To Whitehall Gardens and Beyond: Toy Story 3 Premiere London

Sunday turned out to be a glorious day, much to everyones relief that attended the Toy Story 3 Premiere in Leicester Square, followed up by the after party in Whitehall Gardens on the Victoria Embankment.  My life sounds pretty charmed of late, being on tv, attending preview screenings of Inception, open air concerts and now film premieres but I assure you the red carpet was not laid out for myself and there was no galivanting around the party, drink in hand, schmoozing with the stars.  Instead I was working.  This was the fourth Toy Story 3 private preview screening I had been asked to face paint at and the second I had actually attended.  The hype for this film in the UK has been massive and Sunday afternoon that anticipation and excitement had been bottled in the form of a Toy Story themed extravaganza.

As usual with these kinds of events, upon arrival, just an hour before the guests were due to appear, the gardens were full of white gazebo's dotted about the place and not much else.  Staff were busying away placing signs directing guests to "decorate your own cupcake", "funky hair" and of course us, whom were entitled "Mr Pricklepants Face Painting".  It always amazes me how little seems done and yet how much comes together within that last hour, with the final product being an absolute dream of entertainers, scrumptious food and imaginative ideas.  Sunday was no different.  As I meandered about the place, once again the team that usually handles these events had outdone themselves.  Free Toy Story toys, cake decorating, nails, funky hair, face painting, DJ, balloon modellers and an illusionist dressed as Woody are to name but a few of the delights sampled by the guests.

My mini Buzz Lightyear

My biggest grievance from the event was that us face painters were placed in such a position that the most heavenly gazebo was dangled in front of us further mocking that we were allowed into this private party by default rather than belonging.  Huge bowls filled with strawberries, stands upon stands of soft sponge cakes dusted in icing sugar filled the tent in our direct eyeline.  Not to mention the wait staff who always insist on offering us their goodies, the most gorgeous looking chicken and chips this time and I hadn't eaten lunch!  Luckily I eventually got to try all of them at the end of the gig.....ssshhh!

The event was a hit and definitely one of their best and yet my celeb spottings was reduced to the back of Kate Garraway from GMTV, whom I've met before at the Princess and the Frog Premiere, where I was photographed for the Daily Mail painting Amanda Holdens little girl (shamelessly name dropping I realise), terrible picture of me but great publicity.  I was hoping for something similar this time but no luck unfortunately.  Considering the films publicity and the effort that went into Sunday I'm utterly shocked that all they managed to grapple together was a morning presenter, an ex Atomic Kitten and a Junior Apprentice winner.  That makes Gino "Fantastico" DiCampo probably the most famous person there, whom I didn't see either, much to my mothers dismay.

Me and Lego Buzz

I work at these parties quite a lot and spend most of my time guessing what people do, who got the tickets, where they live, in between face painting of course.  There's a buzz that embraces me when working at them.  It's almost as if I've been allowed into some secret society but I haven't been given permission to properly pledge yet.  I then spend the rest of my time and the journey home flitting from feeling blessed with my life for working at such a gig and then dissatisfied with my life because I'm not attending.  Finally I sit back and end my quandries with "One day Louisa.  One day."

If anybody knows how that one day could come very soon, aka effectively give me tickets to premieres on a regular basis, one would be most grateful.

Inception: The Review

Entering the Odeon West End resembled Airport Security somewhat, as we prepared for the crew screening of Inception last Wednesday 7th July. Clear plastic sandwich bags were distributed to package away all phones and any electrical devices, including Ipods. There were bag checks and metal detector devices galore! Never had I seen such strict security measures at a screening, especially one with industry professionals that actually worked on the set. Nor did I understand it, until the Writer and Director, Chris Nolan, made his speech announcing Inception as “the most anticipated movie of 2010.” Boasting much? I had been blissfully unaware, upon my invitation, that this movie was such a big deal. Throughout his speech the prestige began to grow, upon discovery that the World Premiere wasn’t even until the following evening. Of course I had been privy to the fact that it should be a good view due to my friend’s insider knowledge from her work on set last summer in both Paris and Morocco. The trailer had even enticed my Mother who detests attending the cinema but nothing quite prepared me for the 2 hours and 28 minutes that were to follow.

As an audience member you are thrown into the story head first and are left with little time to piece the information together or pause for thought, so whatever you do, don’t see this after a hard days work or as I did, with a migraine. This is no cheap thrill. The storyline follows a gang, headed up by Leonardo DiCaprio, steal information from people’s dreams with their next big “job” being to do the exact opposite and plant an idea instead. This proves, as you may be able to imagine far more difficult and much more intricate as they strive to plant the concept in its simplest form. As you follow the cast on their dream, within a dream, within a dream scenario and all the problems they encounter along the way, you begin to want this to work as much as they do. The intricacy lends itself to more than just a detailed story board though with the special effects being crucial to both the architecture of the dreamer’s dreams and to delivering a superb visual experience for us, as the spectator.

On face value Inception is a heist movie. The film stretches much further than this genre though, with complex emotional relationships and the underlying story of DiCaprio’s struggle with his sub conscious. On the red carpet last week co star Joseph Gordon-Levitt exclaimed he felt you could enjoy the movie as just a heist film, or you could enjoy it on all the levels it has to offer. I disagree. I think it would be impossible to differentiate the action from the desperation and internal troubles of DiCaprio’s character and his unfinished business with his wife, played by Marion Cotillard. By doing so it would be, just a heist film, with a slightly interesting twist but not worthy of the anticipation and praise it so rightly deserves.


The film boasts a strong cast including Michael Caine but it is only DiCaprio and Cotillard that are given the opportunity to push themselves dramatically, delivering their characters with sensitivity and depth. This could be considered as one of Nolan’s only downfalls as it seems to leave the rest of the cast, all superb actors in their own right, as 2D throw away characters. Other than this it is difficult to criticise Nolan’s work although Toby Young gave it a go recently stating the piece as “self indulgent”. Perhaps the green eyed monster is rearing its ugly head here, as through migraine and all I left the cinema buzzing and with the overwhelming need to see it all over again. Okay Chris, boast away.



Inception is released Today in the USA and UK.