Thursday, October 7, 2010

Wes Sight Story

There's nothing quite like being outside a movie theater, tickets in hand, waiting for the rest of your group to get there. On the one hand, getting there earlier is not going to make the film start any earlier, so it doesn't really matter. On the other hand, getting there even a second late (and by "a second late," I mean as soon as the lights go down-- the first set, the ones that go down for the trailers, not the second set that goes down for the actual film) is completely unacceptable, will make me feel like I'm getting ripped off, and probably put me in a foul enough mood to ruin not only the movie, but also the rest of my night. And yes, I know that's a ridiculous overreaction, and I'm trying to change that.

In any case, I found myself in this familiar position yesterday. And yet the position I found myself in was altogether new. You see, the theater I was patronizing was also home to the premier off Wes Craven's newest directorial effort: My Soul to Take. Yes, believe it or not there are still new Wes Craven movies coming out, not just bad remakes of his classic work.

As I waited not-so-patiently outside, I saw a small crowd just outside a blocked-off area of the lobby. I peered in and saw a young blond actress getting her picture taken. Not yet knowing what was going on, I looked closer, trying to identify the actress. Upon further inspection, I was still unable to ascertain her identity. Just then, a man pointed at her and said, "You know who that is?" I hoped that he was going to tell me, but it turns out that he didn't know either. Apparently he asked because he was curious, not because he wanted to show off.

So the two of us embarked on a quest to figure out who she was. We asked one of the men in suits keeping out the riff raff. He didn't know who she was, so we asked another. "One of the actresses from the film," he said. I'm surprised he didn't change out of his suit into his Captain Obvious superhero tights before telling us that one. After a little more half-hearted effort, we gave up. To this day, I still have no idea who she was. Granted, "this day" is only one day later, but I'm sure that statement will hold up years down the line.

Fortunately, there were other stars that walked by into the theater. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize any of them either. That is, of course, until the man himself, Wes Craven, walked by. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I didn't recognize him, but I know who he is and I identified him when someone said his name, and that's more than I can say about anyone else. Still he's got to be the most well-known celebrity I've seen in the city (not including the ones I've seen performing). Way to go, Wes, you've managed to edge out Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Martin Henderson (no, that name doesn't sound familiar).

I found this mildly exciting, or at least I did until I kept talking to my fellow investigator. He told me that a few weeks before Robert De Niro and Kate Beckinsale were there. If only...

A few minutes later I was no longer waiting, and I made my way into the theater with about 45 seconds to spare. All in all, it worked out pretty well. Apparently waiting outside a theater in New York City is more exciting than waiting outside a theater in the 'burbs. Who'da thought?