Debt Free Spending was invited to LA to attend the world premiere of Disney’s new feature film THE JUNGLE BOOK, and it was my pleasure to represent our blog for you, our readers. Last summer, I had an extraordinarily unique experience participating in my first Disney Blogger Press Event, which is featured in the reflective piece: “Heading to LA”
Receiving the invite for a second time, took my breath away. It is such an honor to collaborate with Disney and provide you with an insider view of their fabulous productions. This #JungleBookEvent was a fully-loaded amazing experience of its own. Our itinerary included:
- Attending the Red Carpet World Premiere of THE JUNGLE BOOK movie
- Celebrating with everyone at the After-Party
- Watching The Jungle Book at the amazing, future of cinema, “AMC Dolby Prime” theater
- The Jungle Book movie review
- Exclusive interviews with the director and cast of The Jungle Book:
- Exclusive interview with endangered animal, Pangolin-expert, Jeffrey Flocken who is the North American Regional Director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare where he leads the organization’s team of legislative professionals in the US and Canada advocating for global, national, and local policy initiatives on behalf of wildlife conservation and animal welfare.
- Visiting the set of the new Disney XD kid’s show, “Walk the Prank”, screening an episode and interviewing cast members
- Experiencing the World of Mowgli, through the technical magic of Virtual Reality
*click on the active links above to read more about each experience*
I am still floating on a cloud, since the initial invite. It has been very difficult to find my footing throughout these past few weeks. Being a part of The Jungle Book World Premiere experience was surreal and a personal dream come true. Several of the Bloggers in my group began asking and sharing advice on what to wear on this special occasion.
All I had to do was call my best friend, who happens to be one of the top local bridal and formal dress consultants. We played ‘dress up’ with several wonderful gowns, but knew immediately when I found The One. I will never forget that magical moment finding my dress and then receiving such wonderful complements on the Red Carpet!
Next, our group of Bloggers had such a great time dressing up in our special attire and taking the walk to the famous El Capitan theater, where the movie premiere took place. After we disembarked the bus, we received instructions on Red Carpet and Celebrity protocol:
- Do not stand in the way, keep the flow of traffic going
- The moment will go fast, so cherish the experience and take it all in
- Do not gawk, point or stare at celebrities
Our walk began, and soon ended up on none-other-than the official Oscar Stairs!
The Oscars are as special to me, as sports fans’ ‘Super Bowl’ – I have never missed a single Academy Awards ceremony! It was so cool to be walking in that dedicated place. All along the framed columns of the stairs, were Oscar Best Picture titles over the years:
Then, as we turned a corner, there were crowds of people on both sides of the sidewalk and I realized where I was walking:
The Famous handprint-studded Grauman’s Chinese Theater
Like the avid movie-fan that I am, I was mesmerized by my surroundings and could not look in one place too long or I would miss out on the other fantastic views:
Grauman’s Chinese Theater is the most iconic movie palace in the world. With over 50 events a year, including movie premieres, imprint ceremonies, and film festivals, the theater continues to make Hollywood history every day.
Then, a quick minute later, I found myself standing in line to enter the Red Carpet area! A dream come true!
We were ushered down the right-hand side, while the middle area was designated for celebrities, cast and guests. Across from us, the professional press stood behind their labelled posts to conduct their interviews.
The decorations all along the famous Red Carpet was extremely impressive. We felt like we were walking along a lush jungle, on our way to King Louie’s monkey temple!
Thin panel screens lined the side, and smoothly glides through different scenes from the movie as we passed by.
As we waltzed down the carpet, in awe of our environment, we constantly examined the crowd for a familiar celebrity face.
Who do you recognize??
Meanwhile, cast and crew were getting their moments in the spotlight.
Then, we arrived about half a block down to the entrance of the classic El Capitan theatre.
The El Capitan is a Disney-owned classic theater in Hollywood, where most of their movies premieres are shown. https://elcapitantheatre.com/about
Next, we were guided through the security-check and into the theatre. We had to check in everything, especially phones and potential recording technology.
Our second-row seats were reserved. But honestly, I would have preferred to sit further back and people-watch as the cast, crew and celebrities responded to the wonderful adventure of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. Jon Favreau did a remarkable job depicting the book’s true message of family and coming-of-age.
[courtesy of Carlee Chambliss Colonneso]
Eventually, the lights turned down, the screen opened up to its appropriate size and we all donned our 3-D glasses and immediately became hypnotically drawn into the magic of The Jungle Book. The movie was more than I ever imagined, and I am very excited to write a dedicated post, focusing on all the impressive aspects of Jon Favreau’s rendition of popular story. Watching this movie again with my family on April 15, will be such a treasured experience.
But, our amazing night in the Jungle was not over yet! Next on the agenda was the After-Party! Stay tuned for my next post: My First L.A. After-Party.
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