LadyJenevia's "Thor: The Dark World" Premiere Experience!
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| Tweeted this right after I arrived |
I went to sleep a bit after midnight, and woke up at 3 a.m. to prepare for the long day ahead. It took me a bit longer than I'd hoped to find my way to the station, and to purchase a card for public transport, so I didn't arrive until 5 a.m. Upon my arrival, I found that they had sectioned off the street in front of the El Capitan theatre.
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| Such a fabulous Tesseract necklace! Made by the remarkable @VeronicaJ_N |
I shall now skip ahead to the arrival of various stars/industry folk. Most of these names will be listed out of sequential order. I'll begin with some of the people we saw that didn't come over (just so you may know that we did see them). Tadanobu Asano was repeatedly being shouted at, and I was cringing at autograph hunters shouting "Tadanobu," since it's rude to address strangers by their first name in Japanese culture. For future reference to any of his (non-Japanese) fans that might read this, address him as "Mr. Asano." Don't say "Asano-san" unless you're a native speaker, otherwise it sounds terrible. Liam Hemsworth arrived separately from Chris and it was sweet to see him supporting his older brother. Nathan Fillion was there in all his Whedonverse glory and of course, all of us Whedonites were thrilled to see him. Karen Gillan waved at all of us calling out her name, and it was such an adorable, slightly gawky gesture. She sort of flailed her hands about at us, as if she felt slightly embarrassed at not coming over to meet those of us who genuinely wished to see her. Sir Anthony Hopkins didn't technically wave at us... he simply put his hand up into the air with his palm facing our direction and fingers spread apart. Bow down before the king! Surprisingly and sadly, we didn't see Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, or Christopher Eccleston.
Now on to some of the people that actually did come over. Clark Gregg only visited a chunk of the line (not including the bit where I was), and the same goes for Tom Hiddleston, which was highly shocking considering Hiddles' reputation for spending an enormous amount of time on fan interaction. Chloe Bennett walked by and stated that she'd only sign things for people with Agents of SHIELD merchandise, and considering that I'm not an autograph hunter with a million things in a seedy bag of evil, I had nothing with me for her to sign. I wasn't all that bothered, though. I'm sure I'll find another way to meet her someday. This was my first real encounter with autograph hunters; I had no idea how vile they are. They can all be thrown into a volcano, for all I care. True fangirling is about love, not money.
Alan Taylor, the director of the film, came by and was signing several things for fans. He thanked fans for coming out and for having waited all day. He asked how long we'd been waiting, and some fans to my right stated 6:30. I internally scoffed and once he was closer to where I was, I (and another girl) stated, "5:00 a.m. 5:00 a.m. We've been out here since 5:00 a.m." He replied, "5:00 a.m. Wow, you all deserve so much more than just an autograph." It was so wonderful to hear him say that because even though we weren't going to get any more than his signature, he had acknowledged and appreciated our passion for the film and those involved with it. He was the first signature on the copy of Loki-Empire that I had brought to get signatures on. Kat Dennings came by later on, and said that she wouldn't be taking any pictures because she wanted to make sure she signed things for everyone (at the front). She was very thorough, and was the second signature on my Loki-Empire. She looked absolutely beautiful, and she's actually much smaller in person than what I would have guessed from seeing her on screen. (Both shorter, and skinnier - I've never thought that she was overweight, but I do think that she has a much more realistic body type than a lot of the females in Hollywood).
Zachary Levi wins the MVP award, as dubbed by me, because no other person spent as much time on the fans as him. The man signed merchandise, chit-chatted, and posed in plenty of photos with those who asked for them. I had only properly met him once before, at SDCC 2012 after his Nerd HQ panel. At that time, he wasn't taking photos, but he did sign my "Chuck Me" t-shirt and was incredibly sweet and gracious to me, despite my getting embarrassingly emotional. This time around, I was more determined than ever to get a photo with him. But before he got to me, there was a man behind my friends that were standing to my left who called out to Zac saying there was a 9-year-old boy who was his biggest fan and loved "Chuck," and Zac moved to where he could see the boy and said, "Hey buddy!" and signed his mini-Thor-hammer. It was so sweet and my ovaries ached. (Pardon the graphic fangirl slang). Once he was right in front of me, I looked him right in his (beautiful) eyes and said, "Zac, can I please get a photo with you?" He said, "Of course!" and I handed him my camera, stating, "Could you take it since your arms are longer than mine?" He leaned in to me and tried to press the button, but since the light didn't go off, I was highly certain that it didn't take. He checked to see if it had, (it hadn't), and I said, "You have to press the button harder," and he replied, "But I did!" It was so cute. So he tried again, and this time the flash went off, and I finally had my photo with Zac. If nothing else had happened that night, it would've already been more than enough.
Chris Hemsworth came by and signed for several fans. He had a ton of security around him, and take this opportunity to say that this man is stunning. He kept smiling to himself, as if he were amazed at how far he had come since joining the Marvel family. When he was in front of me, he became the third person to sign my Loki-Empire, and I honestly felt bad that it wasn't my Thor-Empire. I didn't want him to think that I didn't value him as much as Tom, but it was too crazy for me to crouch down and pull out my Thor-Empire, which I had also brought with me, and I also figured it'd be easier for me to just have all signatures compiled on one magazine. When he was in front of me, I kept quiet since so many people were shouting and screaming at him, and I figured it'd be more pleasant for him to have someone who would just give him some peace. I just enjoyed the view, because like I said, he is stunning. Later on, Jeremy Renner came by and signed for fans. He made his way down the line, coming from my right side. When he got to me, I held out my Loki-Empire in front of me, and he was the final signature I got that night. After he had signed it, I didn't have room to pull my arm back, so I moved it slightly to my right (but still out in front of me) to try to get it out of his way. Being Japanese, I'm riddled with concern about not being rude so this action is symptomatic of that. He was still close to where I was, and once he had finished signing things in my area, he paused and looked back at my magazine. I really have no idea why he did this. He might have done this to double-check that he hadn't missed me, but there's really no way for me to be sure. He then looked right at me, which caught me completely off guard since I had seen how he had been more focused on looking at the things he was signing instead of looking at fans as he had made his way down the line towards where I was standing. Not only did he look right at me, he then smiled, and said rather cheekily, "How you doin'?" My head almost exploded and I said "Gooood..." I think my voice had jumped up two octaves. What was I supposed to do?! Jeremy Renner, with his gorgeous face and disarming charm, asked me how was I doing! Jeremy. How am I supposed to remember how to form banter with you when you catch me off guard like that? Give me a warning before you unleash yourself on me like that. (Again, I am speaking "fangirl," so please don't take this dramatic form of speech so seriously). When re-telling this story to people, I often joke that since we're both from the Bay Area, and more specifically the Silicon Valley, he could sense that I was one of his kind. That moment with Jeremy Renner was probably the highlight of my night. What was extra hilarious was that he went on the red carpet for a couple minutes and immediately left afterwards. Jeremy Renner rolled right through that premiere like a Bay Area Boss.
After the premiere, I managed to get a photo with Jean-Luc Bilodeau. I loved Kyle XY, so I was pleased to see him, and he was very cute. I managed to make my way over to where the after-party was happening, and I waited outside to see if I could meet anyone else when they left. Chris Hardwick was hilarious when he left, because at one point, he said that he had to leave right now (as a means of ceasing giving autographs) but then he didn't know where his ride was so he began frantically looking around for it like a dog looking for a ball to fetch when the owner only faked throwing it. (I mean no disrespect in likening him to a dog. It's merely the mental image that popped into my mind when it happened). Chris Hardwick is hilarious and has such a vibrant energy and youthful exuberance. I can't believe he'll be 42 at the end of the month when he has the looks and energy of a bloke in his 20's! Brett Dalton came out, signed some things, posed for some photos, and the security people pointed to the girls next to me and said they'd be the last ones he could take photos with. This was very upsetting since I was the only person left in the line and those two didn't even know his name and don't watch Agents of SHIELD, whereas I do and am a massive Ward/Skye shipper. It was so awkward because he looked right at me before leaning in to pose with those girls and I must've looked so uncomfortable (I certainly felt that way). I didn't want to make security mad, so I just let him be.
When Ming-Na Wen came out, she signed for a few people, then moved away from the crowd to stand with security men. I was beyond thrilled to see her because Mulan is my absolute favourite Disney princess of all time, and was such an inspiration to me growing up. As an Asian, there aren't many role models for me to look up to in Western media, though there are more now than when I was younger, so to just have Ming-Na Wen in my presence was already a tremendous moment for me. People kept calling out to her since she hadn't left yet, and she said, "Oh, you guys are making me feel bad," and came back over and signed some more. She moved away again before I could ask her for a photo, and I don't blame her even in the slightest since there were autograph hunters pestering her and those vile creatons always muck up the atmosphere. I kept talking about Ming-Na Wen, to no one in particular, and how beautiful she was and how much I loved Mulan. I couldn't help but gush; she's iconic. Things with her actually ended nicely, because the next day, I tweeted about how much I had wanted to meet her but was unable to do so, and she ended up following and replying to me. I fangirled. Hard.
At one point, the autograph hunters took off running to some other exit because supposedly Karen Gillan was meant to be leaving from there, and apparently Doctor Who autographs sell well. I wouldn't know because I find the idea of purchasing autographs online utterly absurd. I have no interest in autographs unless I obtained them myself and have a sentimental attachment to the experience. I would never sell my autographed Loki-Empire with autographs from the Thor: The Dark World premiere. It's symbolic of the moments I had with each of the people who were gracious enough to sign it. While they were gone, Ray Stevenson came out and since the atmosphere was drastically more peaceful, he took a great deal of time to thoroughly go down the line and sign things for genuine fans, and took several photos. When he had almost reached me, and someone thanked him for their photo, he stated how he was happy to give back to fans and how important we were. I wanted to cuddle him for being so sweet! I was at the end of the line, and when he got to me, I said, "I'm the last one!" and he said cheerfully, "Yes, you are!" and he crouched down to fit in the photo with me. The very top of his head didn't quite make it in, but I still adore the photo. You can still see his smiling face, which is all that matters.
Last to come out was Tom Hiddleston, and sadly, the vile, disgusting, deserve-to-be-thrown-in-a-volcano autograph hunters had returned by then. It. Was. Awful. For those of you familiar with Tom Hiddleston, you are well aware of how generous he is in giving his time to fans. Had those autograph hunters not been there, he probably would have gotten to every single person waiting out there. But the longer he was out there, the more frenzied things became. When he was right in front of me, I tried to ask for a photo, but the foul leeches were shoving their items past me and blocking him from me so he moved right past me. Security and his team rushed him into his car, and a fight almost broke out amongst the autograph hunters. After having travelled to a city I have the lowest opinion of, getting only three hours of sleep, and waiting almost twenty hours, I was denied my moment with the man who was my greatest reason for making the trip at all. He held his hand up in the shape of a heart at the fans as he was driven away, (which I accidentally managed to get a photo of), and I left the crowd after that. I did get emotional afterwards, out of sleep deprivation, and both physical and emotional exhaustion. But I have no regrets about going, and I choose to focus on the good moments rather than the bad. I'm so grateful that I was able to meet some truly lovely people, both from the film, and while waiting for the premiere to begin. I am a firm believer that it's not worth getting an autograph, photo, etc. if you had to compromise your character to obtain it. There was another moment after the premiere that I could have asked Zac for another photo, but I didn't ask since there were other fans who wanted one and I had already been able to get one earlier that night. My honour is intact, and I have nothing to be ashamed of.
If you would like to see the other photos from the night, check out these videos I did sharing the highlights of the night. I've included the rest of the photos in them!
(Part 1)
(Part 2)
(Part 3)
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| Here's the shirt I wore to the premiere. I like to think that Hiddles would have loved it. |
Hey there Lady Jenevia, I am an author, Lynn Rogers MA, and found your comments of interest.
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