Helen Mirren: The Queen Gets Immortalized
I finally met Her Royal Highness Queen Helen Mirren last Thursday! I know I know she’s not the real queen but there certainly was a royal feel to her presence. Like you hear trumpets playing in your ears as she walks. And British soldiers marching. And the gates of the castle opening. I think I’m hallucinating, I should get help. Having played the role of three different queens in her career, it’s not unusual for people to associate her name to the role of Her Majesty.
It was a glorious day in Hollywood as we witnessed her name immortalized on the Walk of Fame. She has won 4 BAFTAs, 3 Golden Globes, an Academy Award, 4 Emmy Awards, and 2 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards (thank you Wikipedia!). With those achievements, one can say that this ceremony should have been done ages ago!
As usual, the event was packed.
Media Pit
Here are the list of wonderful peeps who never fail to deliver us the freshest news all the time. *clap clap*
Press List
Nope. I’m not one of those guys who deliver the freshest news. My blog is three days late. I doubt if anyone will ever get to read this. Ha.
The ceremony started with Leron Gubler introducing Dame Helen Mirren.
Guest speakers were film director/producer John Turtletaub (National Treasure: Book of Secrets)…
…who at one point mistakenly referred to her as Helen Hunt…
…and author/playwright/producer/screenwriter/director David Mamet.
She was given a certificate from the city of LA and the ceremonial loaf of bread.
I’m sure you’ve noticed by now how cool her purse was.
Here’s her speech courtesy of telegraphtv:
The Majestic Pose, ladies and gentlemen.
And the Royal Kiss with husband Taylor Hackford (director of Devil’s Advocate, current president of the Directors Guild of America)
Dame Helen Mirren gets star number 2,488. For those of you who would like to see her star, it’s right in front of Pig ‘N Whistle Restaurant at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
And before I go, here’s my picture with the queen *play trumpets*
The Johnny Depp Experience
I’m a very big fan of Johnny Depp. To me, he is the epitome of coolness in Hollywood. I probably won’t be able to explain well on why I think that way but maybe I could say it’s because he is very, very… Johnny Depp. See, I told you I won’t be able to. But really, Johnny Depp in itself is an adjective that is synonymous to “cool.” I’ve seen many of his films and I got so amazed on how he portrayed characters such as the very well known Cap’n Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka, Sweeney Todd, The Mad Hatter, and Edward Scissorhands. These are very different characters yet you can easily distinguish their personalities from one another, apart from the costumes of course. I’ve also seen him on the original TV series 21 Jump Street (just re-runs, as I was just a toddler during the time it was on air) and apart from his extreme good looks I also took notice on how good an actor he was already back then.
I’ve wanted to meet him in person ever since I was a kid. He’s one of my three super idols (together with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise) and I said to myself that someday, I will kiss them all on the lips. Just kidding, I’m a straight male. Not coming out at least in the next three weeks. Ha. In high school, somebody told me while we were on a school dance that I look exactly like Johnny Depp and that’s when my fascination with him really started. I kept checking on the mirror and damn, she was spot on. I really looked like him! Just kidding. She never said that. She did tell me I looked like Johnny though. Johnny Bravo. Anyways, it’s not unusual for a young kid to idolize him. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl came out when I was in my freshman year in college and boy was I hooked! It was so good it went straight to my favorite movies of all time list.
Living in LA and being a frequent visitor of Hollywood Blvd, I always see those guys in costumes. My favorite is of course, Cap’n Jack Sparrow! He doesn’t look like Johnny but he does make a good Cap’n Jack. He also has a cute girl who is portraying Angelica walking around with him every time. There’s also one guy who doesn’t dress up as a Johnny Depp character but instead, Johnny Depp himself, wearing casual clothes. It’s cool to have pictures with these guys but just as I want my Levi’s jeans to be original, I want my Johnny Depp to be real!
And so I went to the premiere of Dark Shadows with only one intention in mind: see my super idol and hope to get a picture with him!
***CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER OF “DARK SHADOWS”***
As expected, there were so many people in there waiting for him. I got into a bad spot, far away from the spot where they drop the celebrities off, that I felt a little down that I wasn’t gonna be able to see him up close. It was okay, I said to myself, as long as I get a glimpse of him. The cast of the movie arrived one by one.
I saw Michelle Pfeiffer from afar. Oh damn. She was too far.
I saw Bella Heathcote.
Bella Heathcote
And I saw a couple other actors whose names I didn’t know.
Then there was Tim Burton.
Tim Burton
It was so nice to see him! He’s collaborated with Johnny so many times (Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride, Alice in Wonderland, etc.) it’s impossible mentioning one’s name without the other.
And then it was time for Johnny to arrive. I saw him from afar like the rest. He’s signing for some people from way over the other side, and he’s the size of a peanut on my camera. Oh well, I wasn’t that hard to satisfy. I stepped on the same street as my idol at least for a fraction amount of time and I was happy for that. I was ready to go home to tell this tale to the world but then I noticed something. Johnny Depp has gotten closer and closer! It seemed like he was gonna come to our side after all!
Of course, I want to share my experience with you guys. Enough of the talk. Here’s the moment of all moments, the moment when a super fan finally meets his idol!
Heeere’s JOHNNY!!!!!
I can’t believe it! The fact that I was already convinced that I was only gonna see him from afar but instead we got inches away from each other made it even more spectacular! We got so close I was able to literally feel his breath come out of his nose haha! I stayed a man after that encounter though I gotta admit I was a hair strand away from becoming a Jennifer. Yeah I kinda prepared a girl name for myself just in case.
It was a day I will never forget. Oh Johnny. You da man, man.
I would still like to see him again someday, perhaps in France where he lives and talk to him in straight French. A bientôt!
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