Dearest readers, our writer Clare and I, Cumberchicken, have had a most exciting week. We were both lucky enough to be able to attend the London Film Festival opening gala, which also happened to be the European premiere of Benedict Cumberbatch’s incredible new film The Imitation Game. Clare and I were able to experience the gala from two very different perspectives which we’d love to share with you in this post. Clare braved the elements to await Benedict’s arrival on the red carpet joining loads of other fans hoping for autographs and lovely Cumberselfies. I was incredibly lucky and won tickets for the screening, meaning my husband and I got to go on the red carpet. So we literally experienced the premiere from both sides of the barrier. Here is how it went:
Clare: In the weeks leading up to the premiere of The Imitation Game at the London Film Festival, I was really nervous as to how things would go – all I wanted was for Benedict to see my drawing of him as Alan Turing, and perhaps sign it.
What I didn’t expect was for him to see it, love it, sign it, have a picture with him with my best friend, Rebecca – and then find ourselves on the national news!
Chicken: As soon as it became clear that The Imitation Game would not get a 2014 release date in my country, I was determined to see the film at London Film Festival. Like many of my friends I became a BFI member and entered the ballot to win tickets for the opening night gala. I didn’t really expect to have a chance, knowing the film would be incredibly popular.
But then I won! And in a mad dash I managed to organize flights and a hotel for my husband and myself. Then I found out we would get to go on the red carpet. With the stars. At that point I freaked out a bit.
Clare: Neither myself or Rebecca had been to a premiere before, but we knew we had to be there early so, under threatening and leaden skies, we headed to Leicester Square at 8.30am, and found we were the 51st and 52nd people to arrive.
Sheltering under the canopy at the neighbouring Odeon West End, we killed the time chatting with new people, meeting existing friends, drinking LOTS of tea, and I worked on my sketch of Benedict as Richard III.
A huge rain storm hit us at around 1.30pm and we all struggled to find a place to stay dry, and there was a huge scare when it managed to leak through my art bag and soak almost the whole edge of my pad! Thank god for a hand dryer in the cinema, which helped dry out the paper and prevent any lasting damage! (Richard III got ruined though….)
Chicken: We had arrived in London by that point and checked into our hotel. We found our friends on Leicester Square all huddled below a small canopy of a cinema. It was still relatively dry but I felt a bit bad for them and was amazed by their dedication and determination. Benedict really has the best fans. We found out that we would have to pick up our tickets at BFI Southbank and so off we went for a leisurely stroll. After that, some shopping and lunch, we rejoined the fans who were now pretty soaked but still really chirpy. They were being put in an orderly queue and led into the barriers.
Clare: That scare over, we were told by security to queue in order of our numbers, and then we were led, in groups of 20, to the prime line of barriers opposite the media. And we waited….
Chicken: We went back to the hotel to get ready. At that point everything was pretty dry again. However, when we came back out, all dolled up, it was pouring down with rain and pretty windy. I basically felt the make-up run down my face. The atmosphere on Leicester Square was electric: the people, the rain, the lights, the screams. We decided to watch the arrivals on the screens, hoping to hit the red carpet at the same time as a certain actor…
Clare: Keira Knightley was the first to arrive at 5.30pm and bravely did most of her media and a few fleeting signings without an umbrella, and after she arrived the stars came thick and fast. Allen Leech was wonderful – his girlfriend had been chatting with us (she was LOVELY!) and brought him to us for pictures and autographs.
Over the course of the next 90 minutes we spoke to Morten Tyldum, Alexandre Desplat, Judge Robert Rinder, Guy Garvey (he blew me a kiss….I DIED!), John Hurt and Terry Gilliam. Sadly Mark Strong and Charles Dance didn’t do any signing. Oh, and we shouted a “we love you!” to Wanda and Tim, and were rewarded with a wave!
Chicken: We only watched the screens for 5 minutes or so and then BOOM, suddenly the screams intensified and Benedict appeared.
We knew we had to act right away and moved into the direction of the carpet. But where was the entrance? We were being directed to the wrong corner of Leicester Square a couple of times and it took us quite a while to find the actual entrance. When we did, we saw Benedict straight in front of us, posing for pictures. So we showed our tickets to security and stepped on that mythical carpet. I felt all ‘glamorous’ with rain drops in my eyes and strands of hair sticking to my wet face. But it was such a rush. So many umbrellas and people. The carpet felt spacious and surprisingly relaxing. I didn’t even notice all the people behind the barriers or the flashing lights. Benedict was whisked away for more interviews right in front of us. And so we begun our walk over the red carpet.
Clare: Benedict kept coming so close to us and then darting off to do more interviews, and we were starting to wonder if our section would be the only one to miss out, but thankfully Karon saw me waving my drawing about and nodded. She then wrangled him to come over to us.
All the waiting was worth it, when he came to me, saw my drawing, his eyes widened, his eyebrows raised and he said “Wow you really did this?” I said yes, and he said wow again I think. He tried to sign it but the pen wouldn’t work on the paper (it had droplets of rain on it), then another pen was given to him and now I have a faint “amazing” and his name and a kiss on it …
At this point some autograph hunters were barging both Rebecca and a girl next to her and Rebecca turned to them and said “Will you stop doing that, he is trying to sign.” To which Benedict looked up and said “I’m not signing anything of yours, you’re hurting these girls.”
(Defending us, the GENT!).
Rebecca then asked for the photograph, which he got in the wrong place for and she had to tell him to squidge in, and these were the results….
I said “Thank you for all you do” and we both said we knew the film would be amazing and that we couldn’t wait to see it, to which he said “oh thank you” a couple of times (very sincerely I might add), and then he was gone.
Chicken: I have to admit that we completely lost track of all the stars. It was kind of difficult to take everything in. At some point a gorgeous grey haired gent walk straight towards us and it took me a second to realize that it’s Timothy Carlton, Benedict’s lovely dad. We did pass behind Benedict and Keira while they were giving interviews but everyone was told to keep moving (everything else would have resulted in chaos). We managed to say a quick hello to our friends behind the barriers who were screaming for us (lol) but were then led towards the cinema entrance by security. (If you squint you can see Keira in her golden dress standing right next to Benedict.)
We were showed to our seats very swiftly and settled in to watch the celebs give interviews outside, as the carpet live stream was being shown in the cinema. There was a guy playing the cinema organ, something I had not experienced before. We were sat right at the back and at some point I turned my head to the left and looked straight at Benedict who passed 20 cm behind my seat with the cast and crew of the film. That was a bit of a startling surprise. They were on their way to the stage to introduce the film. Benedict said a few words after Morten Tyldum and he was his usual rambly self, jumping from thought to thought. ‘If I take another step I’ll fall straight on that organ.’, ‘Oh Alan Turing’s family is here!…And my family is also somewhere up there…hello!’ You get the idea. And then the movie started.
I had been awake for about 19 hours by that point and rather emotional anyway. I will share my thoughts about The Imitation Game in another post, but let’s just say it touched me deeply. It made me cry and yes, it made me hurt for Alan Turing. Later that evening I heard that Turing’s family gave a little ‘whoop’ when Alan and his team crack Enigma in the film. Let’s just say I had to try hard not to start crying again hearing that. Meanwhile outside…
Clare: It was a wonderful moment, never to be repeated. We considered staying until after the film to see him again but we were both so tired and had enjoyed such a brilliant experience that we decided to go back to our hotel (armed with the huge banners that had been tied to the banners).
And that, almost, was when the crazy began, because we discovered snippets of our encounter on the BBC arts and entertainment micro site’s video report, the BBC News channel and BBC Three’s 60-second entertainment news! We were getting messages from around the world, and from family and friends. It was crazy!
The next morning, there we were again, hourly, on BBC Breakfast News! I must admit, I wondered if Benedict was watching our encounter over his coffee and cornflakes! What a pleasant thought…..
Overall, we both agreed the waiting around (even in the rain!) was worth it, it was the best day we’ve ever experienced, and we would do it again in heartbeat.
And the day after, we finally got to see the film. I do not want to give anything away, I want everyone to go into the theatre knowing as little as possible, so you can all view it in wide-eyed wonder. There isn’t an ugly frame of film, a bad note or a poor line. Like the cogs of Christopher, it clicks. And yes, take tissues, and make time afterwards for a breath of fresh of air and/or a drink. Let it wash over you, let it sink in.
And as for Benedict. If you’re on this site, then you are a fan, and you know what he is going to produce…well take what you know, throw it out the window and prepare to be blown away. The man is a master of his craft.
Chicken: We did hang around for a bit after the film. They cleared the whole cinema before letting the celebrities out. Most of them got straight into their cars. But not Benedict. He came out and started signing autographs and meeting fans again. And he was still signing when we decided to leave for the hotel as exhaustion was overwhelming us. His car was the last one in front of the cinema, as everyone else had left for the after party. What a guy. It is a privilege to be your fan, Sir.
Written by Cumberchicken on 12 October 2014. No comments »
Category: Film & TV, Places, Various
Tags: Alan Leech, Alan Turing, BFI, Cinema, Fandom, Keira Knightley, LFF, Premiere, The Imitation Game, Turing
