London's Blue Carpet Premiere

Today I met Ben Stiller. How many people can say that? Well, I guess "met" isn't quite the word for it. By "met," I mean I saw him at the premiere of Night at the Museum 2 and he autographed my day planner (I didn't have any other paper on me and come on, it's not like I'll ever lose THAT). Hank Azaria and Ricky Gervais made an appearance, too, but I didn't get to see them up close. I was disappointed not to have seen Robin Williams or Amy Adams or Owen Wilson, or any of the other great actors in the film. Still, it was a rather exciting occurrence.

The premiere was interesting for other reasons as well. First of all, my friends and I showed up at least two hours early in order to get places along the railing. It was a good thing we did, too, because people became very pushy and rude when it came closer to the event's beginning; I guess no one stands between some fans and their star. It was very uncomfortable after a while; people were pushing and--shall we say?--jabbing with their elbows to get a better view even before anyone arrived! Plus, a friend of mine was spooned by some person who was a bit too eager to see some action.

Did you know that the London premiere does not use the red carpet? No, the carpet put down in Leicester Square was bright blue--very pretty, if I might add a random thought. I thought it was better than the red, but I was one of the only ones in my group who thought so. Erice even said that she would've refused to walk down a carpet that wasn't red--but I think she was joking.


Probably the most interesting part about the experience was seeing how people behaved. I was appalled, to be honest. I mean, they're just people, whether they're on the big screen or not. Yeah, it was great to see Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais and such; how many people can say they've ever had a chance? But the way that some people were acting...screaming out stars' names like they were best friends, reaching out to touch them, shrieking and pushing and stepping all over the "little people" just to get a glimpse. Wow.

Well, I got some pictures, what little I could see, and I'll post them here for everyone to enjoy. For those who have me as a facebook friend, my friend Sarah should be posting and tagging a picture of me with Ben Stiller...or rather, Ben Stiller in the foreground while I just happen to be in the shot. Sarah seemed pretty excited about it, though.