Last Saturday night, I had the chance to cover the World Premiere of the action comedy “Pixels” at the Regal E-Walk theater in New York City. A huge Pac-Man balloon was hung from the top of the theater, only strong ropes prevented it from eating-up all the power pellets (and people) below on a packed 42nd Street. Meantime, a giant Centipede hung-out on top of the tent covering what was actually a custom-made black carpet, which featured Blinky and the other famous Pac-Man ghosts. And there were Q-Bert and Donkey Kong displays, as well as actual, working Pac-Man and Space Invaders machines. It was a classic video gamers dream setting.
The stars first walked that outside carpet, in 80+ degree weather. I was located inside the air-conditioned theater lobby (thank goodness!) and was able to grab many of the celebs before they went into the screening.
A few stars I spoke to quickly off-camera were Jane Krakowski, who appreciated my congratulations on her Emmy nomination for “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, and comic actor Richard Kind, who said I was very kind to acknowledge his great work as Bing-Bong in Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out”. Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”) didn’t stop, and neither did Kevin James, who scooted down the carpet, hugging the far wall, with his back turned to the action to avoid all the reporters.
However, I was able to talk with many of the big stars of “Pixels”, including an extremely nice Michelle Monaghan. She actually took 5-mins after coming-in from the heat to re-apply her makeup before chatting with me and others. Veteran actor Brian Cox was hysterical, though he declined my request to give me his best Pac-Man “Waka Waka” impression. Others were more than happy to play along.
Check-out my full report from the “Pixels” Red Carpet, which includes appearance by my buddy Josh Gad, his pal and co-star Affion Crockett, Miss Universe – Paulina Vega, and a memorable exchange with The King of Comedy – Adam Sandler: PIXELS PREMIERE