~ PRESENTS ~
February 16, 2000
* Please excuse the quality of the pictures; we all know how reliable disposable cameras can be!
Dear Group Members:
As we all know, Anna was in New York City today with Barbara Parkins and Lee Grant, for a screening of Valley of the Dolls. AMC hosted the private event, as part of their Hollywood Fashion Machine series. After weeks of waiting, I cut two classes today, and decided to go down there.
First off, I'd like to extend my warmest appreciation to Dina from AMC. By the time the night was over, I'm sure she was sick of seeing me.
The evening began around 6:00, when the stars arrived. On the marquee outside the theater, "Valley of the Dolls" was flashing in bright, red letters. The press had totally mobbed the entrance, as they were photographing everyone as they got out of their limos, etc. Since there were so many people, I could only see Lee Grant and Whoopi Goldberg (who was hosting the event) enter the building. Anyhow, there was a small reception for the stars before the screening started, and during this time, the press was granted interviews. I was able to pull some strings so I could see the show, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to get inside with the press. I did however see Bob Goen from Entertainment Tonight, and Ted Casablanca (how appropriate) from E! Entertainment Television.
In any case, at 7:00, the doors were opened, and people were flashing their invitations, left and right. The people I was waiting on line with were very nice (I have to dispel the rumors of people dressing up as Neely, etc), and this one man showed me his invitation. Basically, it was a postcard of the original Valley poster with the time, location, etc. printed on the back.
Once inside the theater, I took a seat in the second row with the remainder of the press, and waited anxiously while the theme song played in the background. Someone from AMC finally introduced Whoopi Goldberg who came onstage singing one of the songs. Apparently, Valley is one of Whoopi's favorite movies! Anyhow, Whoopi introduced Anna first, who was received with a standing ovation. She took a seat onstage in one of the 4 AMC director's chairs. Barbara Parkins and Lee Grant followed. I half-expected the cast to entertain questions from the audience, however Whoopi interviewed them instead. Anna did most of the talking, and looked WONDERFUL! For those of you who're interested, she wore a black pants suit with a gold brooch. The questions asked included the casts' experiences while filming the movie, impressions of Jackie Susann, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayword, etc. Anna said that she didn't do any of Neely's singing, she joked about the scene at the telethon where her beads, well you know... She commented on how badly she had wanted to play Neely, and told some stories about Judy Garland. When talking about Sharon Tate, Anna said she "was as good as she was beautiful.” Barbara Parkins spoke on how the 3 main characters sort of paralleled their lives, as Anne kind of faded into oblivion as did Barbara, Jennifer was a beautiful actress who died, as did Sharon Tate... and what really got me, was how she described Neely/Anna: Neely worked hard at her career, but got mixed up in drugs and went crazy... doesn't sound like our Anna, does it? On a lighter note, about halfway through the discussion, Lee Grant's chair broke, and she fell to the stage! Anna had commented earlier on how rickety the chairs were, and immediately jumped out of hers, as a precaution.
After the discussion was over (it lasted about thirty minutes), Anna and the other celebs came off stage and went to view the movie in the balcony (which was closed to the public). As she was leaving, I called out her name, and she paused and flashed me the biggest smile. It was obvious that she remembered meeting me in Montreal on the set of the Reunion movie. Anyhow, the AMC people were ushering her away, so she couldn't stop to chat. I noticed that Mike and Kevin were there, too.
Although I've watched Valley many times, there's something about watching it on the "big screen" that feels like you're watching it for the first time. It was SO cool -- everyone in the audience LOVED the movie, and applauded loudly when Anna's name came on the credits. Some people sang along with the songs, and almost everyone recited the most famous lines from the movie ("Sparkle, Neely. Sparkle!," etc). We all applauded after an especially moving scene, and when someone did something especially bitchy, everyone hissed and booed. It was such a cool experience and I'll never forget it.
After the movie ended, everyone rushed outside to get autographs and pictures with the stars. I didn't see Whoopi leave, and I was told that Anna and her family left early (for reasons unknown to me). Anyhow, I did see Lee Grant again. I managed to get Barbara's auto -- she's nice, but there were so many people outside, I could tell she wanted to get away.
There was a party afterwards somewhere alongside the East River, however by this time, it was 11:00 and I had to get home, as I had school the following day... After everyone left, people were still hanging around, to kind of revel in the excitement. I met up with some of the people that I had met before, and we all passed our autographs and memorabilia around for all to see.
Again, much thanks to Dina and those who work at AMC. I looked all around for a program of some sort to take home as a souvenir, but couldn't find any... All in all, the night was FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC!!!
~ Carrie ~