We now bring you this special perspective of The Last Stand's London Premiere, which took place on January 22, from our British correspondant Paul Jackson!
Living in the North West of England has its' drawbacks when it comes to star studded galas. When Arnold last headlined a movie in 2003, I was a young college boy brimming with sheer excitement at the prospect of T3. However with no foresight or ideas on how to get to London to see the Oak in person, I was just a pathetic girlyman.
But after 10 years of gritting my teeth and waiting patiently, I was not going to make the same mistake again. I'd already had a taste of the action, having gone down to London last August for The Expendables 2 premiere. My plan was to be the same as it had back then - head down early doors and set up camp outside the movie theatre to ensure my place next to the red carpet. It had paid off last year as I'd got to see Arnold walk right by me. What a PUMP! I had to do it again, even if it meant only getting a glimpse of him for a few short seconds once more.
This time, however, was going to be different. I don't usually pray to the gods, as I have no tongue for it. But Crom must have been smiling over me, as late last week I found out that I'd be receiving two tickets to attend the premiere itself. No waiting at the barriers beside the red carpet... this time I was going to be walking down it!
As I arrived in Leicester Square at 1pm, the first thing I saw was the huge movie poster over the Odeon West End. Fantastic to see Arnold commanding the cinema once more! It was such a cold day with temperatures reaching below zero after a large bout of snow, yet devoted fans were waiting at the barriers already. After a few beers with an old friend from TAF's boards, all we had to do was wait.
Come 5pm, the red carpet was down, the press had arrived and the fans had turned up in droves. I could barely control my own excitement waiting at the entrance gate as the first celebrity vehicle pulled up. There was no messing around, as soon as it came to a stop, out stepped Schwarzenegger and the crowd went wild.
HE'S BACK!
Dressed in a smart suit, complete with shirt and tie, the terminator looked the part as usual. With the most fitting song "I need a hero" blaring out, Arnold began greeting people and stopping for the press. Up pulled the next vehicle and out came Jaimie Alexander, wearing a stunning silver sparkly dress. SCHWING! This was my queue. IT IS TIME! Between Arnold & Jaimie, I was in heaven already. Onto the red carpet we went! I didn't see where Jaimie got to as there was a bit of a crowd. But the one person I could clearly see was Arnold, and
he was right in front of me. There was no mistaking that definitive, muscular frame. As he signed autographs for his fans, I walked right up next to him, just inches away. Security wouldn't let me get close enough to shake his hand and began ushering us down the carpet but damn what a feeling! I've worshiped Arnold since the age of 5 and to be able to stand next to him after all these years was absolutely mind blowing! The dude is huge and he looks BUFF!Star struck, we carried on down the carpet, past the tv cameras and flash photography. Inside the building we were shown downstairs into a small foyer, where there was a bar area, with two Last Stand posters behind. It got even better as we found our seats were right at the front on the second row. The screen was packed with at least 400 people and everybody was pumped having walked with the stars. As we settled into our seats, a Lionsgate executive came on stage in front of the screen itself to say a few words. After a minute or so, he introduced the stars of the movie and down came Arnold, Jaimie and Johnny Knoxville, walking right past my seat. Another close up of Arnold! Fantastic!
For the next five minutes Arnold spoke about his fondness for London, and how committed the fans are here. As he handed microphone to Jaimie he commented on how she is a "gorgeous girl" who can "kick serious butt". Jaimie told us how Arnold was a mentor for her, who taught her action and responsibility and Knoxville went on to make a few wise cracks before handing the microphone back to the mighty Sherrif. As he signed off with his signature "I'll be back", he headed off the stage in my direction once more. Security were on hand to make sure nobody moved away from their seats and I got a little shaky with my camera. But as I called out to Arnold, he looked right at me and simply replied "YAH!" before heading up the stairs. Rewarding the crowd with "GET TO THE CHOPPER!", which was met with huge cheers and applause, Arnold disappeared up the stairs and left us to enjoy the movie.
For the next hour and a half, we were treated to Arnold's big comeback. The crowd was very receptive of the movie, cheering, applauding and whistling throughout. I've never seen anything like it, the atmosphere was electric. One liners, blood, violence, comic relief and eye candy; a classic Schwarzenegger movie. I was thoroughly entertained and wouldn't have wanted it any other way. This movie will do well overseas and will hopefully prove to the world that Arnold isn't done yet. I saw the movie again earlier on today at the first showing in one of my local cinemas. I loved it just as much the second time around and will defintely be going back for a third, fourth and fifth seeing. I give it a thumbs up with 7.5/10 stogies.
This was without a doubt the greatest experience of my entire life. Thank you Arnold!
Ballsy, honorable and sincere. The undisputed king of action is BACK.