roll out the red carpet...or at least half of one

how many of you can say that you've had your picture taken by a celebrity? not with a celebrity. but who has had a celebrity take a picture of you? well...as of today, i can say that i have. let me start at the begining.

i tried all week to win tickets to the elizabethtown premiere. i played trivia games trying to win them from the newspaper. i listened to three different radio stations that were giving them away. but as of yesterday, my hard labor had produced zero fruit. i was determined to win. i've had it in my head since last friday when i found out details of this weekend. i had countless dreams of different ways i would be the winner. but i didn't have tickets or an invitation. i wasn't lucky enough to have a friend invite me like hussie. i was on my own...and determined to do whatever it took.

there was one opportunity left, a sign contest. pairs of tickets were being given away to the best signs as a welcome for cameron crowe. this was something i could definitely do. all those "transferable skills" from being an RA sure paid off. not to be cocky, but i've made plenty of signs in my day. piece of cake. so my brother and i went to work trying to come up with a creative idea. we brainstormed ideas for a while, then went to work. we constructed our sign out of a twin sheet. it took us a while, but...i'd say the results were well worth it...because WE WON!!!

we didn't finish the sign until late...it was after 2am when we went to bed. and we had to get up this morning and stake our spot. we found the perfect place to pitch our tent...or...uh...sign. we had to wait about an hour until the police escorted bus came by. oh yeah, did i mention it rained on us? i think about half the time we were standing in the rain. but anyway, the police cars came by. then, the elizabethtown tour bus. guess who was sitting in the front seat. my all time favorite director, cameron crowe!!! and what he did next was seriously the coolest thing ever! the bus slows down to almost a stop. cameron, took our picture. yeah, you heard me...he took our picture. then, he stood up and gave us a big pumping thumbs up. it was soooo awesome. i was waving like crazy, then after that i was so excited i didn't know what to do, except yell "cameron crowe just took our picture!" how cool is that? a few more cars go by...then this van pulls over, slows down a lot and this kid sticks his head out the window and hands nate a manilla envelope. we won...we won...we won. it's all i could think.

"that's an awesome sign!" the kid yells as the van pulls away. "you won two tickets. congratulations!"

WE WON! at this point it's very possible that i was shaking with excitement. "we're going...we won! how cool are we?"

i didn't know that my brother could get this excited, but it turns out i think he was more excited than he thought he would be.

inside the envelopes were directions we were suppose to follow immediately. so after a few congratulations from fellow sign holders, we hopped in the car to head to the outdoor luncheon before the premiere.

we made it...we were there. i was at a real movie event! it was so cool. i don't really know that i can explain the rest. it's a much better memory in my head than i'd be able to type out. i was in line to get my picture taken with cameron and i was going to get him to sign my movie poster (compliments of my VIP armband), when the cops started walking him back to the bus. there was one lady in front of me. one lady. i was about 3 feet away...but it was time to head to the premiere.

after the luncheon, we were escorted to the movie theater. we all got to walk to red carpet into the theater. but here's the funny part. there was a section marked off with saw-horses and ropes with people behind them waiting for autographs...just like a "hollywood" premiere. but the red carpet didn't start until about halfway up the path. nate and i laughed a lot about where the other half of the red carpet was. i honestly didn't care a whole lot, but it was funny. i wanted a picture so bad, but we weren't allowed to take them into the theater, so i didn't get any.

everyone got a playbill (is that what you call them for movies?) and free popcorn and drink. the theater was pretty packed, but we were able to find some great seats in the middle. before the movie, cameron crowe got up and talked about why he made the movie, why he chose kentucy, and some other stuff. he told us that he wanted us to see the directors cut and that at this time, it's still a little long, but he hoped we would enjoy it. then he got on his cell phone and held it up to the mic. apparently orlando bloom didn't catch an early enough plane because he was just leaving the airport (he was filming pirates until 6am). he apologized for not being there. he talked about how fun it was to film some of the movie in our city and what it meant to him. it was actually pretty cool to hear them talk about what a personal movie it was for everyone involved.

i don't want to say much about the movie cause i don't want to give anything away, especially since it doesn't come out for a month. but i will say a few things. i really enjoyed it. it was a typical cameron crowe movie, so if you're a fan, check it out oct 14th. there were some amazing shots, some good acting, and definitely some quotable movie quotes. orlando and kirsten definitely did a much better job than i expected. kirsten was exteremly likable and i'd have to say this is probably the best acting orlando has done. keep in mind, i'm not saying he was amazing, just that his performance surprised me and he went above what i expected of him. we saw the directors cut, so it was a little long and i found myself getting a little restless (it was about 2 hrs 10 mins). i'm pretty sure i was able to tell some of the scenes that will probably end up on the cutting room floor. cameron crowe does a wonderful job capturing the little things in life that are worth noting. it's the small things that add such a personal touch and make it feel "real." it had an extensive soundtrack, but what would we expect from someone who used to write articles from rolling stone? i'm definitely interested in seeing the final product. maybe after i see the final cut i'll write a better review. oh, and for those who have told me you thought the movie would be a remake of garden state...it's not at all. and if you know me, you know how much i love that movie. but elizabethtown has a very different message and a different feel to it altogether. i mean, i guess they're are similarities, but it's definitely not the same movie.

so overall...today was a pretty amazing day.

(just a side note - i know how bad these pictures suck! there's something very wrong with my camera and every picture turns out fuzzy. it's a piece of crap. but i thought bad pictures were better than no pictures.)