This premiere was on a Sunday, which is fairly rare. So… I got into London some six hours before the scheduled start time, spent some time at the National Geographic store and about an hour at the National Portrait Gallery, and then had lunch and then… well… what else is there to do in London when there’s a premiere on? I joined the queues. My ipod was charged and it was only about zero degrees, and here’s how it went down:
Needless to say, Yellow Cap Guy was in position well before I was. I went up to him, and as sort of a symbolic ‘farewell’ gave him some shots I’d taken of him over the past year and a half. He seemed to like them…
‘Invictus’. Some kind of swords-and-sandals Roman epic? Not so much. It’s about Rugby Union, and Clint Eastwood is directing.
”While you’re all waiting, here’s lot 16 for auction. It’s a gravy boat and it’s inscribed with… “Webb Ellis”. Apparently he doesn’t want it any more”
Cute security lady. (Matt Damon likes…)
”Yeah, well, Mister Eastwood is just going to have to wait if it comes to that, because I’m about to get a high score on Ridge Racer!”
There comes a day when we all must acknowledge that we are unlikely to ever be as cool as Morgan Freeman. For me, today may possibly be that day.
”You beat Tom’s high score on Ridge Racer? Why, that’s fantastic! Wait – I’ve got some guy here waiting to talk to me. I gotta go”
Reporter : Mister Freeman? What about reports that you’ve been helping to personally arm vigilantes operating outside the law in major metropolitan areas?
Morgan Freeman : You .. uh… do realise that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were just movies, right?
”You want me to sign this as ‘Matt Damon’? Sure, no problem” (I have no idea who this guy is).
I think he’s an actor who plays a Rugby Union player in the film. Alternatively, he may be a Rugby Union player whom an actor plays in the film. I’m not quite sure.
Former South African captain Francois Pienaar, whose part in the movie is played by Matt Damon, scored an invite. (Sadly, Nelson Mandela did not attend)
Morgan Freeman in profile.
Guy : I’m just saying. I could be a superhero. I just gotta have a chat with Morgan Freeman and see if he can make some modifications to my car
Girl : Let’s talk about this at home
(Lady in front) ”I’m not sure what the film is about, actually. I think it’s about Nero or Caligula or Augustus or one of the emperors. A co-worker said it was a Clint Eastwood movie, but as if…”
”Some guy got a high score on Ridge Racer? Yeah, I heard – that’s excellent news”. Clint Eastwood knows about the importance of these things.
”Sir, I know you and Mr Freeman don’t really do autographs or mix with fans, but there’s a guy who photographs a lot of these premieres, and it would be really funny if the only sharp, face-on shot he got of you all night had you in front of a giant neon cappuccino sign” Yeah. Really funny.
”Weirdly, somebody has already signed this ‘Matt Damon’ …. but sure, I’ll sign it as Morgan Freeman, if you want”
”I’ll be honest, we all went around calling him Maaaaatt Daaaaaamon for the first few days of filming. But he is actually a really nice guy”.
Ladies and Gentlemen (…mainly ladies, going by the screams) : Mister Matt Damon!
”And they turned me into a marionette who did nothing but say Maaaaatt Daaaaamon all the time? Really? Well, that does explain a lot of I’ve been experiencing the last five or six years” Matt Damon will make sure to watch “Team America World Police” at the earliest opportunity.
”Every one of my throws in the film was a forward pass? Damn… that kinda sucks. Still, Morgan Freeman said he’d modify my car so I could be a vigilante back in the ‘States, so I wouldn’t call making the movie a totally wasted experience”
Finally, I’d like to leave you with a quote apparently made by Sergeo Leone who cast Clint Eastwood as the lead in the career-building A fistful of dollars:
“I needed a mask more than an actor, and Eastwood at the time only had two facial expressions: one with the hat, and one without it”
And that’s why, whatever you do in your life that you love… stick with it. Because you CAN IMPROVE!
Sigh. There’s still a couple more premieres to go before I leave London and I hope to add each and every one (or at least as many as possible) to “The Archive of Movie Premieres”:http://www.redbubble.com/people/bern...
The most recent of which were:
The Last Station – Mirren! McAvoy! Duff!
Blur – No Distance Left To Run – The Guys from Blur!
Sherlock Holmes – J.Law! R.DowneyJnr! G.Ritchie! R.McAdams!
Avatar – James Cameron! In Colour! In Widescreen!
Hugh Fathers
Most enjoyable!! . . .
Marilyn Harris
Great work! Love your sense of humour! :o)
Tracey Mac
Two very cool for school guys oh…plus Matt of course…
Your shots of the seriously cool dudes are excellent, and your ad libs crack me the hell up, so much so that my cat just shot out of the room in a total blur :)