Goodness gracious me. That was some night! I'm back from the premiere and the after party and let me tell you folks, it was seriously mega fun.
Firstly I want to say how much I adore Rob Tapert. Yes yes yes you all know this but tonight, he moved me so much with his words.
there was a couple of speeches before the show started and Rob came on the stage. He thanked everyone for coming, for the work Steven DeKnight and all the actors have done and then his voice broke. He spoke of Andy Whitfield. Rob genuinly loved this man and it showed. It was the first time I had heard Rob this way and it brought a lump to my throat.
During the afterparty I had another opportunity to congratulate him on a wonderful job and we talked about the speech. His voice broke again and I just found him to be such a decent man. I adore Rob Tapert even more after tonight.
And now to the pre-show - the fans were lined up from 9:30 am - yep that is not a typo and the first fan was Rachelle, a Xenite :) I must say that line looked very different from the usual xena lines! LOL!
The stars made their red carpet appearance - I was on the other side of the red carpet (actually black carpet but who cares) and waited around. Saw Lucy turn up looking SPECTACULAR, saw Liam, Manu, Katrina and Cynthia - I missed Viva's entrance. Then went inside while the stars were doing their thang in the front. My wingmen, Ruth and Kathi, were outside taking photos in the fan line. AUSXIP Reporters are everywhere :)
I got the opportunity to meet Jaime Murray (Gaia) and Marissa Ramirez (Melitta) - what beautiful ladies and so nice.
The episode is INCREDIBLE on the big screen and I have to say that's where it belongs. The episode lays the ground work for what is to come. Have a read of my episode preview/review for more on that.
The afterparty was a hoot. It was also very loud and you could barely see but a hoot. My first Hollywood afterparty and just fun. Standout moments were Rob, Lucy, Viva, shaking Steven DeKnight's hand, thanking for his evilness and incredible storytelling and then doing something I never thought I would do and that was going up to Peter Mensah and shaking his hand. For those that don't know, in 2009 I could barely say two words to the man without clamming up. It might have been because the place was really dark and it was easier to do but oh my goodness, he is a gorgeous man!
Lucy took time out at the afterparty for some photos with me and here are a couple. The photographer is Lucy - she just took the camera from my hand and with those long arms of hers and just snapped away :) Since I never post photos of myself on AUSXIP..you just get Lucy.
A special shoutout to Sharon Delaney who I ran into at the Guest Ticket area; she took me under her wing and basically showed me how things worked since I was a newbie at premieres and afterpartys. That was mega cool and it was nice to spend some time with her and Toni (who also works at Creation).
Well that is my report. Here are some pictures and there will be more photos tomorrow after I get some sleep!