Convention Center, organizers have put together a special satellite opportunity in Franklin.

Carradine, who played nerd co-leader Lewis Skolnick, and Armstrong, known for his role as Booger in the films, will share their memories on the set of “Revenge of the Nerds” with audience members, who will get a behind-the-scenes look at creating the movie.

General admission to the screening and Q&A are $10. People who want even more access to Armstrong and Carradine can mingle with them during a dinner planned at Richard’s Kitchen. Tickets to the meal are $50 and can be found at indypopcon.com/revenge-of-the-nerds-screening.

In advance of the event, Armstrong took some time to talk about “Revenge of the Nerds” and its legacy.

Q&A

What has it meant to you that “Revenge of the Nerds” has become such a cult classic, even after more than 30 years?

It means a lot to me that “Revenge of the Nerds” still speaks to people. It may not have started out as being a movie with a message, but that’s how it wound up, and I’m still proud of that. It is, for all its flaws, still a story about inclusion and tolerance and acceptance. An anti-bullying, pro-humanist parable. That’s why it still means something after all this time. (In addition to the nose-picking and panty raids and so on!)

What was your impression of your character Booger as you were making the film?

I hated Booger, initially. I go into that in the book. The part was tiny, to start with, and what was there was just abhorrent. They depicted him initially as kind of the nerd version of Ogre. I really didn’t like it, and I went to Tucson prepared not to like it. It was only when we started seriously working on it that I looked on it as an acting challenge. Then it became fun.

What was your favorite thing about doing the film?

Really, the early process, the first couple weeks of rehearsal and script work and filming. Finding our nerd legs, as it were. It was a great group of people, too. They were actors who really knew what they were doing. That was the best part, I think. Then, there was the partying and general misbehavior, which was fun too.

For you, what does being a “nerd” mean?

For me, being a nerd is having a passion for things. It can be gaming or cosplay or comic books or sci-fi, or science, or anything. Whatever you are passionate about is what makes you a nerd. And now that being a “nerd” is something we embrace with pride, the social part of it has become more important, too. We are a community, a world-wide community. We need more of that.