The ‘Machete’ Premiere Experience

Before I give you my review on the film, Machete, I would first like to tell you the story of the day of the premiere and how I was able to go. About 11 am or so in the morning, I was drinking my coffee while reading my twitter. I happen to see a tweet by Robert Rodriguez. And if you do not know who he is you better start googling because this man is genius. He is incredible director, producer, screenwriter, etc. Perhaps you remember Desperado, or From Dusk Till Dawn, or Sin City, Planet Terror, and many more films. So If you haven’t seen any of these movies, then I urge you to watch them. Ok, Back to the story, so I read this tweet from Robert Rodriguez and it reads, “Tonight is the super secret Machete screening in LA. Tell me why you should attend. Best Three submissions will join as my guests.” Machete is Roberts most recent film that debuts to the world on Labor Day weekend. He made a fake trailer back in the Grindhouse film, and us fans loved it so much that we demanded he create the film. So I see this tweet and I am thinking, “Man, there are going to be so many people tweeting him back”. Without thinking, I just start writing as If my words are the only ones he will read. I write to him” I find you inspiring & refreshing. You’re like no one else out there. Your movies are addicting & provoking. I would love 2 meet you & feel your energy”. I spoke the truth. And then I just let the day go on. However in the back of my mind, I said, “I am going to go to this premiere tonight”. I knew that I had a spanish class until 6:20, but I knew I had to go to this premiere.

About 3’oclock rolls around and I see a tweet from the one and only Robert himself that says Congrats to todays winners. And there is my name along with two other people. Instantly my heart starts rushing and I start to get all tingly. This was something that I really wanted to be a part of, and here I am going to go to the premiere. So I get an email from the PR person that is handling it. And she says I get two tickets and the premeire is at 8pm downtown LA at the Orpheum Theater. First thought in my mind is, I have GOT to leave my spanish class by 6pm if I have a chance in getting there on time. Second thought, Call the hubby and check his schedule. I find out he cannot go, so I ask my cousin Joey if he will join me. He lives in LA so it won’t be far for him to travel. During my class that afternoon, all I can think about is this premiere. I hope I get to meet Robert. I hope I get to meet Danny Trejo, the star of the film. Oh and what about Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez. Maybe Tarantino will be there. In between these thoughts all I hear is” Como estas?” “Muy Buen” and “Hasta Luego” which is basically what I did halfway through the class. I bolted home, changed into a little black dress and some sky high hot pink heels. I thought if I am photographed I better look hot. Grabbed the leather jacket and ran out the door. I am on cloud nine right now. I arrive downtown LA about 7:50pm, and of course I hate going down desolate streets, but my excitement overshadows the dangers of the area. I pass by the theater and see the bright lights of the papparazzi and the billboard gleaming “Machete” Premiere tonight. I find parking and wait for my cousin to arrive. I feel like a kid about to go meet Santa at this point. So we walk a few blocks to the theater. I arrive at a table and in my head thought keep your cool. You are supposed to be here. But of course my excitement comes out like a teenage girl going to see the star quarterback. I tell the girl staring at me with disinterest,” Hi I’m Lauren Winston and I WON the twitter contest” She smirked at me and said, “Congratulations” and handed Joey and I two tickets. Wahoo!

We walk around the corner towards the entrance and lo and behold there is the red carpet. Now If I had a little bit more cool, I would have “accidentally” just walked on the red carpet as if it was meant for me. But I was too excited and forgot my sneaky ways. But there were the stars. Jessica Alba looking gorgeous in her sparkly dress. Danny Trejo wearing the Machete vest, Robert Rodriguez looking debonaire in his black hat and tight fitted shirt. Oh and look, there is Cheech Marin looking the same as he always does. I see Tarantino too. So as we walk behind the red carpet we get to the security line. The security girl says You can’t have your phone or your camera in there. You will have to check it in. First my heart sank. My phone? You want me to not have my phone for up to 2 plus hours? Does she know who she is talking to? How am I going to tweet? How am I going to have a pulse to the outside world. My phone is my lifeline. Then I wonder is she going to make me go all the way back to my car? Sigh. Nope, she says there is a line to check in the electronics. Kind of like a coat check. It was the first time I had ever left my phone or camera with strange men, but hey if everyone else is doing it, it must be ok, right? So we are dropping off our lifelines minutes before the premiere starts and I see a flurry of security escorting someone. Walking towards us comes Danny Trejo. I have loved his films. He plays a great tough guy. I remember seeing him in Desperado and thought what a great actor. My favorite was how he played the serial rapist in Con Air. I know that sounds weird, but I hated his character so much that it made me realize what a great actor he was. So anyways, he is walking up towards us, and I reach out my hand and say, “Danny, Good to see you” and he grabs my hand and stops and says, “Good to see you too sweetie” then kisses my hand. I just melt. It was like we we were old friends. At that moment in time I knew him. As the seconds pass, he is rushed away by security so they can get him inside. As he leaves I smile at my cousin and just say, “Duuuude, did he just kiss my hand?” we both laugh and hurry inside. Now they were shuffling everyone upstairs, but we wanted to be in the front. So we walk with authority and sat front row to the left. Perfect seating. I look around the Orpheum Theater and I see people’s faces lit up with excitement. In my head, all I can think about was, wow, 4 hours ago, I did not think I would be here. Hmm. I wonder what other kind of shennanigans I’ll get to do in my life. Ok, enough sidenotes.

As the room quiets, A stunning tall, tanned, gorgeous looking man walks on stage and he says, “Hi Everyone, Thanks for coming to the premiere of Machete, I am Robert Rodriguez” I think I have a perma-grin on at this point. He is wearing a black cowboy hat, tight t-shirt that fits his physique perfectly. As he introduces himself and how this movie came about, he starts to bring out the cast. 1st to come out is Jessica Alba. What a beauty she is.She walked out in this sparkly gold number with sky high Louboutin’s and legs that most women would kill for. Well, at least I would. Then Robert brings out Michelle Rodriguez. Now I always loved her because she plays these badass characters, but I always thought her body was a little boxy. Maybe because in all the films she’s in, she plays the dangerous girl that is one of the guys, while some other hussy gets all the sexy outfits. Either way, she walked out with a Metallica shirt, leather jacket, leggings, and riders boots. And I got to tell you, she looked hot. Whatever she did to get in shape for this role worked out, because I was shocked. She blew me away, along with all the other guys in the audience who were hooting and hollering. Next, comes out Don Johnson, who was uber dreamy in Miami Vice, but who right now thinks that Don Johnson can play any other role than Sonny? Well, we’re about to see. His smile is sparkly as always. Next comes out Cheech, who is as short as I remembered and just as smiley. And then Robert brings out the man of the hour, Danny Trejo. It felt so special to be there. I felt like I was a part of the film. The cast was gracious and Danny delivered a great speech on where he came from and how he got to where he is today. A true inspiration that you can change your life around. Lights go out, and its time for the movie.

You will have to check out my other post where I review the movie for this is just an article regarding the premiere experience. After the movie is over, everyone is filing out of the theater. I notice that the center of the theater is just staying still. Using my height I notice that the cast and other celebrities are waiting mostly for everyone else to leave so they can go last. Joey says, “Lets go over there and say Hi”. I’m game. As we walk over, my palms start to sweat (I should really see someone about my nervousness) and I see Robert. I high tail it down an aisle and end up right in front of him. I say, “Robert! Its Lauren(as if he knew who I was) I won the twitter contest. Thank you so much”. I reach out for him and he does the same and I give him a hug. It wasn’t the strong hug I wanted, but it would do. I tell him what a great film Machete was and thank him again for his generosity. He seems to be on cloud 9. He had the perma-grin that I was once displaying earlier. It seemed that no one could say anything wrong to him. He seemed thrilled about the response of the viewing. During this time, I got a few snotty looks from bystanders probably wondering who this girl was but I didn’t care. If I want something I am going to get it.

Joey and I walk out of the theater behind Robert and his entourage and you could just feel the energy of his fans. It was incredible. As I drove home that night I was inspired. I was inspired by the story of Robert. This man that showed a talent at a young age and worked his way to create films the way he wanted and not what a studio told him to create. He truly is an innovator of his time. I applaud him for being involved in all aspects of the film. From the music, editing, cinemotography, casting, and the writing. The experience really made me feel that extra oomph that I will be there that one day. I will be a force in the entertainment world. I know it. I can feel it. And it’s feeling other peoples passion that helps thrust mine forward. Thanks Robert, I will see you again one day!

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