I suppose that right after I was so busy editing and uploading video from that premiere (see my YouTube channel for the videos) that I never got around to describing that weekend.
So I started writing and it turned out into a three page e-mail. So, if your planning or thinking about going to the Eclipse premiere this summer (official date TBD), look under the cut for more info. I put it behind the cut because, well it's three pages long and I didn't want to crowd my main page with a bunch of text.
The New Moon premiere was scheduled for a Monday. I, personally, didn’t get there until very early Saturday morning. I was meeting two friends who had bonded with the girls around her so at the end of the weekend it was a group of around 17 of us. The first of our group (I lovingly call my TwiFam), had arrived late Thursday night. The first people “in line” (though it’s not really a line when you’re first) got there Wednesday afternoon, took a picture of their poster, posted it on Twitter saying “first in line for the premiere” and that pretty much created a snowstorm of activity for everyone else. People weren’t planning on being there until Saturday or Sunday but when you see that a line is starting to form on Wednesday, you quickly change your plans.
The first night, I think everyone was unprepared for spending a cold night on the LA streets… literally! By the second night we armed ourselves with sleeping bags, tents, airmatresses, and warmer jackets. For Eclipse, I don’t expect it to be quite as cold since it’s a summer movie. More likely it’ll be super hot in the day with balmy nights.
The city has an ordanace that you can’t have a structure obstructing the sidewalks past 8am. So by 8am, everyone had to be awake and take their tents down and deflate their air matresses. For the rest of the time you kick back on foldable chair. I recommend ear plugs and maybe a mask for your eyes (street lights don't turn off). If the Eclipse premiere takes place in Westwood at the same theater that hosted the Twilight and New Moon premieres, the line forms around the UCLA campus. So there are drunk college kids banging on your tent, and homeless people acting crazy all at 2am. Make friends with your neighbors. Us Twilight fans are seriously the best fans out there. We watch out for each other because the security that Summit provides don’t really do much.
The days can get pretty long and boring. You’re pretty much sitting in a chair or laying a on the contrete. Some spend the time reading, making posters, checking out other people “campsite”. It’s nice to see all the people who are just as crazy for this stuff as you are. Some more so because they will travel from different countries to be there. I saw people from New Zealand, The Phillipines, Mexico, and other far away places there.
Various media will be there to take pictures or videos of “crazy fans waiting in line”. They could be there during the day but most of them were the late night local news. Our group was on E! news, KCAL 9 News and Channel 2. Channel 7 showed up as well and interviewed Cameron Bright and Kiowa Gordon (Alec and Embry) when they stopped by the line to say hello to fans.
That’s another thing: the media and some celebrities will stop by so you need to not look like you’ve been spending your nights sleeping on cold concrete. So a quick makeup bag, some facial wipes, a hairbrush and a small mirror will really help you not feel like a dirty idiot.
That’s basically what you can expect while waiting for the premiere. When the day finally arrives is when the adrennaline starts pumping.. sort-of. For the New Moon premiere, the day before (Sunday) we were told by The Man than everyone in your party had to be there in line by 4pm (ish). At that time, they were passing out little pink raffle tickets; one per person in line. These tickets were then later exchanged for pink wristbands. Both the ticket and the wristband had the same last three digits. According to my wristband, I was number 112. I estimate that were were ~800 people. The line wrapped around several LA blocks.
On the day of the premiere, you’re given until a certain time where everything you have needs to be put away (car or hotel room). A lot of us just used one or two people’s car to store our stuff then back in line you go. You really don’t want to have anymore than what you want autographed, a camera, and some water. The arrivals start to happen around 5:30ish but the start to line you up around noon.
Ok so lining up: you go in groups of 10 because that how many people fit across a single portion of the barricade. The giant barricade is made up of several bicycle rack thingys chained together. There is a group of 5 on one side and I imagine another group of 5 on the other side. 10 people across a single section, 5 sections per side. So the first 50 people were on one side and the second 50 were the front row on the other side. Me and my group were in the early 100s so were were on the “first side”, second row. (the triangles are the medias cameras pointing towards the red carpet)
So there were two “sides” to the red carpet but imagine the red carpet like a giant U with the media in the middle of the U and us fans on the outside. The bottom of the U was Ryan Seacrest’s boxy thingy that the celebrities stoped at to have a chat.
The C and B listers are the first ones to arrive. This is your opportunity to find out what you’re going to do to get their attention and get an autograph, photos, videos, etc. Once the big guns come out like the Cullens, the Wolf pack, or the Big Three, the screaming increases exponentially. I survived but it’s pretty intense. Esecially once Rob shows up.
Once you’re in the barricade, you want to sort of “protect” your spot/area. Once the celebrites start to arrive, there will be pushing and shoving. So making ample elbow room around you when you first get there might make it more bareable. You are allowed to leave your “spot” to get a snack from a local shop or use a restroom. The Eclipse premiere is in the summer so stay hydrated and wear sunscrean.
There will be people way in the back who worm up their way to the front. The people in the front paid their dues on the streets. If you’re in the back, you’re in the back. There were a few barricade jumpers. Some people who didn’t have wristbands would jump inside the baricade from the sidewalk but they were swiftly kicked out… most of the time. You want to keep an eye out for them.
So that’s basically how to survive a Twilght Saga premiere. Have more questions? Write a comment or write me an e-mail.
Thank you for this post! You are sooo awesome &&& love love love the blogs!
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