The movie premiere for Log Warriors was a great success in my eyes, seeing as how my last movie premiere for Island Dog Robber was only attended by 7 people. This time around there were between 35 and 50 people in attendance. Following this math, I calculate there will be 350 people at my next movie premiere. Well, one can only hope. Part of the reason why I make movies is to have movie premieres where cast, crew, friends, family, and fans can enjoy themselves and celebrate the hard work that goes into making a movie.
Rarely do I get to celebrate with people from all parts of my life and the Log Warriors premiere afforded me the opportunity. Every time the elevator opened and introduced a new attendee I was overjoyed. It was like Christmas, but all the presents were humans. One minute a former co-worker would show up and right behind them would be friends from college followed by Peace Corps buddies. I would greet them, introduce them to each other, and then wait excitedly for the next group of people to show up. “Who would it be?” I thought. Would it be my old supervisor from my previous job? Would it be my brother with his friends? Would it be a good friend from elementary school that I hadn’t seen for years? That’s the power of movies. It can bring people together. Actually, it was probably the free booze and red carpet treatment that brought everyone together.
I have to admit that I was a little nervous for the premiere. Great anxiety has always accompanied me for these types of events, but I had extra reason to worry this particular night. I had just finished editing the movie the same morning of the premiere at 5 a.m. I didn’t have enough time to even look at the final product and in my sleep-deprived state I could have made a glaring mistake. The previous two weeks saw me editing the movie like a man possessed. I averaged about 3 hours of sleep every night. Yes, I like to torture myself. I usually set the premiere date of my movie a week or two in advanced from the day I even actually start editing the movie. This forces me to get going and I love to finish in a flurry. Overworked and lacking sleep, the mind begins to unravel, liberating itself of thoughts and emotions that laid dormant for years or had never existed before. I imagine it is a little like the Ride Across America, where people bike across the country with little to no sleep and begin to experience some odd physiological changes.
I took my chances that my hours of tedious editing would not fail me and as everyone began to take their seats, I pressed the play button on my laptop, which was connected to the huge HD television. As the movie introduction played, I quickly took my place near the back of the room so I could be a voyeur secretly monitoring people’s reactions. Needless to say, this is a unique and odd experience that I cannot fully express. Having people watch and silently critique your work for 43 minutes is exhilarating and frightening at the same time. I loved it. People laughed at the right and wrong moments and enjoyed themselves. As for me, I had no complaints about the final product. I thought it was absolutely marvelous. In fact, I wanted to begin submitting it to film festivals and sending it straight to the desks of Hollywood producers right away.
When the movie finished, I got a great ovation, not standing, but an ovation nonetheless. If anything, the movie seemed to put everyone in a good mood and everyone was ready to party. Some people drank by the bar, some lounged on the plush sofa, some watched parts of the movie again, some jumped in the pool, some enjoyed the panoramic view of Arlington and D.C. outside, and me, well, I was ready to fall into a deep sleep and dream up my next movie and do this all over again.
