Spartacus: Vengeance Red Carpet Premiere - 18 January 2012
Actually, it was a black carpet but whatever.
This is part two of my unofficial Geek Week. Three days before this event, I was at the Mythbusters "Behind the Myths" Tour. I had a lot of fun at that event and it definitely fed my nerdiness. Now, I am by no means a TV/film red carpet premiere virgin but the Spartacus: Vengeance premiere was different than my previous premiere night experiences.
First of all, it was rather low-key. Compared to the others I've been to - True Blood, Inception, etc. - which had hordes of screaming fans, mostly women folk, this premiere didn't have the same level of noise. There is excitement, don't get me wrong. But it's more of a... I don't know how to explain it... a more subdued and "grown up" reaction, I guess. The celebrities were shaking hands with the fans. There was no pushing and much screaming. The fans are applauding instead of losing their shit. And I have to say, it was awkward at times. It was still fun.
One person in line said that it is more akin to a cult classic appreciation where fans are quiet and "more nerdy" than the fans of your average prime time show. I was pleasantly surprised at how many fans the show has. I know it has quite a following online but this was a pretty good turn out. I actually like this group of fans. (I love the fans of other shows too but I fear for my life once the stars of a show are within sight.)
There wasn't much to say about the pre-show red carpet. I met the writer/creator of the show, Steven DeKnight; Spartacus himself, Liam McIntyre (more on that later); Lucretia and always the Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless; Agron, Dan Feuerriegel; and the one I geeked out most over... Craig Parker as Claudius Glaber. But to me, he will always be Haldir of The Lord of the Rings.
I don't know but I think Starz did not expect the turn out either. The first 50-ish people in line were upped to the "fan line" where they got to hang out by the red carpet and meet everyone. The rest of us where at the back entrance waiting for the rest of them to pass by so we can shake their hands. Then the next 50 or so went into the theatre. I was part of that group so I missed the "meet and greet" with Peter Mensah, Viva Bianca, Katrina Law, Nick Tarabay, and Manu Bennett. Lesson learned is... you cannot be "too early" for anything. XD
Can we just talk about this for a minute? I mean... don't get me wrong. I love Spartacus. But The Lord of the Rings has been my LIFE for more than a decade. And yessir, I told Mr. Craig Parker exactly that. I saw him come out of the fanline area and I immediately went to my usual "OMG, no way!" geek out routine. I am not particularly shy but when you meet someone who took part in one of your favorite movies of all time, LOTR: The Two Towers, I think I gained permission to be shy for two seconds. And I have such genuine and immense love for the trilogy and everyone involved in it.
So back to Craig Parker. He passed in front of our spot, and then I told him how much I loved Spartacus and LOTR. And you know what he did? He was so nice to chat with us! It went something like this --
Me: OMG, I love Spartacus but... LOTR is my life, I can't even explain.
CP: Aw, thank you so much. You know what? They are releasing new Lord of the Rings films this December. The Hobbit, I think.
Me: Yeah, it's so exciting!
CP: I know. And a couple of my friends will be there too.
OMG lemme... SLJFDFHGFLJGLJHLG. If this is the closest I'll ever be to the Fellowship, I am totally content. He is so nice and funny and charming. And when I asked for a pic, he swung his arm around my shoulder and asked, "Are we doing the wacky face or just a sweet smile?" ARE YOU EVEN REAL, SIR? I just... can't.
And when he had to go further down the fan line, as a goodbye, he said, "Well, I hope you enjoy it and just don't watch the naughty bits." LMAO!
So... well. I got that embarrassing giggly geekery out of the way. SPARTACUS!
I must say, I don't even know this man but I am absolutely in LOVE with him. He's so happy and humble and gracious and CHARMING. And after watching the first episode, Liam McIntyre, I'm so sold. He's a wonderful actor. And despite the unavoidable weight of continuing the late Andy Whitfield's legacy and the scrutiny of hardcore Spartacus fans, he owned it. It was definitely a new Spartacus on that screen, but different in a good way. His smile and excitement is infectious. And I am so proud of him already.
Once again, I had an aisle seat. It was awesome because after they introduced the cast, all of them walked the aisle to my right. My seat was about eight-ten rows from the screen. I don't mind being that close during a premiere because I can get good shots of the people up front. (But because of bad lighting, the pics aren't so good. But you can see them hahaha.)
The most touching part of the evening, for me, was when Rob Tapert became emotional when he started talking about Andy. His voice broke and he just took the rest of the people in that room with him. He said Andy wanted the show to go on no matter what. There is genuine love among these people and it shows. I wish there was a Q&A after the showing but after they introduced the actors - with a shoutout by Mr. DeKnight to the Gods of the Arena actors in the audience, especially Marisa Ramirez (Melitta) and Jaime Murray (Gaia) - they went straight to the episode.
The show officially airs on 27 January but if you reside in the USA, you can watch it in advance here.
This is part two of my unofficial Geek Week. Three days before this event, I was at the Mythbusters "Behind the Myths" Tour. I had a lot of fun at that event and it definitely fed my nerdiness. Now, I am by no means a TV/film red carpet premiere virgin but the Spartacus: Vengeance premiere was different than my previous premiere night experiences.
First of all, it was rather low-key. Compared to the others I've been to - True Blood, Inception, etc. - which had hordes of screaming fans, mostly women folk, this premiere didn't have the same level of noise. There is excitement, don't get me wrong. But it's more of a... I don't know how to explain it... a more subdued and "grown up" reaction, I guess. The celebrities were shaking hands with the fans. There was no pushing and much screaming. The fans are applauding instead of losing their shit. And I have to say, it was awkward at times. It was still fun.
One person in line said that it is more akin to a cult classic appreciation where fans are quiet and "more nerdy" than the fans of your average prime time show. I was pleasantly surprised at how many fans the show has. I know it has quite a following online but this was a pretty good turn out. I actually like this group of fans. (I love the fans of other shows too but I fear for my life once the stars of a show are within sight.)
There wasn't much to say about the pre-show red carpet. I met the writer/creator of the show, Steven DeKnight; Spartacus himself, Liam McIntyre (more on that later); Lucretia and always the Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless; Agron, Dan Feuerriegel; and the one I geeked out most over... Craig Parker as Claudius Glaber. But to me, he will always be Haldir of The Lord of the Rings.
I don't know but I think Starz did not expect the turn out either. The first 50-ish people in line were upped to the "fan line" where they got to hang out by the red carpet and meet everyone. The rest of us where at the back entrance waiting for the rest of them to pass by so we can shake their hands. Then the next 50 or so went into the theatre. I was part of that group so I missed the "meet and greet" with Peter Mensah, Viva Bianca, Katrina Law, Nick Tarabay, and Manu Bennett. Lesson learned is... you cannot be "too early" for anything. XD
Can we just talk about this for a minute? I mean... don't get me wrong. I love Spartacus. But The Lord of the Rings has been my LIFE for more than a decade. And yessir, I told Mr. Craig Parker exactly that. I saw him come out of the fanline area and I immediately went to my usual "OMG, no way!" geek out routine. I am not particularly shy but when you meet someone who took part in one of your favorite movies of all time, LOTR: The Two Towers, I think I gained permission to be shy for two seconds. And I have such genuine and immense love for the trilogy and everyone involved in it.
So back to Craig Parker. He passed in front of our spot, and then I told him how much I loved Spartacus and LOTR. And you know what he did? He was so nice to chat with us! It went something like this --
Me: OMG, I love Spartacus but... LOTR is my life, I can't even explain.
CP: Aw, thank you so much. You know what? They are releasing new Lord of the Rings films this December. The Hobbit, I think.
Me: Yeah, it's so exciting!
CP: I know. And a couple of my friends will be there too.
OMG lemme... SLJFDFHGFLJGLJHLG. If this is the closest I'll ever be to the Fellowship, I am totally content. He is so nice and funny and charming. And when I asked for a pic, he swung his arm around my shoulder and asked, "Are we doing the wacky face or just a sweet smile?" ARE YOU EVEN REAL, SIR? I just... can't.
And when he had to go further down the fan line, as a goodbye, he said, "Well, I hope you enjoy it and just don't watch the naughty bits." LMAO!
So... well. I got that embarrassing giggly geekery out of the way. SPARTACUS!
I must say, I don't even know this man but I am absolutely in LOVE with him. He's so happy and humble and gracious and CHARMING. And after watching the first episode, Liam McIntyre, I'm so sold. He's a wonderful actor. And despite the unavoidable weight of continuing the late Andy Whitfield's legacy and the scrutiny of hardcore Spartacus fans, he owned it. It was definitely a new Spartacus on that screen, but different in a good way. His smile and excitement is infectious. And I am so proud of him already.
Once again, I had an aisle seat. It was awesome because after they introduced the cast, all of them walked the aisle to my right. My seat was about eight-ten rows from the screen. I don't mind being that close during a premiere because I can get good shots of the people up front. (But because of bad lighting, the pics aren't so good. But you can see them hahaha.)
The most touching part of the evening, for me, was when Rob Tapert became emotional when he started talking about Andy. His voice broke and he just took the rest of the people in that room with him. He said Andy wanted the show to go on no matter what. There is genuine love among these people and it shows. I wish there was a Q&A after the showing but after they introduced the actors - with a shoutout by Mr. DeKnight to the Gods of the Arena actors in the audience, especially Marisa Ramirez (Melitta) and Jaime Murray (Gaia) - they went straight to the episode.
The show officially airs on 27 January but if you reside in the USA, you can watch it in advance here.