INCEPTION: Movie Premiere

I was with the fans outside the L.A. movie premiere and red carpet for the movie Inception on Tues 7/13. Inception is the new and highly anticipated film from Dark Knight's Chris Nolan. I missed the arrival of most of the main stars and but I spoke with those who saw the stars arriving and here's the run-down:

Leonardo DiCaprio crossed the street and spent a lot of time greeting the fans along the barricades and signing autographs and he was "real cool".
Chris Nolan ,Dark Knight's famed director) was a fan favorite and he arrived to lots of cheers.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt(the cute kid from 3rd Rock From The Sun and 500 Days of Summer)practically snuck by and not many people recognized him.
Ellen Page was "cute as a button" and a nerd-boy's dream and many guys couldn't stop gushing about her.
Marion Cotilliard seemed nice enough but didn't seem to spark too much lasting interest from the fans and unfortunately Michael Caine was a no show.

After all the stars were in theater, they let us get close to the red carpet and viewing area and I hung out there with the fans and a few remaining photogs. It actually wasn't a red carpet but a black carpet with the word "INCEPTION" in big red block letters and there were large wall-like posters from the movie along the walk area.

The After-party:They erected 3-4 massive white tens in the parking area behind El Capitan just by the Hollywood High School. The tents were air-conditioned (a blessing in 94 degree heat) and very high end and the main tent had glass along the entrance as you walked in and I think I spied potted plants as the decor. They had a long corridor made of metal pipes and lined with black fabric and a similarly draped black platform that was like a small maze that led from the back of the El Capitan Theater directly to the main tent in the parking lot.

Warner Brothers spent a lot for this intricate set up and they had one tent just for the caterers alone. The porta-johns were also high end and nearly twice the size of the ones I usually see and they were in a nice taupe color as apposed to the common light blue variety we use. I counted over 30 security staff and they were doing a good job of patrolling the entrances and perimeter, keeping the uninvited out. That is, except at the low fence near the high school where someone could have easily crawled over and entered if so inclined.

I heard they had a strict dress code for fans who wrangled tickets to the premiere and I was outside with a guy who said they didn't let him in because of it. I never have to worry about that as I always carry a sequenced tank, sparkly, stroppy, kitten-heeled sandals and matching accessories in my handbag whenever I attend premieres, just in case I score a ticket. I am beyond resourceful(lol)!

Alas, no ticket this time so I watched everything through the fence especially the caterers in the food prep tent, which looked like hard work but fun at the same time. The food could have been a little more imaginative though as I saw the routine stuff (roast beef, salad greens, crustinis etc.). Maybe a creative food design that mirrors the theme of the movie or a set piece... like a big water fall of beverages into a punch bowl and buildings made from cake that crumble and collapse as you slice it.

I ease-dropped on the wait-staff conversations for a bit as this is usually a good source of insider tid-bits. Unfortunately, none of it was industry stuff so I moved on to see if any of the stars would arrive early to the main tent. I observed for a bit more then I got bored and moved on.

Toy Story 3/Disney Fun Rides Carnival:As I was leaving, I strolled by the Disney/Toy Story 3 carnival on the Hollywood High's field next door. It was closed for the day but it's opened daily until 7:00 to anyone who buys a ticket to see Toy Story at The El Capitan. It looked like fun so I think I'll "borrow" a kid and join the fun on the rides next weekend(lol).

AFI Night At The Movies

More Special Film Screenings and Panel Discussions:

I attended Target presents AFI's Night At The Movies on October 1, 2008, which is a yearly event showcasing movies that made AFI 100 Best Film lists or one of the 400 films nominated for consideration for the list. I wanted to see West Side Story presented by Rita Morena. I have been a fan of Rita Moreno since a child and had sent a hello to her through a friend of hers, who had danced in West Side Story and who I had met the night before the Oscars in February 2008. Unfortunately, all the tickets sold out in a flash so the next best bet for me were The Man Who Would Be King which was being presented by Sean Connery, The Matrix or Glory presented by Denzel Washington but all of these were sold out also. I paid $25 and bought tickets for Something About Mary to be presented by Cameron Diaz. Though I liked the movie well enough I just bought the ticket so that I could at least have a ticket to attend the event. I then went on e-bay and found out why all the tickets had sold so quickly. All the scalpers had snapped up tix to sell online for 2-3X the price but West Side Story tix still weren't available. I got a good seat for The Matrix for $60 that I was very lucky to get especially for the price. I tried to sell my Something About Mary tix the day of but got major attitude at the event from the staff because it's a fundraiser so I just donated the cost.

It was a great night! First, the Austin Powers look-alike flirted with me on red carpet and I was with the crush of photogs waiting to see what Cameron Diaz would be wearing. Then we were ushered into the theater just before the stars appeared for the red carpet. We had a long wait but free popcorn and soda and making new friends made it a bit easier. They had to relocate me because the camera man needed my spot to position the camera to tape the star on stage. I was a bit bummed out with the move but I ended up with the best seat in the house for viewing the movie's intro. Keanu Reeves arrived and did a 15 minute introduction of The Matrix. He spoke mostly about its themes and what drew him to film and he introduced the producer who was in the audience. He took his seat and we all settled down to watch the movie. Boy , that movie still holds up and I even got goosebumps as the opening scenes began.

Speaking of which, I attended the Matrix 10th Anniversary panel and trilogy at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica in March 2009. We watched the fist Matrix movie then heard from the panel with Zach Staenberg (editor, Academy Award-winner), Kym Barrett (costume designer) and Dane A. Davis (supervising sound editor, Academy Award-winner), Owen Patterson (production designer) and moderated by author, Eric Lichtenfeld. The theater was filled with many college -aged students but a large amount of fans in their 40's and 50's.

Directors and brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski were not slated to appear but I had seen them up close and personal at the Speed Racer premiere in Summer 2008 so that was okay. Kym Barrett actually didn't make it but the rest of the panel was great. They all remarked that they had not seen the movie in the 10 years since the movie premiered and they were surprised how well it held up and how enjoyable it still was to them. I got to speak to everyone after the panel and ask them questions (especially Owen Patterson). Yes, I asked them many, many questions mostly about how they successfully put the science into sci-fi. I also got to shake every one's hand and to thank them for one of my favorite movies ever. The panel seemed genuinely surprised at the fan response 10 years later but they were appreciative of our praise of their work.

I wore my little cross card pinned to my lapel and it was received well as there were many Christians in attendance besides myself. I asked Mr. Patterson what he was doing so far from home as he lives in Australia and has worked on most of the movies there. He said he was working on a new movie in L.A. and that he had a place to stay here also. He explained to me a bit more about what his job on set is like and his hopes for the new film he was working on. I told him that I was praying that God would continue to bless him in everything. He said thank you and was very touched by my prayer and concern. One college age guy thanked them and wished them "Happy Easter" and "Happy Passover" and everyone concurred.

We were ushered back into our seats and we watched Matrix Reloaded and it's terrific fight scenes. I left half way through Matrix Revolutions as it was nearly midnight and I had been sitting for hours. To tell you the truth, I'm not a fan of the other 2 movies and especially not Revolutions. I felt that Revolutions was confusing and unsatisfying as the conclusion of the trilogy especially because it strayed from the Judeo-Christian themes of the original. I think if the Wachowski's had stayed true to Christian principles, the subsequent movies would have been great. Still, theses films grossed over $400 million each, which is nothing to laugh at.


The blue ray box set of The Matrix trilogy was released to commemorate the original movie's 1oth Anniversary this year. They raffled off 3 free sets to lucky audience members before the panel and the winners looked really stoked to have won.

www.afi.com/video/VideoPlayer.aspx?videoid=MrXCHQBINUc
www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/26/page-2-43/
Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403