Exterior of the Catching Fire after party courtesy The Hob.org
Aerial view of the after party tent from our hotel room window.
Imagine the most epic party you can, sprinkle that with celebrities and models dressed as Capitol people, add a pinch of delicious food catered by Wolfgang Puck then a splash of open bar, and you’ll have the recipe for the Catching Fire premiere after party in Los Angeles on November 18th.
Dan (aka Appius Knoll) and I (Molly, aka Lollia Grey) from PanemPropaganda.com were lucky enough to be invited by Lionsgate to attend the Los Angeles premiere of Catching Fire and the after-party (aka The EVENT OF THE YEAR!) Firstly, the after party invite was the coolest invitation we’ve ever received - a holographic, image of Katniss that changes as you move it. (Check it out in action in Aldrin's video at the bottom of this post.) And YES, we got to keep it!
We walked into the party through a row of men beating giant timpani drums - an excellent touch lifted right out of the movie’s chariot scene. See Tiffany from Mockingjay.net's video above. That's quite a welcome! This wasn’t just a party, it was like walking into the Victory party at Snow Mansion. Models dressed as Capitol citizens were everywhere, in over-the-top costumes, make-up and wigs. They stayed in character the whole time, snapping pictures with the guests. There were white roses everywhere, food stations and bars wherever you turn, tables piled with colorful desserts, beautiful lighting, and furnished lounge areas set up throughout the event tent.
Capitol people! Photo by Mockingjay.net
Photo courtesy TheHob.Org Donald Sutherland was the first cast member we saw at the party, signing autographs and taking pictures with guests. Next, we talked with Francis Lawrence and thanked him, from the whole fandom, for making such an incredible adaptation of our beloved book. He’s really thrilled that the hardcore fans are loving the film adaptation so much. And he’s really nice and a totally normal guy. He told us to make sure to see the film in IMAX. Whatever Franny says, Franny gets. We’ll be seeing the IMAX version tonight!
Speaking of the book, Suzanne Collins was there!! We missed her at the party, but our friend Tiffany from Mockingjay.net spoke with her. Jeffrey Wright introduced them, whatever, no big deal. (SQUEE!!)
The most surreal aspect of the party was seeing celebs just walking around like normal people, grabbing a drink, looking just as shy and awkward as anyone else at a party of 1000 people they don't know that well. And not. Our inner dialogue went something like this: "Oh hey, Chord Overstreet, what'cha doin'? Oh, just moonwalking around the bar, are you? Ok, you have fun with that. Good times. Joe Jonas. Whateves. Yep, that's normal. Nice hat, Matt Damon. Howdy, every tv commentator from every entertainment show, ever. Oh, Hi Dave Karger!" OK, I actually verbalised my hello to Fandango's Chief Correspondent Dave Karger and he is an absolute sweetheart.
Dan and I (Molly) From Panempropaganda with Bruno! Thanks to Sheila from HGGirlonFire for snapping it.We met Bruno Gunn, and he’s as awesome as he seems on twitter. Almost everyone from the cast was there: Elizabeth Banks, Alan Ritchson, Lynn Cohen, Jeffrey Wright, Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone, Willow Shields, Meta Golding, Trish Summerville, E. Roger Mitchell, Megan Hayes, Elena Sanchez, Nelson Ascencio, Bruce Bundy, Patrick St. Esprit (Thread). Some of our former Hunger Games tributes were walking around the party too: Jackie Emerson, Dayo Okeniyi, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jack Quaid were all wandering around having fun. Even some of our Mockingjay cast members were there! We saw Evan Ross (Messalla) hanging out with his girlfriend Ashley Simpson and Wes Chatham (Castor). Sadly, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth went straight from the premiere to New York City to do more press and a screening on 11/20.
Sam holding court - and that's Amanda from The Hob, too! Photo by The Fandom.netSam Claflin was holding court at a lounge area surrounded by security. If this is the barometer of his future fame, this guy is going to be a HUGE star. There were so many people crowded around, trying to get a moment with Sam. It was insane. We happened to be walking by when this epicness happened:
When Finnick met Annie. Sam Claflin meets Stef Dawson. Photo by The Hob.org
This is the moment our Finnick met our Annie! Sam and Stef Dawson had never met until the this moment at the after party. Someone brought her over, and they had an adorable meeting surrounded by dozens of fans. When we talked with the very lovely Stef Dawson later, she confirmed that this was their first meeting. She was totally gracious and hung out and chatted with us for a long time. She’s really excited to get started on Mockingjay and super happy to be a part of the “family.” She is like a delicate, gorgeous little fairy. She’ll be just PERFECT as Annie.
Stef Dawson, Molly (that's me!) from PanemProp & Tiffany from Mockingjay.Net.As the night wound down, we got a chance to meet Sam Claflin. He has to be one of the kindest celebs around and seems as though he’s having the time of his life. He hung out talking with us until his handlers dragged him away to go back to his hotel (it was after 1:00am), he even showed us photos of his dog Rosie on his cell phone (she’s adorable)! And I got a huge hug, which I will not soon forget. Sigh. Not over it.
Sam is an epic hugger. Thanks to Amamda from TheHob.org for snapping the picture!!
We closed down the party with E. Roger Mitchell. Being the last to leave the Catching Fire After Party with our Chaff was a pretty awesome way to end the night.
Dan and I from PP closing down the after party with our Chaff, E. Roger Mitchell!
Check out Aldrin from HungerGamesDWTC's fantastic vlog of the party. He really captured it!
Special thanks to our amazing fan site friends at Mockingjay.net, The Hob.Org, HGGirlOnFire, HungerGamesDWTC, VictorsVillage, HungerGamesTrilogy.Net, HungerGamesMovie.Org, TheFandom.Net, WelcomeToDistrict12.com, and MyHungerGames! Most of these pictures and video are from their cameras - so thank you guys for snapping such great pictures. And be sure to check out THEIR after party coverage as well.
And huge thanks to Lionsgate for an unforgettable weekend.
