Well, attending a world premiere for a film wasn’t on my life bingo card but here I am away.
How did we get here?
A few weeks ago I received an email from The Cinema Society about a competition to win VIP tickets to the world premiere of Ebenezer. I thought, that sounds fun, so I followed the instructions: made a purchase and sent in the answer to the question and then thought no more about it.
Then, last week an email arrived saying that I’d won! So, for those that don’t believe that anyone wins competitions here is proof that’s not the case.
There then followed a series of emails from the company dealing with the prize as we arranged the finer details. Amazingly, we could actually make the date of the premiere, but it would require some adjustments to our plans. We had been due to travel back home from Yorkshire by train, so switched the journey to London instead.
Because of who we are we allowed loads of contingency, three hours in fact. In the end, it was a good job that we did as our train was held at Doncaster indefinitely due to an “operational incident” further up the lines. Having seen the length of hold-ups that “operational incidents” can cause, we eventually ditched our initial train and got another heading into Cambridge and the one back to London. We arrived at our hotel at six, having used up all our contingency, but then again that’s what it’s there for.
On the Night
Our first stop was a hotel on Leicester Square where we were to collect our tickets and attend a drinks party. The dress code was a rather nebulous “smart” which we interpreted as, in my case, a suit which is the smartest thing I possess. I was pleased to see that it was the right decision.
After spending some time availing ourselves of the free drinks and nibbles we decided to head over to the event and walk the red carpet. Turns out that the carpet was actually grey and not red at all which was something of a disappointment.
It was odd to be walking along the carpet which was flanked by fans who were penned in and had queued for a long time to get a wristband to enter the area. They were all there with their pens and photos at the ready, waiting to get an autograph. Nobody seemed to be clamouring for mine though!
The place had been decked out with props from the film, giant screens, Christmas trees and brazers. At the end, before the entrance to the cinema, was Edith Bowman who was interviewing all the stars as they arrived. Again, she didn’t seem that keen on interviewing me either!
Inside was an area where we could have out photo taken with Ebenezer branding, which made for a great reminder of the evening.
The Film
It turns out that we unwittingly have a connection with the film as it was made at Shinfield Studios which are right opposite where we live.
Before the film was shown the stars, including Johnny Depp and Rupert Grint, were brought out onto stage and introduced. I assume that they didn’t bother to stick around and see the film, but it was good to be able to see them up close.
The showing itself was an interesting experience. I have never been to a showing before where people have cheered when the director’s name has appeared on screen, for example. I suspect that most of those attending may have had some connection with the film, so that would make sense.
I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes for the film itself, but it was actually much better than I expected, and Depp was perfect in the role. So, if you get a chance, I recommend you see it.
I guess that for many at the event this was something they get to do on a regular basis but for us this was likely to be a once in a lifetime experience and one I won’t forget for a while.
