September 2nd, 2013.
Well, it's been a long, quiet road between premieres, and I've spent it doing a Monopoly tour of London, working, planning a holiday, and being somewhat miserable for reasons unrelated to photography. Or maybe slightly related to photography. Excitingly, though, amidst the desolation - a premiere. And not just a premiere, but a World Premiere, and it's for Ron Howard's racing movie 'Rush'.
Here's how it went down (and how quickly my mood can lift):
My spot at this mammoth setup was adjacent to the stage and across from the media. The high and wide barriers looked like they might strategically dissuade autograph dealers from flooding the area : the gap to the red carpet would hopefully prove too wide for stars to choose to reach across.
The List of attendees for this premiere was particularly impressive given both cast, crew and past/present Formula 1 drivers were expected to attend.
No love for the Director and Composer? How very shallow.
"We've got a Lima Charlie Alpha Code Green here. No idea what the means, but damn I look good saying it". I... entirely agree. Along with security, there were more than the usual amount of fire extinguishers at this premiere (they had a couple of F1 cars drive up) - plus an ambulance. Presumably for Chris Hemsworth fans. I heard rumours he was going to be unbuttoning the top button on his shirt and everything.
Code Lima Charlie Alpha indeed...
Austria's triple F1 champ Niki Lauda attended this premiere (That's Austria - the country with the Mountans and the Mozart... not the Kangaroos and Koalas) He won the championship in 1975, 1977 and 1984) - his role is played by German actor Daniel Brühl in the film.
Niki Lauda has formed 2/3 as many airlines as he has won F1 championships, and there aren't too many people who can claim that.
Another Austrian! Gerhard Berger won 10 Grands Prix and came third twice in the F1 championship between the years 1984-1997. I also rate the black-shirt-black-tie-black-trousers look and am thinking of taking it up. Not for premieres, though.
Britain's Jenson Button currently drives for McLaren and won the F1 world championship back in 2009. I'm currently trying to figure out whether he owes me five dollars, or whether I should be asking somebody else.
Ron Dennis is chairman of the F1 team McLaren and also of the McLaren Group. Wikipedia lists his net worth at £177Million. But that's chump change in view of who showed up soon after.
Bernie Ecclestone, meanwhile, owns Formula 1 and has been married three times and has three kids. However, as his net worth is estimated by Forbes at some $US3.8billion he's probably doing okay. I think he's signing autographs on ten thousand dollar cheques in this part of the crowd.
Hemsworth the Younger - aka Liam, (of The Hunger Games fame) - zips past en route to providing moral support to his brother Chris.
Daniel Brühl plays the role of Niki Lauda in the film. He was also in the movies Inglourious Basterds and The Bourne Ultimatum. More interesting than that, even, is that his full name is : Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo.
Damnit, I don't even have a middle name.
"You can call me Domingo if you want." Yeah, or Daniel, Cesar, Martin, Gonzales, Domingo, D-Brulz, DeeCeMarBruGoDo or That Guy!!
"I just came back to say: don't EVER call me ThatGuy"
Continuing our theme of people with improbably cool names, this is Joséphine de La Baume. She was in "Johnny English Reborn" and "One Day" . I was at both films' premieres while she was at neither. Additionally, I had/have no intention of watching the films themselves. Until, trapped on a plane, I was forced to watch one.
Incredibly, Joséphine de La Baume was the only attendee who knew how to walk off the stage so she was perfectly angled towards the lighting at the base. Had Natalie Dormer (who is in this film, and who I last photographed at "The Heat") attended, my guess is she would have been the other.
"The queue for refreshments at this premiere is murder at every station, but I think your best bet is over there, at Burger King" Alexandra Maria Lara's assistant could well be right.
Alexandra Maria Lara plays the role of 'Marlene Knaus' in the film. She's best known for being in the movies Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex, which based on their subject matter would make this movie the equivalent of an Adam Sandler grossout comedy.
Hans Zimmer composed the score for 'Rush' and also "Man of Steel" (and also "The Dark Knight Rises" and a large imdb entry's worth of other movies). A quick check of my iTunes library reveals I have just under two dozen of his soundtracks, and ten of my twenty most listened to tunes this year are by him as well. (Sorry, Linkin Park, Lady Gaga).
Hans Zimmer's "Terraforming" is by far and away the most listened to track on my iPod so far this year. Which given the movie only came out in June means that the JPop masterpiece that is the E-Girls' "Candy Smile" is now #2. (What? I have diverse tastes in music) (and no, I'm not a teenage Japanese girl)
Time to reinsert the earphones they handed out for when the F1 cars arrived - it's Chris Hemsworth!! I've photographed him before, most recently with Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart at "Snow White and the Huntsman"
"I don't have anything to do with this noise" Man of Steel contains an all-drums track, and one of the chants from The Dark Knight Rises used fans' online submissions of chanting... but this amount of fans screaming for Chris Hemsworth intimidates even Hans Zimmer.
Director Ron Howard, meanwhile, has won two Oscars (including A Beautiful Mind, with Russell Crowe back in 2001) and directed such films as Apollo13, The Da Vinci Code, Frost/Nixon.... and also EdTV, Willow and Coccoon. And before THAT he had a very successful career as a child actor....
....I, meanwhile, am having trouble co-ordinating my washing/drying cycle and have accomplished nothing in my life. Ron Howard kind of rocks.
Edith : "Let's talk Man Of Steel. Any thoughts?"
Ron : "You're right. If General Zod was genetically programmed to protect Kryptonian life, not only would have NOT have stopped Jor-El from launching his son to Earth, but he would have insisted upon the evacuation of Krypton rather than launching a coup and ensuring everybody stayed to die. It really doesn't make any sense".
Ron Howard understands narrative.
Actress Olivia Wilde meanwhile understands the Star Trek Theiss Titillation Theory, which to summarise is that "the degree to which a costume is considered sexy is directly proportional to how accident-prone it appears to be". And yes. coincidentally I am still single.
Eye-contact. So important. (The answer to the question "who'd be idiot enough to put a camera and lens between himself and eye-contact with Olivia Wilde in a non-earning capacity?" would be ... uh... me)
Olivia Wilde and her super-intense assistant trawl the media cordon for an acceptable quality broadcaster.
Radio1 DJ Edith Bowman : "You're hot and I'm married. That's not going to be a problem, is it? Because it's not bothering me" Chris Hemsworth has hit the stage. Good times for those of you with a second X Chromosome.
The rumours were false. Chris Hemsworth has unbuttoned the top *TWO* buttons on his shirt!! I myself am immune to Chris Hemsworth's charms, but if you're not : you're welcome.
pps: You're Welcome. (It's really no bother. I'll just be offscreen looking at my Olivia Wilde photos while you're busily lusting over Chris Hemsworth. Or, if Alterntive Aussie Hugh Jackman is more your thing... I last photographed him here).
"Check this out - 1080p High-Def and autofocus. But please don't tell Universal - we could have done this movie on my Nokai for a third of the budget" Ron Howard pauses to take a shot of the premiere on his mobile. Well played, sir.
"You've got a poster of me on your bedroom wall? That's... awesome. I don't have a poster of you on mine. Or of myself either." Olivia Wilde makes a connection. Sadly with somebody who is not me.
And finally, a late arrival. The Hoff and his improbably young girlfriend / assistant / granddaugther / wife.
So.. that was kind of big, and obviously it goes into "The Archive of Movie premieres" because what more worthy place could there be for it?
Until next time!
Incidentally, if you ever want to know when I post one of these journals, feel free to follow me on twitter @berndt2_photo, or on facebook at premieresdotco.