We (my son and 2 friends) arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, June 7th. We had planned on going to the Jimmy Kimmel show to try to get a few autographs. The guests were Leighton Meester and none other than Mr. Impossible; Edward Norton. Being that the movie premiere was the next day and the after party was being held nearby, we showed up around 10 am and grabbed our spot in line. There wasn't anyone else there at this time, so we waited until the show security came out and told us where to stand. By that time, there were about 4 other graphers and we all took our place in line. Now it was time to wait. As many of my Cali friends agree, we are not fans of attempting to get graphs at this venue, as everyone and their brother show up just to star gaze, which makes it difficult to get the stars to come over to us. Around 6pm or so, Leighton arrived and waved to us as she went in the door. She did not come over to sign on either entry, or exit. That's right...she stiffed us. I thought she would be really cool, but as I hadn't had any experiences with getting her; I was incorrect. Mr. Norton arrived shortly after and also waved going into the building. This is the one I really wanted to get. I have always been a HUGE fan of his since his movie Primal Fear. I have seen everyone of his movies...even those that went straight to dvd. When he left the building, everyone was calling his name. He did not come over and sign for us either, but with my cat-like reflexes (lol), I jumped over the rail (without hurting myself) and ran around the building and down the block as fast as I could. There was one other grapher that did the same thing, and both of us were standing in the street calling for Ed as his car came to a stop at the sign. To my surprise, he rolled down the window. We thanked him for stopping and handed our pictures (one each) into him. My friend managed to get quite a few done, as a few other graphers had caught up to us by this point; and I did manage to get my second picture done. It took some work, but being as it was a Death To Smoochy picture, I think Ed knew I was a fan. :)
Now, the one thing I did leave out is that around 1pm, Def Leppard was doing a sound check on the after party stage. We used our connections to get this information and were waiting with our ROA posters and an album as they came on/off the stage. The first one to come over and sign for us (my friend, my son and myself) was bass player Rick Savage. He was very nice to take the time to sign and take photos with. Next was Rick Allen, who I had heard was very tough to get; so you can imagine my surprise when he came over and signed as well as did a photo op with us. Thanks to Rick and Rick! Joe Elliot was walking to the stage, so I yelled for him to come over and he responded that he would when he was finished. The problem with this was that there were only 3 of us at this time, and once the band started playing, it quickly became 50. Once they were through, Joe kept to his word and came over and did 1 each for us, but NO photo's with (I think one guy did get one instead of a graph). I did manage to get him on my album, but he ignored the pick guard. We also got Vivian, who is the other guitarist, along with Phil Collen; who refused to sign. Thanks Def Leppard! I've been a huge fan since I was young and have been to ALL of your concerts in Phx.
Here is what I got on Thursday:
Rick Savage taking time for us.
Rick Allen was a big surprise. Thanks Rick!
Vivian Campbell was very nice also.
Thanks so much to Joe Elliot for signing as well.
My High and Dry album signed by Joe, Rick, Rick and Vivian.
My pick guard signed by Rick, Rick and Vivian. Next time Joe!
Again, this is one of my favorite comedies. It's not for everyone, but I find it hilarious!
At some point, I plan on getting Brad on this as well. Thanks so much Ed! It was great!
And for my fellow Def Leppard fans out there, here is a taste of their Hysteria sound check. :)
Now...on to the events of the Rock Of Ages premiere. I will keep this one as brief as possible, as there was a lot going on. We arrived at the event at 8:30 am and there were already 50 people or so lined up. They had organized pens in which to stand for autographs, whereby limiting the people that would take the time to jump from pen to pen for multiple graphs. This would prove to be a very hard thing to do as you had to fight through the crowd in one pen to get out, and another to try to get close to the front. More on this to come. :p
My son, Jordon, stayed at the event and held our place as myself and my friend went to a talk show to try and get Tom Cruise there. This turned out to be a HUGE waste of time, as he didn't stop to sign going in (around 10 people there) or going out (4 of us there). So we jumped in our car and rushed to the premiere, where we assumed Tom was heading. We actually happened to pass his vehicle on the way and beat him there. My friend dropped me off close and went to park the car. I battled through people and got a spot on the rail that Jordon had been holding for me. Prob no less than 5 min after I got there, Tom arrived. The crowd went CRAZY and he came right over to sign. Now, let me ask you this friends...if I were to tell you that Tom Cruise would sign autographs for over an hour; how many graphs would you think you could get? 5? 10? Well, after the Johnny Depp premiere of Dark Shadows, where I racked by the way; I expected this to be very similar. When Tom made it to us, and we were in the first pen; he signed my poster and ignored my request to sign my Jerry Maguire picture that had already been signed by Cuba. My son was right next to me and got 2 pictures signed by Tom, both for my friend; since he was parking the car. Jordon was going to get one for my friend and one for himself, but forgot in the confusion. It all worked out though, as my friend is nice and is going to give Jordon one of the pictures he got signed (I don't have pictures of those). As soon as my picture was signed, I fought my way out of my pen and into the next one. I had plenty of time to do this, as Mr. Cruise was talking with people and taking pictures as well; which took a tremendous amount of time. When he finally made it to me again, I was in the 2nd row and to my surprise...nothing. He totally ignored anyone who was not in the 1st row against the rail. I tried several times and did not get anything more from him; although I did get chewed out by the head of security for trying to get more than 1 autograph. This cracks me up. There are people right in front of him, who he knows get multiples...and he calls out the guy who drove from Arizona to be there. :)
Now don't get me wrong...Tom is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood and a great signer. Not many people would have that much interaction with their fans (some I would bet he wishes he didn't), but he by no means was a good signer at this event. It was very difficult and those people I know got more than 1 autograph, really had to work for it. By the time Tom was done signing, I was already exhausted and I only got 1 graph! I don't remember the exact order that everyone else came over and signed in, so I will just give you the highlights.
Malin Ackerman came over and signed for about 5 min, in which time I was able to get 4 autographs. I got her on 2 cast shot 11x14's, a Watchmen 11x14 and a Heartbreak Kid 11. Thanks so much Malin! You were awesome!
Julianne Hough was nice enough to take a few minutes and sign upon arriving. During this time, I got her on a Footloose 11x14 and my 2 cast 11's. When she left the after party, she was nice enough to sign while stuck in traffic (Ryan Seacrest made her do it :) at which time I got 2 more Footloose 11's done, and my son got the poster signed; which she skipped at arrivals. Thanks Julianne! I heard you were really nice and was not disappointed.
Both Alec Baldwin and Paul Giamatti signed a few (about 3 or so) autographs upon arriving, but not in the area I was in. I was, however, able to get Paul on my 2 cast shots going into the after party. Thanks Paul. I have been a fan since Duets. :)
The new kid on the block is Diego Boneta. He was nice enough to sign quite a few autographs for fans and I was able to get him on an individual ROA poster image, as well as my 2 cast shots. My son got him on our ROA poster.
Now, other than Tom Cruise, this is the guy both my son and I wanted to get. Bryan Cranston, who is the star of Breaking Bad. If you haven't seen this show on AMC, you are seriously missing out. Mr. Cranston skipped out poster, but I was able to get him on 3 breaking bad 11x14's, which made both my son and I completely happy. Thanks so much Bryan! You have 2 fans for life!
That was pretty much it for the premiere. We did get a few others on the poster and cast shots, such as:
Neal Schon and Ross Valory from Journey.
Ricky Rocket, CeCe Deville and Bobby Dall from Poison.
Debbie Gibson (80's solo artist).
Here are the cast shots and poster I got done:
That's my trip to LA for the Rock Of Ages premiere and Jimmy Kimmel show. Although I feel like I didn't get what I wanted, I did get quite a bit done and am very happy with it. It was an exhausting trip, but well worth it...plus I got to spend time with my son, which is not easy now a days. :)
Thanks for all your help Jordon! You're the best!
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