As an autograph hound, what I miss most about life pre-Covid is, of course, going to a red carpet premiere. Thanks to my many connections in Hollywood, I was often the plus-one in many of these exclusive events. And not having a single care in the world, I always used these opportunities to hound for some autographs. The last one was at the premiere of "Bad Boys For Life" in LA back in January.Â
Held a little over a month before the pandemic, I'll never forget how much fun I had that night. It was as glamorous as ever: stars posing for the camera, paparazzi screaming their asses off asking the cast to pose for them, and drinks were served inside the theater! Ahh, that was the life! When my friend (who works as a PR agent) allowed me to interact with the cast members, I shamelessly held up my posters and asked each and every one of them to sign!
To no one's surprise, Will Smith was the nicest of them all. It was ironic too because he’s also the biggest star in the cast. He was all smiles, was friendly to virtually everybody in the room, and signed all my posters without even batting an eyelash. He was (and perhaps still is) the quintessential Hollywood guy! Whether it was fake or not, he sure fooled me! Martin Lawrence was also polite but was a bit more aloof than Smith. He also signed most of my posters but then was rushed off somewhere by his agent.Â
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Vanessa Hudgens, who, even though she looked like a chicken in her feathery dress, was super pretty up close. She was also nice but I found her a little ditzy at times. Nevertheless, she also signed all of my posters and even allowed me to have a selfie with her. As did Alexander Ludwig. Though I wasn't sure who he was at the time, I had a feeling he'd be big in Hollywood someday so after he signed my posters, I also asked him for a selfie.Â
It was those types of interactions with these famous people that really makes me wish the pandemic would just go away. I'm one of the lucky ones to have done that right before we were forced to stay at home. So, for everyone's sake, especially for us poor autograph hounds, do your part and stay at home and wear a mask!
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Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
