The h2g2 Film Premiere Mark One
Created | Updated Apr 28, 2005
As far as I know, I travelled furthest out of the competition winners, having to catch a plane to get to London. When I discovered on Monday that I was a winner I initially decided not to attend, but was persuaded to reconsider by my partner and work colleagues. Overall the night out set me back about £250 
and I wasn't being extravagant.
After much deep thought about what to wear - the Premiere ticket showing the Dress Code as 'Out of this World' - and how soon to display myself in unusual garb, I decided on black tie and Dinner Jacket1 supplemented at a judicious moment by a garish pink and blue towel and dark blue dressing gown. I wondered how others would interpret the instruction, but I only found two other winners who were going who had declared themselves on h2g2 - purplejenny and mol. I decided not to follow Mina's advice and wear a tiara - a bit of wax in my hair and mirror shades struck me as more appropriate.
I had got a plane ticket on Monday that would have had me arriving at London City Airport at about 6pm, but when I received the premiere ticket on Tuesday and found I'd miss everyone arriving at Leicester Square2 I juggled taking only hand luggage, travelling in my DJ, getting a taxi, but it was looking tricky, so on Wednesday morning I begged the airline and was allowed to change to an earlier flight. I left work, went home, threw my DJ in a suitcase, confident I'd now have time for claiming luggage.
When I had showered and unpacked at the hotel I realised I had a dress shirt and no cufflinks. 
Curses. If I'd dressed at home this wouldn't have been a problem. Using my ingenuity I temporarily fastened the cuffs with a rubber band and a small plastic cash bag and set out for Leicester Square, knowing there would be shops somewhere close by at which a pair might be purchased.
After negotiating the Underground and walking for a good while - it was a pleasantly warm and sunny afternoon - I was eventually able to grace my cuffs with a nice new pair of cufflinks and go back to Leicester Square, where I had earlier seen the preparations set up for the Premiere - a wide blue carpet emblazoned with DON'T PANIC, a white marquee entranceway and spectators by the barriers already preparing for the arrival of the stars3.
I retreated to the Moon Under Water - a popular meeting place I think for h2g2 meets, though I'd never been to one before - for a pint of bitter and a light snack. Expecting the arrival of purplejenny I got my towel out and placed it beside me. Sure enough a few minutes later I was timidly approached querying why I had a towel beside me before Jenny introduced herself and admitted having a towel of her own concealed in her bag.
After our drink we reckoned people would be arriving so we went out, me donning the gown and draping the towel over my shoulder, and took photos of each other before approaching the barriers. We realised we had gone around the wrong way when a security guard prevented further moves toward the cinema, but our perambulations also allowed a BBC person with an interviewer and cameraman to notice us and beckon us over. Jenny regretted not bringing her own dressing gown as they only interviewed me, asking me why I was wearing a gown.
Anyway we eventually got around to the white marquee where they searched our bags and bagged up our cameras/camera phones for return after the show - so very few pictures were taken 
. Jenny and I ignored the request to go straight in and enjoyed wandering around the blue carpet looking at what was going on while I attempted to call home on my acceptably old non-camera phone to say I should be visible on the live webcast. While doing this I was again interviewed, this time for what I imagine was a Spanish or South American TV station, this time being asked what uses a hitchhiker could put a towel to, and ending by having to say something like 'bienvenido a London'. What larks.
When we eventually made our way to our seats on the front row we sat through the live interviews being made outside on the big screen. The interviewer had an unfortunate fixation on asking nearly everyone involved in the film what they thought of the Vogons, which became tedious very quickly. All but one of the h2g2 prizewinners made it to the show - so one person had the opportunity to swipe an extra complimentary white towel embroidered with the dark blue 'thumb over ringed planet' hitchhiker logo. These towels had been neatly placed over every headrest in the cinema like so many antimacassars. Just so you know what to expect if you go to a premiere most guests were also treated to a glossy programme, bottle of water and packet of crisps - though someone swiped mine while I was outside meandering. The VIP guests also got 
and access to a bar 
. In case you are wondering maybe ten people in the entire audience (of about 1,000) had followed the 'out of this world' dress code.
Although the ticket said we should be seated by 7:15 the introductions (and applause for each one) of the many producers and cast didn't start until about 7:40. Our privileged position in the front row enables me to point out that Stephen Fry and Robbie Stamp had much nicer shoes than the American producers4. Finally the film started just before 8pm.
It may be simply my own prejudice but I believe there were a good number of Americans in the audience. I base this on the unprompted spontaneous and gratuitous applause that greeted the appearance of each name on the titles. I mean 
, as a 'repressed Brit' I found it embarrassingly unnecessary. I suppose at a premiere most of the people being applauded can hear it, being in the audience themselves, but it wasn't as if they'd just done something worthy of applause.
As mol says in her report, this incarnation of Adams' vision differs from previous ones as much as they differed from each other. I liked it 
. I don't want to spoil it for anyone planning to see it, so forgive me if I only mention that the destruction of the Earth is more impressive than it was in the TV series, that I particularly liked the innovation of the slapface things, it was a nice surprise to see the TV version of Marvin, and that I have found myself humming the catchy tune to the song So Long and Thanks for All the Fish that the film ends with.
After the film was over we made our way out variously dismayed or envious at the enterprising guests gathering up the towels ignored by their proper recipients - no doubt some will be available on eBay soon. I didn't manage to inveigle an invitation to a cast party - the cast had mostly been whisked off in limos by the time we managed to make our way outside with our reclaimed cameras. Three of us h2g2'ers had a couple of drinks afterward at the Hogs Head and then parted.
A memorable occasion. Time for a 
