#arlessiar on the road

[arlessiar]

The Rocketman premiere in London

This report is a bit late, but I still wanted to post it even though it’s been a few weeks since the premiere already.

I planned my annual London trip around the premiere, so we arrived on Saturday and left the Sunday after. On the Sunday after our arrival my friend @nymeriajfm and I already went to Leicester Square and watched the proceedings with anticipation as they started all the preparations for the premiere. On Monday we got up veeery early and went to the Odeon, where quite a few fans were waiting already. I unexpectedly met @lady-mephistopheles there – isn’t fandom amazing? We spent the rest of the day together. (More pics of the day before and of that morning: see the “arlessiar on the road” tag in my blog)

I had taken a “Metro” newspaper with me in the morning just to had sth to read during our long wait, and when I opened it I found a Rocketman ad that promised a free ticket for film on premiere day for the first 100 at the red carpet with this ad. We were all pretty excited about it and got more of the newspapers, but it was all wait & see as usual, such things are never certain. We got our wristbands at 8am - #37 - and then the waiting game began. Around 2:30pm they let us into the pens directly at the red (in this case blue) carpet in front of the Odeon entrance and opposite the press. It was a bit chaotic when they filled the pens because the organisation left a lot to be desired, let’s just say I’m happy I ended up in the first row in the end as we had to fight for that even with such low numbers..

The atmosphere itself was amazing, we sang a lot of Elton John songs while waiting for the event to begin. An American TV station actually interviewed us about our favourite Elton John songs and I confused the nice lady a bit when I told her that mine is “Ticking”, a song which she didn’t know. So maybe I was on TV somewhere in America later telling her to look up that song because it’s amazing. Not embarrassing at all. XD

On bis screens we could then watch the celebs arrive at the other end of the blue carpet,  and there were quite a few exciting guests who went to the premiere screening. We saw Tom Holland, James Blunt, David Walliams, Stephen Fry and a few others. I got autographs and/or pictures from/with Stanley Tucci, Claudia Schiffer and – finally – Mark Strong, who I had missed at the Kingsman TGC premiere. He was so calm, and so lovely! Told him that we need him back as Merlin in KM3! :)

Unfortunately it wasn’t really possible to see much of the Rocketman stars themselves. Richard Madden signed for a while and took pictures with fans but when he came closer to where we were standing the autograph hunters were pushing and screaming so loudly that he looked a bit taken aback and left for interviews.

It was lovely to see Elton and David, they were driven past on a special car and waved and we all yelled how much we love him and you could see that Elton was really touched by the whole scenario and the overall excitement for the film.

We didn’t get to see much of Taron unfortunately. He arrived with his Mum and with Emily and he was so incredibly emotional, it was so lovely! People cheered when he kissed his adorable Mum! But sadly the press that stood opposite us was demanding all of his attention. He had to hurry from interview to interview and did not have any time to come over to the fans, although he wanted to as he told us, but in the end he never did.

Bryce Dallas Howard was a darling – even though they had to go into the cinema she went down the carpet and let people take pictures with her. She said no autographs because there was no time but that she had promised everyone a picture and that she wanted to keep that promise. So I got a photo with her as well. :)

Then everyone went into the cinema and they brought the cars round to drive them all to the after party afterwards. We were still waiting and asking for the film tickets the ad had promised. There was a lot of confusion on the side of the officials as always, and quite a few fans left during that time. But in the end one of the security guys went into the cinema and came back with a stack of premiere tickets and told us to go to the Cineworld on the other side of Leicester Square, so we ran. Finally there we sank into our seats. Some goodie bags were waiting for us with water and crisps and chocolate (much needed). We were so tired and incredibly giddy, but then the film started and I was so happy that we got to see it that night! It was magical. 

[dwarfanonymice]

Thank you @lovingvincent

Last five songs I've been playing on repeat:

- The Road to El Dorado - It's tough to be a god (movie version).

- Survivor by Destiny's Child.

- Whatever it takes by Imagine Dragons.

- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone.

- Sherlock Soundtrack - The Game is On theme.

Last film:

Ice Age: the Meltdown.

Currently watching:

I'm watching The Good Place and Word of Honour.

Currently reading:

I'm about to start (tomorrow) some mandatory reading. I noticed the other day with growing horrour that's been months since I have read books for pleasure. I will rectify that this summer.

Thank you for the tag. Today I have time and I'm not forgetting about it.

Tagging: @unwinthehart @filthyfirth @pedro-pastel @arlessiar @postpostskriptum @leandra-winchester @softjensen @lena221bee

[hartwin-af]

11 Questions

rules: 1. always post the rules. 2. answer the questions given by the person who tagged you. 3. write 11 questions of your own and tag 11 (or however many) people to answer them. This is a bit late but thanks @firthsm and @corabe for the tag!

FIRTHSM 1. last five songs you’ve listened to today? 1. Smile - Gaby Moreno 2. Solitaire - Andy Williams 3. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley 4. To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra 5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John 2. are you a “dog person” or a “cat person”? MMMMMMMM I prefer playing with dogs but if I were to have either one for a pet I’d pick the cat 3. if you could be a villain for one day, who would you be and why? Jim Moriarty - I’d like to live in his mind it seems so fun and demented in there 4. speaking of villains, who is/are your favorite superhero/es? I’m not much for the superhero genre but I’ll have to give this one to Ant-Man because Paul Rudd 5. what would be the title of your autobiography? Please Buy This Book I Spent All My Money On Bubble Tea And Now I’m Poor- a memoir 6. do you collect anything? Cringy memories that don’t allow me to sleep at 2 in the morning lmao 7. what fandoms are you in? for how long now? Only active in the Kingsman fandom, and I’ve used up more than 2 years of my life on this now #totallyworthit 8. what are the places you’ve already visited/would like to visit? I went to Japan two years ago and I’d trade my left foot to go back again for a few weeks 9. if you earn a dollar for every hour that you spend on Tumblr, how much would you earn for a day? XD Surprisingly, just a dollar on average :00 10. what is the last tv show/movie you have watched? I’m rewatching Friends for the third time heh and the last movie I watched was The Cove 11. what’s the most weird word you’ve ever encountered? I can’t think of any legit weird words but for some reason the word ‘dog’ sounds very odd to me now CORABE 1. What are your top five fandoms right now? Kingsman, OITNB, Sherlock, Attack on Titan, Black Butler - Although I’m only actively involved in Kingsman  2. What are your top five go to books right now? Oops I kind of fell out of the habit of reading so I don’t have a list for this one but I’m in the middle of reading Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult 3. What are your top five go to movies right now? The Boxtrolls, Coraline (LAIKA’s films are so gorgeous and well-crafted I could cry), Kingsman, The Railway Man, Blackfish  4. Do you have pets? Aw I wish. The closest thing I have is a large shark plushy but I’ll settle for that 5.  If you could have dinner with one person from history dead or amongst the living who would you have dinner with? I’d be up for hanging with Elvis over dinner LOL 6. Do you like pumpkin spice?  Is it a problem for you that I absolutely adore pumpkin spice and will willing cut someone for a pumpkin spice latte? I um…. I’ve never tried pumpkin spice……….. 7. Do you have a favorite holiday? Christmas. Ah, the glorious season when the fanfic writers roll out their christmas tropes and bless us with warm, fluffy fics 8. Do you have a favorite rare fandom pairing, a pairing that’s hard to find fic for or not as popular? It’s not from kingsman but I’d cut my heart out for Will x Alicia from The Good Wife. They don’t have much of an active shipping fandom :( 9. Do you like pickles? They’re okay. Depends what I’m eating them with 10. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Just to make you feel better I do, I sleep with the bear my husband bought me when my Dad passed away. I sleep with my one true love, my soulmate, my muse, my shark plush. 11.  Do you like doing crafty hobbies like sewing, knitting, metal working, or do you enjoy hobbies that involve collecting? Oh I love needle felting works but I always always end up stabbing myself (and trust me needle felting needles hurt like crap they’re barbed) My questions : 1. Who are your favourite artists/actors/fictional characters? 2. What are your favourite tv shows/movies? 3. What/Who do you fear? 4. What are you looking forward to the most? 5. What’s your biggest pet peeve? 6. If you could make one thing canon in your fandom, what would it be? 7. Do you hoard usernames?  8. Coke or Pepsi? Tea or Coffee? KFC or McDonald’s? 9. What would make today better? 10. What’s your favourite scent? 11. What’s your proudest achievement? I’m tagging @mywifeeringilbert @kingscunt @harryhartless @arlessiar @daddy-firth and @firstthingsfirth , if y’all haven’t been tagged already and want to do this :)

[arlessiar]

London is getting ready for the Rocketman premiere tomorrow. :)

[arlessiar]

Just a few more hours! Can’t wait!

Also, met @lady-mephistopheles while queuing for the wristbands and it’s so lovely to see your fandom family! :) Excited yet, @nymeriajfm ? :)

[arlessiar]

Going to London today! Rocketman ahead, I can’t wait!! 

Will probably not be able to post much here but will report from the premiere. :)

[arlessiar]

I’ve arrived back home last night after a terrific week in London. From all the times I’ve been there this has definitely been one of the most amazing trips so far! But it was 90% fandom related this time, so that made it quite special of course. :)

Before we went to see the film on Wednesday, we spent the day visiting filming locations and continued that on Thursday. We went to Savile Row again and actually went into the Huntsman shop this time, which had put up a big poster of Eggsy in the orange suit in the shop window. We didn’t want to disturb anyone and were very quiet, but someone told us that it’s ok to go into the fitting room, so we did that and took photos of absolutely everything in there and of ourselves in the mirror. 

We also went to St James’s Street again to taste some Kingsman Gin and Statesman Whisky and  we visited the Alexandra Road Estates.

On Thursday evening I joined Elle and Krissie when they went to the Black Prince, we had dinner and I had all the time to finish that lovely pint of Guinness in peace. OK, until we thought that it might be a nice idea to watch TGC once again, and we decided on a late screening at the Vue in Islington, where we had the pleasure to listen to Mark Strong in his role as Merlin telling us to switch our phones off. 

I enjoyed the trip so much, it had so many special moments (that photo with Colin definitely being the highlight) and I met the most wonderful people! Thanks for the great time together, @letmecomealong @blacksheepsadventure@paxdracona (plus sis) @glorioussandwichwhispers @travelledspace  and special thanks to @elletromil and @krissielee for the company, the laughter, the singing and all the adventures! :-*

Hope to see you all again in the near future - write faster, Vaughn!! 

(There’s so much I have to catch up on, tumblr posts, fanfic, comments... I apologise if someone is waiting for a reply, but with the elections tomorrow and work again on Monday I’m not sure when I’ll find the time for all this...)

[arlessiar]

Today @elletromil @krissielee and I visited the Mr Porter Kingsman pop-up store and had an amazing time there! The people coming going in there are a mix between customer-who's-able-to-pay-for-things-like-this and I-have-a-mighty-need-too-see-and-touch-these-things-i-can't-afford-fan and the people who work there know that and were very nice, open and accomodating and we chatted a lot with them. Krissie had brought her Eggsy doll with her and the employees there had a lot of fun finding nice places for him for a photo! :) We got to look at everything you can buy there - the ties, the shirts, the Whiskey, the watch, the umbrella... And the memorabilia from the movies which they have there - shoes, hat, lighter, umbrella etc, that was great. They also have the wooden shoe forms of Taron and Colin. We were allowed to try on the glasses (I look ridiculous with Merlin's, Eggsy's and Harry's were ok) and I dared to ask if I could try on the orange velvet jacket! They were sold out but they discussed it and there was still one I could try on and I was so happy because orange! Velvet! Eggsy! ^^ See the pic above (cropped it though). Doing all this we tried not to disturb customers who were actually there to buy something of course. Then again, we all bought socks, since they're sth you can actually buy (20£). Means you get a lovely little blue Kingsman paper bag as well. ^^ I bought the shoes and the perfume online two weeks ago so I wasn't too tempted to buy more. Ok I was because that orange jacket is so very lovely, but... *sigh*

[arlessiar]

I love London. And this film’s promotion team.

[arlessiar]

This was one of the most exciting and most exhausting days of my life. ^^

Got up at 6am and met with @krissielee and @elletromil around 8. We went to the Odeon cinema as we had heard that this would indeed be a wristband premiere. We got to choose at which colour-coded pen we’d want to be and got the according wristband, in our case purple. We then went to have breakfast and came back around noon. It took them longer to set up everything though and we waited for hours. Entertained ourselves with singing and with press interviews (*waves to @krissielee *) Then they came to let us into our pens. Our colour was last, and we got told that there had been a mistake and they had given out too many pink wristbands, so our pen was full. Which meant we ended up in another area (directly opposite the press) on second row. I had given up hope at that point to achieve anything then just seeing the actors.

Around 5pm the premiere started and Hanna Alström arrived first. She was very lovely and beautiful and I got her autograph, which wasn’t easy but we managed because the Asian people right in front of us were very kind (unlike other people who push and crush you or that guy who told us to get lost as we were “only second row”…).

There was, as always at such events, music and entertainment, and they had quite a few very cute pugs there! Actors and guests arrived one after the other, Edward, Taron and Emily, Mark, Colin and Livia, Jeff, Julianne, Pedro, Channing and Jenna, Matthew and Claudia, Elton, Halle, Sophie…

They made their way down the orange carpet (orange! My fav colour!) and alternated between press interviews and fan service and stage live interviews. We stood there admit the sun and rain and the screaming and waited. My feet and my back were killing me already!

Taron came by then. He looked fab in his grey three-piece suit and was his usual quirky self, making funny faces and laughing lots. I actually managed to get his autograph!

Unfortunately Mark, who had given interviews, couldn’t come back to us but started signing again at a different point of the crowd.

Colin had given an interview on the tiny stage with Taron and Elton. He had walked past us for that and signalled us that he’d come back but I thought that wouldn’t be likely. I was wrong. He did come back and he gave autographs and took pictures with all the fans like a pro. He was so calm and patient and never stopped smiling! A rock in the rough sea! He came closer and suddenly there was a gap in front of me and he signed my picture and I could look at him and asked for a photo! He nodded, leaned in and took my phone. I had forgotten to switch it to selfie mode so I fiddled around with the display while he held the phone and then he took the loveliest picture of me and him! I thanked him kindly and he went to the next person and I was done. My legs started shaking and I certainly didn’t feel like an adult woman in that moment…

The rest of the premiere pretty much passed me by. We saw on the big screen that especially Colin kept giving autographs and taking photos with the fans and he stayed extraordinarily polite and calm and kind all the time! Elle got a picture with Colin as well today and Krissie got one yesterday so we were quite happy.

The actors went into the cinema to introduce the film and then went into the second cinema a short while later to do the same there. They were all getting into cars after that and they probably had dinner together somewhere at the after-party.

We left the area and we asked twice if I could have a tiny bit of the orange carpet as a souvenir but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. Krissie was allowed to take one of the great KM poster canvas thingies though. ^^

I’m deadly tired but very happy and thankful right now. Thanks to Elle and Krissie for another great day in your company!

The photos I took aren’t that great as I was busy with autographs and surviving, and you find much better official ones, but I’ll add them to illustrate this report. Please don’t repost them anywhere!

“Meeting” Colin was my major goal for this trip and it actually happened when I had given up hope, so I’m more than happy at the moment!! :) And very tired. Off to bed. More fannish stuff tomorrow and then the film on Wednesday.

[arlessiar]

At the cinema. Less than one hour until we meet the Kingsman again. So honoured to share this moment with you @elletromil @krissielee @glorioussandwichwhispers @paxdracona @travelledspace ! :)

[arlessiar]

Went Christmas shopping yesterday, and opposite from the shop I was in a street musician was playing. And I kid you not, the second I walked out of the shop he started singing a new song:

Country Roads

And I froze on the spot and actually said out loud "Not really!?" and people were staring at me before I walked away quickly, blushing and a bit heartbroken.

[arlessiar]

I had a wonderful day in London. Had breakfast with @letmecomealong and @blacksheepsadventure and they helped me chasing buses with Kingsman ads on them! :) We watched the proceedings at Leicester Square where they set up everything for the premiere tomorrow.

Then met the wonderful @krissielee and @elletromil for the first time and we had so much fun talking about this and that for hours while we were waiting for some of the Kingsman actors who were doing interviews today. Saw Matthew & Claudia, Pedro, Jeff and Taron (sry weird pic, someone’s flash went off).

My feet and back hurt like hell. How am I gonna survive standing at that red carpet tomorrow? XD Bed now, long day ahead. :)

[arlessiar]

Oh @elletromil @krissielee and I also visited Harry’s house today. :) So here’s a photo of the house and the shadows of Charlie’s Angels. ^^

[arlessiar]

At the airport, flicking through some mags, opening the German GQ...

[arlessiar]

Off to London

Suitcase packed, KSS editing finally done, ready to go to London after a few hours of sleep. :)

In the past few days there was too much too reblog, too much new content to process, too much too read in the fandom for me to catch up due to work, and don’t even mention that Kingsman game... 

So I’m a bit behind with everything, and I hope I’ll be able to catch up on the KSS fanfics during my trip but will not post that much on tumblr during this time. 

So looking forward to meeting some of you lovely people in person very soon! :)

And isn’t it amazing, after all these months of waiting and speculating and crying with sadness and with happiness it’s finally happening now - just a few more days until KM2! :) Wherever you are, I hope you’ll enjoy watching it!