"Kick A**" Premiere is Kick A**!

Tuesday, April 13 was the Kick Ass premiere at the Arclight and to sum it all up, it was pretty kick ass! Things were looking bad at arrivals as they were dropping the film stars off in the front on Sunset Boulevard. There was a red carpet on the sidewalk in the front and only a small area for fans and collectors that had poor access. Jon Voight was in the courtyard of the Arclight, posing for pictures and signign autographs for fans. I got four autographs from Jon Voight. He seemed in no rush whatsoever, being his typical cordial and corteous to fans. I also got Stephen Fry, who was recently the Chesire Cat in the new "Alice in Wonderland" movie. Fry signed multiples and posed for photos with us, being extremely cordial. Jonah Hill arrived late, just before the movie started and I got him to sign an index card on the run. I was the only collector who was able to get his signature. While these were all welcome additions to the collection, this was beginning to look like it would be a very unsuccessful premiere. However, things turned for the better at departures.

Sometimes the big stars show up to their premieres but take off early. This makes sense as they have already seen the film multiple times generally already, from screeners to private viewings for cast and crew members. Nicolas Cage is the biggest star of "Kick Ass" so I wanted to be sure and get his autograph. I noticed a large number of collectors at a side entrance on the other side of the theatre and Cage's SUV waiting. Sure enough, a few minutes later Cage came out, signing about 7 or 8 autographs total. I was fortunate to snag two of them, even with all the pushing and shoving.

Once the film let out, I was able to get Aaron Johnson to sign two photographs. Chloe Grace Moretz quickly signed a photo for me but most collectors did not get her autograph. I got Clark Duke of the recent comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" to ink a photo from that movie for me. I was also able to add "Kick Ass" script writer Jane Goldman to one of my cast photographs from the movie.

The after party was held at Sunset Towers and there were about a dozen collectors and 5-7 paparazzis there. Chris Kilmore of the band Incubus signed a couple of index cards for me. Actor Eli Roth of "Inglorious Basterds" signed up a storm for collectors, hitting two index cards for me. Vinnie Jones is one of my favorite actors, appearing in "Eurotrip" among other movies. Often playing a "hooligan" on film, I found Jones to be quite the opposite. Being a nice guy, Jones signed two index cards for me and also took a photograph with me. I've heard that he's not around Hollywood that often and can be a somewhat difficult to obtain. Yancy Butler and Lyndsy Fonseca also signed for collectors upon leaving the after party. Jaime King left the after party, rolling down the window of her vehicle, but only signed 5 or 6 autographs and I did not get one of those. Xander Berkley also signed multiples for collectors. I saw Hayden Panettiere and Joaquin Phoenix leave the party but neither signed.