Report from the Orange Carpet

Believe it or not, this wasn’t the first movie premiere I’ve attended in Syracuse. I’ve been to two—both with Ice. The other was a film made locally and called Reynolds City. It stars TK99 radio personality Lisa Chelenza and was kind of like a porno without any sex scenes. I would recommend checking it out sometime. Or never.

The Express Premiere, on the other hand, was a totally worthwhile, semi-life-changing experience. In a word, it was crazy. Crazy in that there was so much more than the movie to see. Unfortunately, I was told not to bring a camera by a co-worker of mine and was the only idiot in downtown that night without a one. Thanks Padma.

Padma did, however, score the Iceman and I a pair of tickets to The Express Premiere. I’m not just talking about the movie, but the whole shebang—from walking the Orange Carpet attending the after party. This was Hollywood right on our doorstep and we weren’t going to let a minute pass us by.

Our evening began with a walk down the Orange Carpet (see photo, top left) to. It turned out to be a much better experience than either of us could have imagined. There were lots of photographers around and people in the stands. Some even knew who we were. First was Jay Hughes and then Tony Glass. Next were Mikey J. and Mrs. Mac. If that wasn’t enough Chuck Wainwright—a local photographer and friend of mine—started snapping pictures of us. For a moment we were famous. Or at least it seemed that way.

The other guests who walked the carpet were pretty important, too. Outside of the cast there was Bob Costas, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Jimmy and Jules, Rob Konrad, and Art Monk—just to name a few.

As the start of the premiere approached, Ice and I figured it would be a good idea to stand near the entrance of the theatre to maybe catch of glimpse of one of the many stars that came out for the event. Some of the men working the door didn’t think it was such a good idea and asked us to go find our seats. Lucky for us, the Iceman had built up a rapport with one of the ladies at the door checking tickets. She told the men we were her sons and we were allowed to stay.

Soon after we took our seats and got ready to see the World Premiere of The Express. Having never attended a world premiere before, there were some things I was unprepared for, like no previews and seeing the director’s cut.

Like most Hollywood productions, there were a few flaws and outrageous exaggerations. Like the opening scene where Davis and his cousin end up on the wrong side of the tracks and confront some white kids. The scene ends with Ernie running away as white kids keep popping out of the bushes like the Vietcong.

Other little things like incorrect game scores. Or the part where he’s the only kid on the team who doesn’t get a football jersey (it was actually a baseball jersey). And, the Holy Cross game looked like a stolen scene from The Last Boy Scout.

As for the movie, you’ll probably like it. Love it if you’re from Syracuse. There were some good shots from campus that drew applause—particularly Hendricks Chapel, the Maxwell School and the Crouse building. Dennis Quaid was solid. Rob Brown didn’t over act. And, I can’t believe how not big the guy who played Jim Brown was in real life. The whole thing was a landmark event to say the very least.

The Express Premiere also marked the first time Jimmy B. has ever bothered to reply to me with a verbal response. The first time we met/I noticed him in public, he was checking out Stormin’ Matt Gorman play at a local high school. I said, “Hello.” He grunted. The second time I was working at the Dome and we walked into the building together through the players’ entrance—where you have to go in one door, close the door and wait in a cement cul-de-sac until the security personnel at the second door lets you in. Jimmy and I were in there, so I said, “Hello Coach.” I think he nodded, or twitched. To this day I’m still not really sure.

Fast-forward to last Friday at the door to the theater. He finally said, “Hello.” That’s all I ever wanted coach. Thank you. As if that wasn’t enough, I found myself smack in the middle of a conversation with Jim and Jules later that night at the after party. My first move was to congratulate him on his success at the Summer Games in Beijing. He thanked me and the women in the group turned the conversation to the public library. Jimmy could have cared less. I can’t blame him. I didn’t either. Besides, we had so many more important things to talk about. Like, being off the radar with an uber-talented team, playing one a hell of a non-conference schedule and everybody in town wanting to get back to the big dance. Meanwhile, the conversation rolled on and just to get noticed I made a remark about Jim not doing his summer reading. Everyone laughed. We all prepared to break and I looked at Jimmy and said, “Good luck with the team this year.” He smiled and said, “It should be fun.” I believe him. He’s got his pieces in place and a team that wants to be coached. Next year is finally almost here, but we'll save that for another day. Go Orange!

This also got me to thinking, who is more famous: Jimmy B or Dennis Quaid? I say Jimmy B.

So even though I didn’t have a camera to take pictures it was a good time. A great time, in fact. We walked the Orange Carpet. Got to see a Hollywood-style premiere. Meet the stars. And, attend one of the coolest parties in this city’s history—a party we may or may not have snuck into. Yes, this is buried at the bottom for a reason. See you all Oct. 2 at the theater when The Express premieres to the rest of the world.