For the venue of the big March 30 unveiling of their potential franchise-starter HELLBOY, Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures booked the Mann Village theatre in Westwood, the site of many a premiere for big-budget screen comic book adaptations of the past: DAREDEVIL, SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN & ROBIN. Needless to say, the crowds of gawkers assembled at the corners across from the theatre didn't quite compare to those for those star-studded behemoths; the pockets of people, though sizable ones, were on hand to catch a glimpse of the likes of Ron Perlman were not quite on the level to the hordes drawn by Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Tobey Maguire and the erstwhile Bennifer.

Joining me as my guest on this jaunt was our dear E-I-C, Chris Ryall, for one last blast before entering wedded bliss. For all the cool events he's been able to attend and recount for you readers in the One Hand Clapping column, this was actually the first movie premiere event he had ever had the opportunity to attend. I wish I were able to hook him up a little better, though; as this was one of the odd premieres to which I was invited without having some sort of connection to any key crew or cast on the film, I was not given tickets to the afterparty--which was of little consequence, anyway, since home-stretch wedding and honeymoon preparations would have kept Chris from taking part in that portion of the evening's festivities.

In the end, that seemed to not matter much, as Sony and Revolution didn't let the fairly low mainstream profile of Mike Mignola's demon-fighting hero prevent them from putting forth some showmanship; in fact, I'd say the set up at this was far more impressive and imaginative than that for Fox's bash for its own red, horned superhero last year. In front of the Bruin theatre across the street, there were mock protesters marching in circular formation while holding up signs saying "Hellboy is real!" as mock newscasts played on a large screen on a nearby truck. I'm not quite sure the efforts were truly appreciated by the onlookers, as I suspect the majority of them didn't quite understand the display.

Once we had our fill of the outdoor scene, Chris and I took our stroll up the fairly short red carpet just in time to get caught a flashbulb frenzy for the film's co-star and Ryall fave, Jeffrey Tambor and see former Backstreet Boy A.J. MacLean give a few television interviews. The red extended beyond the carpet, as both the entryway and the lobby of the theatre were bathed in red light, the crimson only interrupted by white wall projections of the HELLBOY logo. The big surprise waiting in the lobby was the presence of an tuxedo-clad emcee of sorts, armed with a microphone and telling guests to keep the lobby clear and immediately take their seats, like a live, looping recording. While that advisory--enforced by the security guards around the lobby--put a crimp in the traditional pre-movie celeb spotting, it actually made for added comfort. After taking our assigned seats in the balcony, we were surprised to find ushers making the rounds, serving candy and ice cream directly to guests sitting in their seats. While I am no means a premiere regular, in the years I have been attending such events, I had never experienced anything quite like that. (Perhaps that just speaks more about the types of events to which I am usually invited.)

After a couple of the usual dim-the-lights-then-slowly-turn-them-back-on false alarms used to get stragglers' butts into their seats, the festivities officially got under way with remarks by the film's director, Guillermo Del Toro. From his spirited salute to Mexico to his gracious thanks to cast and crew, Del Toro's enthusiasm was downright infectious--and that energy extended to the feature presentation, itself, which received a warm reception from the crowd. Granted, in a premiere environment, the reception to a film is inescapably sweetened a bit, but I could sense the certain feel of initial unease (after all, HELLBOY was, I'd venture to guess, a foreign concept to the bulk of the audience) wear away with each spectacular, effects-driven action sequence and dry one-liner delivered to impeccably-timed perfection by Perlman as the titular hero--culminating in a very approving roar of applause once the end credits started to roll.

In the typical slow-motion, post-movie herd of people, some recognizable faces could be recognized, mostly from the cast and crew: stars Perlman, Tambor and Rupert Evans, as well as producer Lawrence Gordon, HELLBOY creator Mignola and Revolution Studios head Joe Roth, receiving congratulations from well-wishers; Selma Blair signing autographs as husband Ahmet Zappa standed off to the side, engaging in amiable conversation with other patrons. But this being a film that is much more clearly auteur-driven than traditionally star-power-driven, perhaps not surprisingly the most recognizable non-HELLBOY-related attendees were directors: James Cameron (accompanied by wife Suzy Amis) and John Singleton. Ironic, then, that Del Toro himself was nowhere to be found in that big crush, having apparently made a quick, discreet exit to the afterparty.

Very special thanks to Terry Curtin and Brad Sexton at Revolution Studios for all their assistance.

With Chris and Julie off on their honeymoon in Thailand, I served as the token Shoot rep at the big CLERKS tenth anniversary screening at the ArcLight in Hollywood on Tuesday, April 13. While there had already been a successful commemorative screening at the NuArt in Santa Monica in January, this event had more of an "official" feel. In addition to the screening of the film and the usual ensuing Q&A session with Boss Man Smith, in keeping with ArcLight's "where movie lovers belong" tag line, the Q&A went a step further, as it also a big class reunion of sorts, with Smith joined by, in addition to usual suspects Scott Mosier and Jason Mewes, director of photography David Klein and cast members Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson and Marilyn Ghigliotti.

Also adding to the ultra-special quality of this event, as everyone reading this would know, was that a crew from Buena Vista Home Entertainment was on hand to shoot the Q&A for inclusion on the forthcoming anniversary DVD special edition, as well as interview fans prior to the show. Due to the ArcLight's reserved seating ticketing policy--buy your ticket, get assigned a seat--there wasn't one of those behemoth, building-circling lines with which attendees of the NuArt shows would be painfully familiar. However, the interview shoot did mean there was a crowd assembled outside, but one not on the level, size-wise, as at other first come, first served screening and/or Q&A events.

But even with the normally troublesome and time-consuming task of patrons trying to find seats in a crowded auditorium done away with, the entire night's proceedings began perhaps even less punctually than the norm, what with the added wrinkle of setting up camera equipment and (rather blinding) lights. But as anyone who's attended a Smith Q&A knows, time is never an issue with him, and luckily this time out, it also wasn't for the theatre management nor the five additional guests joining him for this Very Special Q&A.

And indeed it was rather special, not only because Smith, Mosier, Mewes, Klein, O'Halloran, Anderson and Ghigliotti had not been in the same room for a number of years, let alone in so public a fashion. This group of guests and the presence of the DVD crew meant that audience questions had to be primarily focused on the specific subject of CLERKS. The restrictions on the questions, however, did not mean that this Q&A session was any less freewheeling than the norm. The night's first running jokes were set up by a couple of the very first questions, one of which was rather obsessively concerned with the whole gum-in-the-lock conceit, the other insistent on how bad the film looks. While these developed into running threads throughout the evening, Smith and company did not hit their true comedic stride until he related a story about the unusual and unlikely influence of a true-life incident where a guy was kidnapped by NAMBLA folk. Needless to say, I cannot do justice to neither the story nor the many hilarious jokes mined from it, but should the whole thing be included on the DVD, I imagine "boots and a sandwich" will become quite the catchphrase among the Askew fandom.

But, of course, it wasn't all fun and games, as a lot of information imparted (including an off-topic tidbit here and there, as Jeff Anderson's long-completed directorial debut NOW YOU KNOW has finally been picked up for widespread distribution, by Miramax), not to mention amusing anecdotes about the shoot and how everyone came together for what turned out to be such an influential production. Undoubtedly the editing shears will remove some of the more redundant queries about budget, but as a whole the audience did a good job of staying generally on topic and asking soundbite-ready, DVD-supplement-friendly questions directed at the entire panel. Queries along the lines of "What was the most valuable thing you learned from working on the film?" may not be the most original nor initially promising, but when you have as interesting a bunch as those who were assembled here, it makes for fascinating and entertaining listening--and should definitely make for likewise DVD viewing in the fall.

The Q&A itself wrapped up at around 11:30, but the proceedings didn't peter out until past midnight, as everyone stuck around to greet fans, take photos, and sign autographs. The DVD crew stuck around to shoot B-roll of the fan frenzy that took place, so those of you who were in attendance and hung out afterward--you may very well be immortalized on a View Askew disc.

Marvel disciplines Hollywood with the premiere of Lions Gate's new screen take on THE PUNISHER; KILL-ing BILL at the Playboy Mansion.

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