Protesters and Paparazzi Punctuate 'Life' Premiere

AN UNFINISHED LIFE screening
DGA Theater
September 7, 2005

Gosh...this was a great mess.

Fist of all, this is a small theater, right on a busy 57th Street. Anytime a screening is held here it always turns out to be a headache. And this time was no exception.

It looked good on paper. The arrival area the PR created was the best I’ve seen at this theater. Red carpet, backdrop, and even a riser was built. Shooters were able to go two deep on the ground and the riser was close enough for a third row. But...the front row was very close to the backdrop, so it was a tight crop.

Secondly, PETA had a bunch of protesters at the beginning of the carpet and at the theater entrance. Security was nice enough to warn me in advance that JLo wasn't going to walk the carpet. I tried to warn my fellow shooters that this was going to get even uglier, but it was at this time that....

JLo and Marc arrive. Now remember, there are about 40+ shooters facing the backdrop, lining the entire carpet, in a very small cramped area, with chanting protesters a few feet away, with rush hour traffic...and Jlo and Marc pull up to the theater and exit their SUV by the entrance of the theater. Not by the beginning of the carpet. They were then whisked into the theater and didn't pose for any of the photogs that had been waiting for hours.

So to make up for the debauchee, the PR decides they are going to escort all the shooters into the theater for a photo-op. HA HA HA! Yea...that'll work. Only the photogs on 'their list' were allowed into the theater (about 20) leaving another 20+ with nothing.

The only good thing to come of this is if you waited for exits. There were about 5 of us waiting on the street but the SUV for them to exit. Security and the police moved us behind a barricade to the right of the theater's doors. Somewhere about 10:15p they exit. And they pose....and pose....and pose. Together and then JLo even gives us fashion's. We shot for a good 2 minutes straight. But if you were buy the SUV's door, tempers flared between security and photogs. A lot of pushing and shoving created a small 'scene', but nothing too drastic.

You can read Liz Smith's take on the whole thing HERE.