A NiceGirl at a Hollywood Movie Premiere

Last week I got together with some of my local friends (who are also fans of the defunct CBS series Moonlight) for a special event: the Hollywood premiere of the movie Whiteout, which co-stars Alex O’Loughlin (the former star of Moonlight). Oh yeah, Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht and Tom Skerritt also star in the movie.

Whiteout Poster - Photo by Marcilene

The premiere was held at Mann’s Village Theatre in Westwood, located near UCLA for those who are not local or familiar with the area. As organizer for this “get-together” I arrived early to scope out the area, find a good spot for our group to wait and keep an eye out for other spectators.

Eventually the rest of the group began to arrive, filtering in from Simi Valley, Chino, Orange and elsewhere. All the while the crew working on the elaborate set-up for the premiere continued to labor in the blazing sun and heat of a typical September afternoon here in (mostly) sunny California.

By the middle of the afternoon our group of 10 was fully assembled, our “spot” was all picked out behind the barricades and the waiting began in earnest. Since most of our group had never attended a Hollywood movie premiere before, we marveled at the set-up involved and enjoyed the time to chat (despite being under a rather grueling sun).

As the sun began to disappear behind the building located directly across the street from our position and more observers took their place along the street, the anticipation of the crowd became more palpable. We all watched in earnest for the first limousine to arrive and even though it felt like “forever” – the first car arrived, but seeing no familiar (i.e. celebrity) faces, we all realized they must be family members of the crew. The next car to arrive was a repeat of the first.

Our wait for a celebrity arrival was not long, however, as Tom Skerritt soon arrived, waving to the masses but steering clear of the autograph hounds and the fans who yelled his name. He quickly walked the all-white “red” carpet (appropriate for a movie set in Antarctica), making the paparazzi who littered the opposite sidewalk extremely happy. After countless flashbulbs and “catcalls” the next limousines arrived with yet more crew family members.

Alex O'Loughlin at Whiteout Premiere - Photo by Rueben

Then the big moment arrived, a large Escalade pulled up to the white carpet and out stepped the man of the hour: Alex O’Loughlin (at least to our group and some other small groups of fans as well as the pre-requisite, or so it would seem, autograph hounds). He quickly moved over to the first throng of spectators, vigorously signing photo after photo and speaking briefly to the fans.

It seemed like a long time before he was able to work his way down to where our group had gathered, but thanks to his studio “handler” (the person who is responsible for each celebrity, making sure they get to each “appointed” spot in the premiere area on time) he was standing in front of us, signing our photos, chatting with us and making our afternoon of standing in the sun worthwhile.

He finished with the last member of our group and a few other people in the crowd before being whisked over to the white carpet, walking the gauntlet of paparazzi, interviewers and such. Our group kept a close watch on his progress down the white carpet while star Gabriel Macht arrived and briefly signed some autographs.

It was quite awhile before star Kate Beckinsale arrived, looking extremely glamorous alongside her director husband Len Wiseman. She was mobbed, of course, by fans and autograph hounds as she came over to the spectator area but she never made it down to our spot in the crowd. And despite waiting around for nearly another hour (after she, too, ran the gauntlet of press, paparazzi, etc.) and a promise from one of her “people” that she would come back over to the spectator area, the son of one of the members of our group was unable to get her autograph (though we tried valiantly on his behave).

Despite that set-back, we were all excited to have had a special moment or two with Alex and we relived the moments, fleeting though they were, while having dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli. This was a unique experience for all of us; one that I will wait to repeat for awhile, as it was a long, tiring day; but well worth it all to have our “time” with Alex. It was very nice to spend time with my friends too.

If you ever get the chance to take in a movie premiere should you ever visit Los Angeles, I recommend that you do so, as it’s well worth the wait.