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A Night Out

February 14, 2003

By Michael Dequina

I've attended movie premieres before, some large, some small, and while I can't exactly say that I'm used to going to these things, these events aren't as big of a deal to me as they may have back in, say, 1994, when I was invited to a premiere for the first time. A couple of weeks ago, for example, I was at the big bash for DARKNESS FALLS, and it didn't exactly generate much excitement for me--or maybe that was just because I somehow, some way managed to not see Emma Caulfield that entire night (if I had seen her, I probably would be singing a different tune than I am now). That all said, that newbie novelty returned on Sunday, February 9, for no other premiere I'd ever attended in the past (and that includes those for films by our esteemed publisher--sorry, Kev) had quite been as exciting or wonderfully glitzy as the Fox's big blockbuster bonanza for the latest screen superhero spectacular DAREDEVIL.

Unlike Warner Bros. and elaborate premiere set-ups for their BATMAN films, Fox didn't dress up the Mann Village and Bruin theatres in Westwood with large cardboard cutouts or various pieces of set decoration. The marquees simply said "Ben Affleck / Jennifer Garner / DAREDEVIL," and a red carpet lined with television crews and still photographers extended for roughly half the block in front of the Village. There were no shortage of fans waiting in the barricade across the carpet or in the general area of the intersection of Weyburn and Broxton Avenues.

After picking up tickets for the screening (thankfully, I was assigned to the main theatre, the Village, and not given seats in the secondary overflow screen at the Bruin) and the afterparty, and spotting Garner and Michael Clarke Duncan making their first stops on the press line, I and my plus-one for the evening, my 20-year-old niece, made our way up the latter, non-media-lined portion of the red carpet and into the theatre. The seats all being assigned (I was given two seats in the balcony), there was no need to stake a claim for good spots in the theatre, and so we hung out in the lobby to spot arrivals. It took a while for the parade o' luminaries to get going, but recognizable faces eventually came in with regularity: James Cameron's producing partner Jon Landau, makeup maestro Rick Baker, Garner's ALIAS co-star Victor Garber, Jon Voight, David Alan Grier, JOE MILLIONAIRE Evan Marriott, NYPD BLUE's Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Rob Zombie, and, in a strangely prominent showing for boy bands, A.J. MacLean of the BACKSTREET BOYS and Ashley Parker Angel of O-TOWN. One of the two major cast members who wasn't listed on the guest list on the press release actually turned up: Jon Favreau, who plays Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. (Joe Pantoliano, who plays Ben Urich, was the other expected no-show.) It was assumed that Favreau due to his directing duties on the Will Ferrell comedy ELF, which is still in production in Canada.

This being the first premiere she'd ever attended, my niece was initially starstruck by seeing all these people in person. But after I demonstrated the ease with which one can interact by saying hello to Garber (who reciprocated and asked how we were doing), and chatting it up with Favreau (although this was a fairly specialized case since Jon and I have known each other for a few years), her naturally outgoing self emerged, and became very active in greeting just about any celebrity we were able to spot. This resulted in my meeting people I normally wouldn't bother, such as O-TOWN's Angel; but it also receiving regards from the likes of the gorgeous Beauvais-Nilon. Whether or not I made such a positive impression is, or course, questionable, as I'm still trying to figure out if the "thank you" Beauvais-Nilon gave me after I truthfully told her I was fan of hers since her appearance on the original STAR SEARCH series and her stint on MODELS, INC. was genuine or derisive. Time went by quickly, and when it became clear that the movie start time (per premiere usual, a half hour after the scheduled start time of 5:00pm) was upon us and we concluded that we were more or less certain to see the other principal cast we hadn't yet seen--Affleck (and fiancée Jennifer Lopez), Garner (and husband Scott Foley), Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell--after the movie and/or at the afterparty, we decided to take our seats soon after a brief chat with the film's very personable writer-director, Mark Steven Johnson, who gave a great smile of recognition once the Poop Shoot name was mentioned. Great timing, as the lights dimmed in the auditorium maybe a minute or two after we were seated.

Once the closing credit roll started, we rushed down to the lobby, planting ourselves in front of the concession counter for a decent view of the exiting crowd. As is always the case at these events, the enormous herd's rather short journey to the doors was a very slow-moving one. In the crowd, we spotted Garner, with husband Scott Foley; and Duncan. Duncan hung around for a while, signing autographs for and taking pictures with anyone who wanted to. After my niece took him up on his offer, we noticed James King standing nearby, and my niece asked for a photo op. King gladly obliged, and her friendly perkiness took us aback; when I was looking forward to her next project, BULLETPROOF MONK, she replied with an extremely excited thanks. Her enthusiasm seemed utterly genuine, and after meeting her, it was hard to imagine that she had ever dated Kid Rock. More enthusiasm was afoot when I spotted and shook hands with Stan Lee as he made his way to the exit. I couldn't resist the urge to say "Excelsior!" which got a nice cheer out of him. Once a fanboy, always a fanboy--I'm guilty as charged.

Then it was off to the afterparty at 20th Century Fox's studio lot--or, should I say, "Hell's Kitchen, NYC," as the ticket read. Whatever Fox saved on the no-frills set-up of the screening was splurged on this portion of the night's festivities. The 3 blocks of mock New York City street facades, used primarily for filming of NYPD BLUE, was done up as Matt Murdock/Daredevil's rough-and-tumble neighborhood, and the theme was carried through to the last detail: there were cop cars around with their lights flashing; guys in paperboy outfits handed out copies of THE NEW YORK POST; and most of the food was served from street vendor carts: hot dogs, pizzas, ice cream, burgers. The exceptions were the Chinese chicken salad and egg rolls on sticks, which were served from regular ol' tables. At the end of one block was a flaming DD sign, not unlike the one on the first-ever flaming billboard that Fox unveiled on Sunset Boulevard last Thursday (Aside: does anyone else see the humor that the first ever flaming billboard happens to be West Hollywood?). At the end of another block were the VIP tables, which is where we headed first since thanks were due the man who invited me to this February fiesta o' fun in the first place: Mr. Affleck.

Of course, getting to Ben was a lot easier said than done. This being the early stages of the party, there was a ton of people around, and naturally everyone gravitated to the area where the big stars were. When we spotted Ben, he was standing a couple of feet away from his assigned table, talking to a few people and surrounded by a bunch of Fox employees wearing headsets. We were but two of many people waiting, and the crowd just kept on getting bigger and bigger; actually, at one point Favreau stood beside us to wait for his turn, but of course his wait was one of seconds before he was able to pass through. Making the wait and the staffers' constantly barked attempts to turn gawkers away ("If you don't have a place in the VIP area, please leave!") was the mesmerizing action going on at Ben's table: that is, Jennifer Lopez getting her groove on--sometimes in her seat, sometimes on her feet. There are few treats more wonderful than the opportunity to see the stunning Ms. Lopez dance in person.

Things were sped along once I spotted David Pollick, Ben's publicist. Once there was a break in Ben's conversation with others, David tapped him on the shoulder and told him I was there. Ben was as welcoming and friendly as ever, and it's impossible to not be won over in some way by his charm and charisma. My niece was definitely bowled over, but being the preternatural pro at schmoozing, she managed to contain any fawning fangirl instincts until after we had finished talking to him. Given the general hectic nature of the event, we finished up quickly, not talking as much as we would have liked (or, at least, as much as I would have liked), but it was far more than most guests were able to get, it seems.

After finishing up with Ben, it was time to try to greet the rest of the cast. Jennifer Garner was next on our priority list, but while on our way to approaching her corner of the VIP area, we noticed we were thick in Colin Farrell territory, and the wait to talk to him was shockingly brief. This guy is every bit as down to earth and approachable as you'd expect; no bullshit from him at all, except from that famously foul mouth of his. Shockingly, though, during our brief conversation he managed to not utter a single swear word.

Then it was Operation Elektra, and so we stood by while the stunning Ms. Garner talked with others. Her publicist noticed my niece holding her camera, and he said that they weren't allowing any more pictures. This became kind of a running joke thing with the publicist. A guy who also wanted a picture started to wait next to us, and we told him that pictures weren't being allowed, which then got the overhearing publicist to tell us to not take pictures; I then explained to him that we were just spreading his word around. We entertained ourselves while waiting by looking over at check what was going on at the Affleck/Lopez table, and J. Lo continued to have a ball; it was kind of funny (pun somewhat intended) to see her dance and sing along when the DJ played one of her own songs, the remix of "Ain't It Funny."

While waiting, my niece noticed that Garner's husband Scott Foley was by his lonesome, and so we decided to talk to him. My niece having been a huge FELICITY fan, so this was perhaps her biggest thrill of the night, and Foley didn't disappoint; we ended up talking for a fairly long while about that former WB series, watching his wife's career skyrocket, and a number of other issues. He won the prize for the evening's funniest moment when I told him that I thought Garner had nailed the role of Elektra but wished she wore the traditional red costume from the comics--to which he said with a smile, "I was actually very happy she didn't wear the red."

Not long after talking with Foley, Garner was free to talk. My niece told her that we'd just met her husband and that he was so sweet, which prompted an appropriately adorable reaction from the beaming wife. I introduced myself as being a writer for this outlet, and she asked me to say hello to Kevin since she, like I, hadn't see him around all night. After final handshakes and thanks, our turn with her was over, and we got a thumbs up from her publicist, who then said that he liked us. Waiting in line behind us for a chance to talk to the sweet Jennifer? None other than Marvel president Avi Arad.

Interspersed between encounters and sightings of the principal cast and crew, we had run-in with various other notables: Paul Ben-Victor, who has the small role of Jose Quesada (ha ha ha) in the film; "Joe Millionaire" Evan Marriott; and Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer, whom we congratulated their recent nuptials. Nivola and Mortimer were especially nice, particularly the new groom, who quite eagerly flashed us his wedding band. All the best to the cute couple.

After walking around the entire set and taking in the general scene a few times, we made one last pass through the VIP section, in time to catch Garner and Foley take their leave and notice that "Bennifer" had left the premises. The big crowd at his table was no longer there, so I figured there was no harm in taking the "Reserved: Ben Affleck" sign from table. (No, I'm not above collecting cheesy souvenirs, and this one will go nicely with my "Reserved: Soderbergh" sign from the SOLARIS premiere party last year.) But I then noticed a familar person I hadn't seen all night: big bossman Smith, with lovely wife Jennifer, smoking in his own little corner. And so I was able to close the evening's festivities by doing what I promised Jennifer Garner earlier--telling Kevin Smith that she said hello.

Thanks again to Ben Affleck for hooking me up with the tickets and being his cool, hospitable self; as well as David Pollick for all of his assistance.

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