The Poster Memorabilia blog

My Night with the Brightest Stars on Earth

An unannounced Sir Michael, a goddess in the Leicester Square lights, and one very lucky work trip.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

There are only a handful of reasons I'd travel overseas. Number one is work, and I probably don't need to explain that. Number two is family, especially for weddings or other special occasions. And number three is movie premieres. If it means I'll meet my favorite celebrities, I'll hop on a plane and go there.

Fortunately, most of the world premieres happen in London, so I only ever go there to hound for autographs. The first time I did it was October 2014, when Interstellar held its European premiere at Odeon Leicester Square. The movie actually had an LA premiere a couple of days earlier, but I was already in London.

I didn't travel to London just for the premiere, though. I was already there for work. It was just lucky that it was around the same time Interstellar premiered in the city. Back then, I couldn't have fathomed spending my hard-earned dollars just to see celebrities. But what can I say? The first experience left a mark.

Someone up there must really like me because I later found out that more cast members attended the London premiere than the one in LA. So if I had gone there instead, I wouldn’t have gotten Michael Caine and David Gyasi's autographs. That would've stung, because I was most excited to see Michael Caine.

“Someone up there must really like me.”

Alfie and Get Carter are some of my favorite films, so I've been a fan of his even before he became millennial famous for Miss Congeniality or the Dark Knight Trilogy. I also love the rest of the cast, but I was laser-focused on getting this legend's autograph over everyone else.

Meeting him in person was everything I thought it would be and more. Always the smooth operator, Michael Caine shook hands and gave autographs that night. He didn't do it a lot, but I still managed to get him to sign my poster. Again, another amazing stroke of luck for me that night.

I almost wouldn't have minded if I didn't meet the rest of the cast anymore. The key word there is "almost," because I wasn't going to waste this chance to meet some of the most famous celebrities of my generation.

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Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain were all there that night, as well as David Gyasi and Mackenzie Foy. Don't forget that this was around the time that Anne was coming back onto the scene after people hated her for, and I’m still not sure about this, winning an Oscar (?). It was a comeback for the ages, because she did a tremendous job in the film.

I know McConaughey was the lead and the most famous star that night, but after Caine, I was most excited to see Jessica Chastain instead. I fell in love with her after seeing her in The Help, and she looked even more beautiful in person.

With her flaming red hair and pale skin against the London moonlight, she looked like an absolute goddess. I barely managed to compose myself when she got to me, and I asked her to sign my poster. And to anyone who's ever teased "gingers," Chastain should've been all the proof you need that red hair is beautiful too.

After that night, I frequently traveled to London, sometimes Paris, every now and then for movie premieres. I know people will think it's a waste of money, but I don't care. It's my money, and I'll spend it meeting celebrities and getting their autographs if I want to.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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