So last night I had passes to a “secret” screening at the Edina Landmark theater. I had no idea what movie it was going to be, I thought it was going to be Paranormal Activity 3, but when my friend Jordan and I got to wait in line outside the theater, we overheard people talking that it was an Oscar nominated director and people were suspecting it was the latest film from Jason Reitman, which people in the crowd seemed to know very little about. But through random connections I knew a bit more. Back in July, I was part of this marketing study where I watched an early cut trailer from Jason Reitman's latest film “Young Adult” starring Charlize Theron and written by Diablo Cody.
So we get seated and about 45 minutes later Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody pop up in front of the crowd and introduces his film which was really cool. My friend Jordan thought it was even cooler because she has never been to a film screening where the filmmakers were present. So the movie begins and it was not the movie I thought it was going to be from what I saw in the trailer, it was somewhat predictable but the film has a very different third act than what I thought was going to be. But overall, I had a great time with the movie, it comes out on December16th in case you want to check it out, in which I'll try to post a more detailed review of the movie.
After the movie Reitman and Cody did a 30 minute Q&A session and I even got to ask Jason a question, which was about the promotion of “Young Adult” and if there was going to be a similar promotion to that of Reitman's last film “Up In The Air” where Hilton Hotels helped promote the movie by putting a pic of the movie poster on their hotel key cards, which I have from a conference I went to a few years ago when the movie was out in theaters. He laughed and said based on the films premise, he was surprised Hampton Inn even let them use their hotels brand, because in the film Charlize Theron's character stays at a Hampton Inn hotel.
After the Q & A, my friend Jordan and I were freaking out because how great of experience we had already, on top of the fact that they were giving everyone in attendance a limited print poster done by a local studio. Then I see Diablo Cody talking to some friends who were sitting in front of us and I overhear her say Nye's is the place that they were going to. Which was some cool info to have but didn't for sure know if I was going to attempt to join them because it may come of as kind of creepy. I got to shake Jason Reitman's hand on the way out and we go to Jordan's car to drive back to Minneapolis. But not before we stopped for milkshakes at a nearby Dairy Queen.
So after Jordan drops me off, I start debating with myself on whether or not I should go to Nye's. Nye's is a local bar in my neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis that I've been to a few times, but am not a frequent visitor to. Despite two of my friends, including Jordan, saying not to go out to Nye's, I end up going anyway. As you'll soon read, it was a great decision on my part. I arrive at Nye's and go to the bar and order my drink of choice, a long island ice tea. Sitting in a group of about 15 people I see Diablo Cody, Jason Reitman, and what I assumed were Diablo's friends from when she lived in Minneapolis.
I sat at the bar eyeing the group, and the rest of the scenery as the piano man was playing and everyone seemed to enjoy his tunes. I spent a good 10 minutes at the bar debating if I should actually go up to Jason or Diablo to introduce myself and say I was at the screening earlier. I had read online before leaving for Nye's that it was Jason Reitman's birthday as well. So I finally gather up the courage to ask Jason how is it spending his birthday in Minneapolis, and he said it was really great night for him. Then I bust out that hotel key card from a few years ago asking him to sign it. He was astounded that I brought it along because they were just talking about it and I said I was the one who asked about it at the “Young Adult” screening. He was delighted to sign it. It was at this point Diablo Cody introduces herself to me as she was nearby while I was talking to Jason. But she introduces herself by her real name, which is Brooke, which is what I'll refer to her as for the rest of this post. So I get to chat with her for a bit about the movie, how I overheard where they were going to be. She said it wasn't creepy at all coming out and that she actually appreciated it. I also had the opportunity of meeting all of Brooke's friends who were at Nye's and were also very nice and welcoming. It was about at this point the waitress brings out a little birthday treat for Jason and we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Jason. Later on, while talking with Brooke, she offers to buy me a drink. That was awesome. I say I am drinking a long island ice tea and she goes to the bar to buy me that drink. While at the bar I ask about how was it working with Megan Fox and if she was the actress she wanted for the role she ended up playing in “Jennifer's Body.” Her response was very respectful of Megan Fox. Brooke said Megan was a real nice girl and that she kind of gets flack for not being so much because she is just a shy person due to being burned by so many people in Hollywood, it was kind of enlightening to hear about a side of Megan Fox that I've never heard about before.
So the night came to a close and Jason and Brooke left, but not before I as able to get a photo with them, it actually occurred earlier in the evening but whatever. After Brooke and Jason left I stuck around as did some of Brooke's friends from the area and it as really fun to chat with complete strangers about a few different topics, including TV, movies, and one of my favorites, how social media is such a wasteland. So great to find others, some of whom work directly with social media professionally, agreed with my theory on social media.
Overall this night was just awesome to experience. Meeting Jason and Brooke and her friends was a total positive night. I really take it as a blessing from God to have a truly joyous night for a change, and after mingling and getting along great with some Hollywood types, I really see myself wanting to move to Los Angeles for sure now. For a while, it was an idea I've been kicking around, but now its something I want to pursue in a few years, to try to work in the movie industry, which people have told me for years I should do because of my love of movies and that I have made a few short films. So lesson learned from last night, if you get an opportunity to have what will surely be an awesome night, go for it full speed.
Until next time...stay safe folks.
