What Now

FRIDAY UPDATE- SPIDERMAN 3 EDITION

Yikes. If you happen to notice the date on this entry, you will see that it is actually Saturday morning, but I feel I may not have another chance to write about this week before it gets to be old news, so just bear with me, K?

It seems as if this week has been both 5 minutes long as well as 100 years long. It has been a long time since I have been so sleep deprived that I began hallucinating, but this week has helped me along with that!

All this week I have been working to get the SpaceDome lobby in shape for the Spider-Man 3 opening. Since it was to be the SpRocket's first "Real Movie" opening (we normally don't get the regular movies until they have been in the theater for a while, or until they have already been out on DVD for a while), Marketing and Guest Services wanted everything to be lovely. Although my job is really to make signs, I often get drafted - or I volunteer - to help out with other things as needed. This time, instead of helping out, I was kind of on my own. That was fine, because I got to make things the way I wanted them to be, but it was a lot of work. I've already told you about the giant spider-web, which one of my co-workers took his life in his own hands to begin dogging it as soon as he looked at it. Granted, I can take criticism, and the web didn't turn out like I had envisioned, but I was tired and punchy when he started doing it and that's a bad time to criticize me. I must have struck a nerve with him when I chewed his face off about it because so far, he's apologized to me twice. Anyways, I also made another web out of twine, which suspends a replica camera (that I also made) in between two columns in the lobby, like Peter Parker did in the first movie. I had wanted a strobe for the fake camera so that it looked like it was taking pictures, but I couldn't get my hands on one that was the right color, as well as small enough. Oh well. Although all of those things took a while, my biggest project was that of a wall mural that they allowed me to paint on the glass wall of the Space Dome projection booth. It's not my best work, because I didn't have a great deal of time to work on it, but everyone seems to really like it. It's a cartoony skyline silhouette in black and white, with some signs and stuff added in for funzies. I tried to give all of the projectionists and ushers a mention in one place or another, and all of the employees who've come to see it think they are funny. I painted a big church called "St. Gregory of the IMAX" for the Theater Manager, "Howard's Theater" and "Burrell's Hotel" for one of the projectionists, and "Anthony Hale's House of Un-Cut Funk" for the Chief Projectionist. I also added "Fat-Head Steve's Tequila & Waffles" restaurant for Steve, because he used to work at the theater and because it was my call. Sue me. I also added in some stuff for other people, but it was all tiny and they have to play Where's Waldo to find them. The painting stretches across 6 of the 8 windows, and at the tallest point is probably about 8 or 10 feet high. I was so high from paint fumes and so tired from the work, that St. Gregory's suffered a little. Oh, well, it was still a lot of fun. I've been told that if we get to open the next Harry Potter film, I'll be painting a rendering of Hogwarts on the window. I hope I can get at least two weeks for that one. Oy.

I love being artistic!

Oh yeah, I also embarrassed myself last night because of that mural. When I stand behind the shortest building, you can only see from my eyes up. I was standing there with Anthony looking at the crowd, when I had a moment only those of us with long, crazy hair can understand. I had it clipped up with one of those evil looking spring loaded clips, and it was giving me a headache, so I reached back and pulled the clip out and shook my hair kind of wildly. I didn't even realize I people could see me because most of me was hidden by the painting, but not all of me. Apparently, I was unintentionally channeling Tawney Kittain, because it got this group of teenage boys tickled at me. I wasn't trying to go all White Snake on anyone, but that started a round of me watching them flip their hair and imitate me. When I finally got my hair subdued, when I stood there behind the building again, all you could see was a little poof of my hair moving back and forth along it's roof line. I finally just pulled out my hair clip, put on one of the head-sets and pretended to be pre-crazy Britney Spears until they went into the theater. Never say I don't do what I can to entertain the public.

There were hundreds of people who came to see ol' Spidey. I didn't have to usher like I thought, but I still stayed until after midnight last night so that I could help out wherever needed. I got to give away the Midnight Showing door prizes, and they let me use the microphone. I'll just say, that a tired and goofy Kelly should probably not be given the ability to make public announcements. After everyone was in, I had to ask them to move to the center of the aisles and leave the outside seats open for stragglers. Most of them complied, but I could see from the usher booth that some people weren't doing it. I told them that they had to move over and make some new friends. When that didn't work, I said "I can seeeeeeeee yooooooooooou! I won't start the movie until you mooooooooooooooooooove!" Since they didn't know where I was, I saw quite a few people get nervous and move over stealthily. I also got to ramble and be silly until the prizes were given away and we started the film. It was great fun.

I don't have any pictures of anything at this point, but I am going back to work with the IMAX guys tonight, so I'll try and get some to show off. It's not my best work, but the sheer size of it makes me proud! : )