Went to my first Hollywood Premiere

Manic Moran

If you're curious as to what these things are like for a neophyte, I showed up for Fury's premier in DC (Not Hollywood, as it was closer to the Pentagon) in two capacities: Media and guest.

It was an interesting experience. Not helped by the fact that it was lashing rain, so all the media were jammed under a tent, the same overhead cover that the red carpet was on. There was about a five-foot thick gap that all the cameramen could use, which was barely enough for the tripod, the camera, and the bags. Getting past one person to the next spot was ridiculous, but every crewman had an assigned position taped to the floor. On the other side of the barrier (The same sort of portable barrier used for crowd control at concerts or the like) was, I kid you not, a six-inch gap before which there was a red velvet stanchioned rope, that the lads with the microphones for interviews were expected to go. Due to our utter inexperience at this sort of thing, we sent two people, myself and a partner. This was a bad idea, we ended up having to take turns. We got there at 5. Before the carpet was opened, we all sort of took turns crossing the velvet rope onto the carpet itself. A sort of professional courtesy created an effort to not get into each others' shots, but it wasn't easy. (Especially not if you're 2m tall and wearing a cavalry hat: Find me here, at 30 seconds in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RANEbJJaWWU). There was a ceremony for veterans at 6, and then the carpet opened and people started walking through. It was optional for people who had tickets to go down the carpet, or just bypass and go straight in the front door. I did a bit of a faux-pas by attempting to record the interview of the reporter next to me, but I had already explained that this was my first rodeo, so she was fairly forgiving.

As various people stopped for interviews, they created something of a backlog for people who either weren't interesting enough to be interviewed, or just didn't want to be interviewed, to try to negotiate their way past. Minders would force various carpet-walkers to move on if they were pressed for time. One such minder, un-necessarily, I felt, as he was very early in the proceedings, prevented me from interviewing the one chap I wanted to: H.R. McMaster. We did get to catch a couple of folks, though, including Ayer and Pitt, so not totally lost.

There was a little pre-screening reception inside the front door which served as a holding area outside of the cameras in which folks chatted away while they waited for everyone to arrive.

By about 6:50, it was time for me to pull a superman routine, and change from media mode to guest mode, so after a quick change of attire, it was about 7pm when I started to walk the carpet myself. By that point, as the major stars had gone by, much of the media had vanished as well. Holding up for a second at the still photographer wall, then ended up posing with a couple other troops and a British actor whose name I cannot recall for the still shots. With only three or four cameras going in rapid fire mode, I found it quite disconcerting enough, though I presume one would get used to it after acclimatisation. Happily did not end up in front of any video cameras for interview, though I did stop at my cameraman. Partner was about to interview Pitt, so I waited patiently talking to a colleague while Pitt, in all fairness to him, took the time to talk in depth with people. (Hence I'm visible in the background for this entire interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEinj7J1iAA )

Once those details were done, into the reception area, just in time for us all to get called into the theatre itself at about 7:15, fifteen minutes late. We found our assigned seats, and surprisingly there were a fair few empty ones. Before the screening, Ayer came onto the stage, said a few words, introduced the cast, and went offstage. I took bets with my neighbour on two things: 1) Would we see any trailers, and 2) Would the cast/crew stay around to watch the movie, on the basis that they had seen the thing enough times already.

Well, we couldn't check on the latter, as the cast/crew went offstage and wandered around the corner, then the lights went dark before I could check if they found a seat in the theatre or just went out for a drink. There were no trailers. Which was a bit disappointing, actually. Oh, we all got a bottle of water, and a box of popcorn.

Once the movie had ended, by about 10, we then adjourned back to the reception area and started hobnobbing with people. Pretty much everyone was accessible, except for Pitt who always had a bunch of folks swarming around, and I wasn't important enough to be ushered forth into his presence. I fear there were probably a number of actors and actresses I probably mortally offended by not having a clue who they were, or even that they were famous actors/actresses. Oh well, it's not my gig. Also had to watch out for the Secret Service chaps, as the Vice President had showed up. On the plus side, the alcohol was free, and the food, albeit limited in volume, was quite tasty.

By midnight those of us remaining were ejected onto the street.

Definitely a learning experience...

Poly

Is the movie any good?

Manic Moran

It's added to my 'list of movies all tankers must watch'.

That said, for the general populace, I think I'd give it about 7/10. The movie kindof drags a bit in the middle, and there are a bunch of tropes in the plot, but it's politics-free, and pretty in-the-dirt. If you want a general 'day in the life of a Sherman crew', it's about as good as you'll ever see Hollywood get.