Yesterday was a bit surreal. Paramount Pictures invited us to the European premiere of Never Say Never 3D, the biopic film of Justin Bieber's rise to fame from ordinary kid to You Tube star to selling out Madison Square Gardens.What's refreshing about Bieber is he is not a Disney/Nickelodeon manufactured creation. He is social media success story, using YouTube and Twitter to develop a loyal fan base that fuelled his explosive rise to stardom.
It's hard to describe exactly how loyal his fans are. When we arrived at the O2 the line of excited teens clad in purple already snaked around the corner. I Heart JB signs were everywhere. As we had a coffee in Starbucks, two girls that couldn't have been older than my babysitter, saw our press passes and asked if I could Pleeeaze help them meet Justin. We love him.
The handwritten note on the door of our local cinema says it all about the enormous popularity of this film: "All of today's showings of The Kings Speech are sold out".
It's been a couple of weeks since the UK release and it's still difficult to see the story about King George VIth and Lionel Logue, the speech therapist that helped him get over his stammer. I had to call around to several cinemas; most preempted recordings with a message about limited or non-availability of tickets to see the film. After Googling the film, I finally got tickets at larger cinema about 30 miles away.
The first thing that struck me was the age of the audience. I had to get up several times to let ladies with beige jackets and pleated skirts get to their seats. I wondered when the last time most of them had been inside a cinema and was intrigued as to what brought them out on a rainy evening.
One of the best things about being a mum blogger is getting a sneak peak at films before they are released. Sometimes I even get to go on press junkets, and meet the talent behind the films and ask all sort of mum-type questions. I love it!
The girls and I recently saw Disney's 50th animated film, Tangled. It is the story of Rapunzel. You know the one, where a gorgeous girl with long hair is stuck in a tower and is rescued by a handsome prince?
It sounds terribly twee and predictable, doesn't it?
It's not! Disney turned this tale on its head. Yes it has the signature princess, but it is much more. The film touches on issues as such child abduction, a mother's love, growing up and there are even some spiritual tones.
The highlight of my press junket to Disneyland Paris was meeting some of the talent behind Disney's new animated film Tangled. Press junkets are a whole experience in themselves; I could write an entire post about them. I was the lone blogger amongst a large group of European press, and a guy from one of the mainland nationals kept eeking in all his questions before anyone else could breathe! I did my job though and managed to get in a few parent-focused questions.
Where shall I begin? I first saw Love Story when I was about 10. It flickered on our 12-inch black and white Sony TV, while I snuggled warmly into our worn honey-coloured sofa. I felt very grown up. My parents let me stay up to 11 pm to watch the end, having previously debated whether or not I was too young for the content (plot spoiler: the main character dies of leukaemia). By the end of the evening, I remember hiding my face behind a cushion, trying very hard not to let my older brothers see my tears. I think that was the first time I had such a strong emotional reaction to a film.
