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September 27, 2005
*** Dave Knows What I Did Last Thursday
In geekdom, I think you can declare victory and legendary status when someone is more interested in finding out whether or not you've checked in than hang out with Alexis Denisof. Mind you, that was Kit. I got to be his driver and linebacker.
The drive to the theatre was, in itself, an adventure that's covered in another post. Suffice it to say that 90 minutes from LAX to Universal CityWalk in the height of rush hour is practically impossible, but it was done. Kit's heart trouble predates the drive.
Every walkway in CityWalk was covered in red carpet and initially it seemed like it was just a huge crush of people, but once I caught up with Kit--I had dropped him off so that I could take my time finding parking--we wandered toward the theatre. It actually took me a moment to figure out that the carpet had been divided in half. The right side had the photographers and the stars, slowly walking along and making their way to the theatre. The left side was the Fast Pass lane.
As I walked along, I was amazed at how each person was so much better looking in person than they were on screen. For some, it's clearly an issue of makeup, but there's something that's really visceral about having someone there live in front of you, rather than a clever play of light on a screen.
The theatre was actually divided into multiple screens and my ticket was for the theatre where the stars weren't, so that part of the night was very much like the pre-screenings with better sound and special effects.
While walking the red carpet with screaming fans on one side and stars on the other was a thrill, the highlight of the night was the after party. I thought I might be more agog with celebrity euphoria but I wasn't. "We're all just folk, now."
Everyone of them, except Morena Baccarin, seemed incredibly human and wonderful and if it weren't for the mob of fans, I really wish there could have been time to sit back with a glass of wine and just shoot the shit with them. Life, loves, their families that were there... it certainly seemed more interesting than listening to them constantly say thank you to babbling fans telling them how much they love their work... or them.
I mentioned Morena by name and it's not that she was any less human, it's just that I didn't get the chance to interact with her that I would have liked. The vibe I got around her was that she was with her group and not really that approachable. Of course, that could just have been me and my insecurities. Admittedly, I have a minor crush on her.
Stars aside, I met a lot of Browncoats, ones I hadn't met before, and some that I had. It was a little of a reunion of sorts and a lot of fun at the same time. I know them by their real names and have no idea what their screen names are, but I figure Kit could probably list them all. Wouldn't mind seeing the lot again sometime. Like, Friday, maybe.
Drinks were free. Dinner was free. Dessert was free. All of it was pretty tasty, I suspect, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. The other folks seemed to enjoy themselves though. It was cool. The party was pretty much around the Globe Theatre in the Universal Studios park. Wish I'd had someone take a picture of me drinking wine while leaning against the Blues Brothers car.
Would I do the night again? Certainly. Differently? Maybe, but it turned out pretty much perfectly as it was. Alan Tudyk even played linebacker for me at one point to help me escape from fans trying to mob Nathan Fillion. Alan's great, but he'll always be Steve the Pirate to me.
Posted by KinCross at September 27, 2005 04:47 PM
Comments
Much fun.
On those occasions when I've had the opportunity to hob-nob with celebrities (some of them celebrities only in my own mind), I've been quite tongue-tied. It's never been, alas, a "drink a glass of wine and shoot the shit" kind of circumstance, which I think I'd do okay at (at least the first half), but always a moment where my choices are either suck up their time with improperly involving and lengthy questions and discussion, or else simply offer a heartfelt, if inane, "I love your work."
Posted by: *** Dave at September 28, 2005 07:51 AM
I met Alanis in the checkout line at the A&P once. She had 8 items or less, which is about the nicest thing I can say about her.
Posted by: Coop at September 28, 2005 02:34 PM
What can I say about her? The girl went to Glebe. <ptooey>
I think I liked her better when she sang about high school dances and chasing after boys.
Posted by: Ian at September 28, 2005 02:41 PM