Going Rogue for
This Star Wars Movie

I never would've thought I'd spend a good chunk of my life going up to celebrities and asking for their autographs. It used to sound so nerve-wracking to me, who was always an introvert in school. Heck, even until college, I was usually just by myself, watching my favorite movies again and again.

Star Wars movies were my world back then. I had a few good friends, and all we did was watch the Star Wars films, even the prequels we didn't really like. But as I grew up and got more confident, I felt that maybe I could go to a Star Wars movie premiere and get the cast's autographs, which I eventually did with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Even as a fan of the sequel trilogy that came out in the 2010s, Rogue One stood out to me as the best film of that era. I loved its darker tone, especially how it looked and felt like a great war movie, the kind Spielberg made back in the 90s.

I also liked the cast, and they were a big part of what finally pushed me to start autograph-hounding. You could never go wrong with Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Ben Mendelsohn, and Donnie Yen, but the main stars, Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, did just as great a job leading the film.

Going to a movie premiere, with all the screaming crowds, shouting paparazzi, and the pushy press, was already going rogue for me. My friend asked me to go when she got us spots at the red carpet event, and she made it seem like opportunities like this are rare. I didn't know any better back then. I thought it was impossible to get into these sorts of things.

So, thinking I'd never get this chance again, I went to the world premiere at the Pantages Theatre with a movie poster I got from a memorabilia shop that had early copies. I spontaneously thought that, since I was gonna see the cast in real life, I'd try to get their autographs.

The experience ended up being much easier and more enjoyable than I thought. My friend found us a great spot at the front of the fan pit, right near the full-size X-wing parked on Hollywood Boulevard, and I got to reach out and interact with the cast as they arrived. One by one, I greeted each cast member and got their autographs. It all went so smoothly that I mistakenly assumed all movie premieres went that way.

I eventually learned it wasn't at another, the very next year, but that's a story for another time. For now, I just want to praise the cast for being so nice to me, and for making my first autograph-hounding experience so memorable.

Felicity Jones looked so beautiful, Diego Luna was a great guy who shook my hand, and despite being the main villain of the movie, Ben Mendelsohn was the nicest I met that night. Mads Mikkelsen and Donnie Yen were just as lovely, but because they're so legendary, I felt intimidated meeting them in person.

I think I got almost the entire main cast to sign my poster that night, which isn't bad for my first time. That kind of luck got rarer and rarer as I went to more movie premieres over the years, but I'm still glad I hit a home run on the first one.