RICHARD MADDEN
MONDAY 20 MAY 2019
ROCKETMAN UK PREMIERE
LEICESTER SQUARE IN LONDON
40 HOURS WITHOUT SLEEP, AND A PARKING
FINE ... BUT NO SELFIE L
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The World
Premiere of Rocketman took place in Cannes on
Thursday 16 May 2019. Richard Madden
was in attendance, along with Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas
Howard, Kit Connor, Elton John, David Furnish, Bernie Taupin,
Dexter Fletcher, Giles Martin and Adam Bohling. It proved
to be full-on, wall-to-wall publicity – a morning photo-call, pictures of
Richard dressed in a bathrobe being groomed for the evening Premiere, the
Premiere itself, the official after-party, the official press conference and
also the Chopard party the following evening. Richard
was due to commence filming his role in 1917 shortly, but he had sufficient
time to head to London for the UK Premiere before this began. In fact he flew to London by private plane
on Saturday 18 May, with a number of press interviews taking place at the
cast’s London hotel on Sunday and an official press conference on Monday prior
to the Premiere. How do I
know about the London itinerary?
Someone told me on Monday afternoon that she’d stalked him outside
said hotel on Sunday afternoon and got a selfie
with him. I don’t approve of stalking
the stars, especially as Richard is experiencing a lot of issues with the paparazzi
at present. You can see how his mood
has changed since earlier in the year, when facing photographers. He used to sparkle, but no longer. Try as he might, he cannot disguise his
feelings; his eyes tell the tale. It’s
a sad state of affairs. Anyway, my
weekend began with a trip to the Eventim in
Hammersmith with my friend Lesley to see Strictly the Professionals; it was
the evening show and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
So it was home late with a early start on
Sunday. Internet
research informed me that, sometimes, wristbands for the crowd pens at film
premieres might be handed out the previous day if a particular film was
deemed to be very popular. This meant
that I needed to head to London just in case this happened with Rocketman. This being
the case, I was up at 06:00 on Sunday; I drove to the station and parked my
car, before catching the 08:15 train to London St Pancras. I then transferred onto the Piccadilly Line
to travel to Leicester Square, arriving at 09:00. I’d
arranged to meet fellow Richard fan Ruth, and she arrived not long
after. Leicester Square was already
being prepared, with a platform having been constructed in the park area with
sequined R O C K E T M A N letters placed upon it; these were bubble-wrapped
for protection overnight. There were
discussions about whether these should be placed obliquely on the platform,
or straight on; we voiced our opinion as being straight on ... and this was
what they decided! We overheard a lady
from the organisers saying that wristbands would be handed out at 08:00 the
next morning. Anyway,
despite this, we remained in the Square until early afternoon; we had a
coffee early morning, visited the loo in Wetherspoons
and bought J2Os there also. We went
for a walk up through Chinatown and Soho, to Oxford Street, before heading
around in a loop and catching the underground at Green Park to return to
Leicester Square once more. We sat on
the wall opposite the Odeon Luxe, consuming food
from Burger King at one point. I was in
two minds as to whether I should stay or travel home to ‘rescue’ my car before returning either late on Sunday or very
early on Monday. However, my emotions
made the decision for me – the first time I tried to leave, I got as far as
the entrance to the tube station. The
second time, as far as the tube platform, before my heart refused to let me
go any further! Ruth was unable to
attend the following day, due to work commitments, so we hugged goodbye at
this point and I headed back to the Square! Besides,
what price a parking ticket if I was successful in earning a front row
position in the crowd pen and the possibility of the much desired selfie with Richard?
It was no contest really!!! Other
hopefuls seemed to arrive, but there appeared to be no ‘official’ organisation, so I sat, and I wandered around a
bit. At one point I was bothered by a
girl who kept on asking questions to which I knew no answer, and she kept
repeating herself too. I finally shook
her off, although she did find me for a second time later in the
evening. I took out my contact lenses
too, as my eyes were getting a little dry by this point. Eventually
I noticed that there seemed to be a group forming close to the entrance to
the Odeon; a numbered list was being created.
I headed over and was given the number 13 ... hopefully it wouldn’t be
unlucky. Apart from Graeme who was
creating the list following an instruction by security, everyone between 2 to
12 went home again intending to return the next day. A number of people arrived after me, and they
also went home for the night. There
appeared to be a number of opinions as to the time when the wristbands would
be handed out – 07:00, 08:00, or 10:00. So it was
just Graeme and me who faced the night out on the pavement, outside the
Odeon. I lost count of the number of times my companion sang ‘Rocketman’ and,
at one point, we decided to do a ‘Countdown’
type of game using the letters to see how many other words we could create; Taron was one of those words!!! We also walked around the Square at regular
intervals ... it was surprising that a number of places seemed to stay open
throughout the night; McDonalds remained open for most of it! I sat down
on the pavement two or three times, but still didn’t get any sleep. Surprisingly I didn’t feel the cold once,
although Graeme did! More people
arrived or returned as dawn approached.
Regular attendees seemed annoyed that a list had already been
started. “We always go to McDonalds at
05:00 to start the list” ... not on this occasion matey!!! The professional autograph hunters were the
worst offenders and were not happy at the situation. Anyway, we
held firm as more people arrived, heading to McDonalds at one point, for
breakfast. Someone arrived with a copy
of the Metro; there was an advert stating that the first 100 people to arrive
with a copy of the paper would get a place in a crowd pen, along with a
ticket to view the film at the Imax cinema across the way. With this news, another lady and myself headed off to the underground station to raid their
supply of freebie newspapers! When
lorries arrived to set up additional barriers, etc, we were asked to head
back around to the area in front of McDonalds to await the man with the
wristbands. These arrived at 08:00 and
were placed on our wrists in number order ... some people hadn’t returned
despite being on the list and I was now number 8 ... my lucky number
allegedly! At this point we weren’t
briefed regarding the tickets for the Imax viewing. It was
time for me to head home to rescue my car from the car park; the time limit
on my ticket was 04:00 so I’d overstayed and would incur a fee of £60, if I
paid within 14 days of receipt. I also
had to buy another train ticket, because I’d returned to St Albans using
Monday’s anytime travel card and it expired as soon as I passed through the
barriers at the station despite me using it for just a return journey. I’d worn jeggings, a thermal vest, a fleece and teal-coloured
jacket on Sunday and wanted to change into something clean and
attractive. I got home at 09:10; it
was a sunny day and my eyes were being hypersensitive to the sun. My eyes don’t run, but I have to
squint. I’d
encountered an issue following the Easter break, whereby there were flashing
lights followed by a net-like floater in my left eye. I’d gone to the opticians immediately and
they’d checked it out, putting drops in my eyes to dilate the pupils. I’d returned to work, with the promise of a
hospital appointment just to double-check there is nothing wrong ... eventually
an appointment would come through ... for November! However, my eyes have been sensitive since
that time, with the screen glare a problem, along with the overhead
lighting. I often wear sunglasses now,
when working on my PC. I had
considered getting around an hour’s sleep but, in the event, I decided to get
ready straight away, following a shower and hair-wash ... and food! I was ready to go by 12:30. I wore a grey tweed skirt, my favourite
cross-over top, a blue cardigan, and mauve (or is it pink?) per una jacket; plus heels ... which I’d live to regret! Anyway, I
caught the fast train to St Pancras and arrived back in Leicester Square by
around 13:30. I popped into Wetherspoons for a drink and to go to the loo ... always
advisable when one is to be locked into a crowd pen for a number of
hours. Latterly, I met up with Graeme
again and we headed around to the area close to McDonalds to form the queue,
in number order, for crowd pen entry. It
transpired that some of the queuers had two
wristbands, a blue one like mine and a yellow one; not until later would it
become apparent that the yellow one would permit entry to the Imax to see Rocketman. One of
the girls behind me in the queue admitted that she’d loitered outside
Richard’s hotel the previous day to be rewarded with a selfie
(as referred to above). It was also
complemented on my eye make-up and the fact that I looked around ten years
younger than I am!!! Eventually
we were taken around to the blue carpet (not red in this instance), to be
loaded 20 persons at a time. Our bags
were checked, along with a sniffer dog also checking us out. Our pen was second from the end, directly
in front of the Odeon doors; the other pen beyond was the meet and greet
one. And I was on the front row too. J The
Portuguese lady next to me had been a fan of Richard’s for 10 years, since
Sirens. Obviously we were both hopeful
of a selfie. I didn’t
seem too long before people began to arrive; we also had an official sing-along
to a number of Elton John’s songs. I
understand the fans within the green space itself, were those of Elton John;
they had purple wristbands. We were
given a few minutes warning that the stars of the show were on their way;
they arrived at 17:50 and it was Richard’s turn to be the first to
alight. Our first view was upon the
big screen installed on the front of the Odeon. He signed a number of autographs and took selfies with fans in the park area, before posing for
official photographs too. He did a
number of chats with the media opposite before heading back across to do some
further autographs and selfies. Then more media interviews. This was followed
by a visit inside the Odeon, before he reappeared and took selfies and photos with the people to my left, including
Graeme, also the meet and greeters; he headed off again, before returning to
do the remainder ... but he headed straight to the people a couple of places
down from me, to my right. In fact the
group which included the girl who’d already got a selfie
with him the previous day. And he
wouldn’t come back in my direction ... I was gutted ... Richard
then undertook an interview on the podium to my left, speaking to the people
attending the simultaneous Premiere in Glasgow too. This was broadcast on the big screen above
the podium. He greeted Taron, who had been the next to arrive, very warmly; I
just love their bromance. By this
stage I was feeling tearful, and didn’t want a selfie
if it wasn’t with Richard. Bryce
Dallas Howard arrived, as did David Furnish and Elton John on a tarted-up golf buggy-type vehicle! I recall seeing Leigh Francis (aka Keith
Lemon), David Walliams, Stanley Tucci,
and Lulu. There must have been many
more, but I was no longer interested. We were
left in the crowd pen until everyone was inside. I noticed Richard, along with his parents
Pat and Richard Senior, in the bar area overlooking the Odeon entrance. We shouted to him, he heard, and he waved
to us. Some of
the blue carpet viewers seemed to still be expecting a ticket to see the film
at the Imax ... but I was told by one of the girls I’d chatted to earlier in
the day, that all of the tickets had gone.
Great. It was now that I
realised what the yellow wristbands were for.
Why hadn’t the people at the front of the crowd pens queue been told
about this earlier in the day? Shortly
afterwards the stars of the film, including Richard, exited the cinema and
were escorted over to the Imax by security; they were introduced on stage to
the attendees. I quickly made my
escape, heading through the park, hoping to get a glimpse as they
returned. I did, but it was impossible
to get a selfie at this point due to the security
guards and time constraints. Damn. I watched
Richard until he disappeared from sight on his walk back to the Odeon. My day had been going brilliantly, like
clockwork, until I’d fallen at the final hurdle. There was to be no selfie;
my dearest wish had been thwarted by circumstance. My feet
were killing me by this stage so, after a final tour of Leicester Square, I
exited via Irving Street to reach the underground station. I was feeling tearful as I continued my
journey upon the Piccadilly Line to St Pancras. I caught a Thameslink
train back to St Albans; I was very upset that my hopes had been dashed
despite the effort I’d put in. I was
worn out by this stage, so caught a bus for the final leg of my journey home. I cried
myself to sleep, and was still upset the following morning. It was a consolation that many of my
photographs had turned out to be nice; although none really close-up as I’d
been too busy admiring the view and also concentrating on my mobile phone in
what would be forlorn hope of a selfie. So that
was 40 hours without sleep, having spent Sunday night in Leicester Square,
plus an expected parking ticket ... oh well, my quest continues ... although
it feels that if I was younger, and shorter, I’d stand a better chance of
success. L Y Y Y Y Y But, in
reflection, I spent time close to Richard, and for that I am very thankful. He’s such a lovely man, so beautiful, and I
adore him with all of my heart. |
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