ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
The crowded line roared with excitement. Cheers pierced through the quickening night from a thousand screaming fans gathered outside the theater. In the growing dark, dozens of camera flashes blasted like obscene fireflies as paparazzi fought for the perfect position. Two armored Humvees growled down the lane past the throng, each bearing a pair of waving celebrities propped in the turrets like dazzling prom kings and queens on display. The vehicles came to a stop in front of a red carpet, and the stars descended into a sea of reaching hands filled with Sharpie markers and memorabilia. The scene had the look and vibe typical to "Tinseltown," but this was no Hollywood Boulevard; these were the streets of Andrews.
Team Andrews, in conjunction with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Paramount Motion Pictures Group and the USO of Metropolitan Washington, hosted the premier of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" at the base theater July 31, and welcomed producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, director Stephen Sommers, and co-actors Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Rachel Nichols and Sienna Miller to the event.
Fans lined up outside the theater hours before show time, some as early as 9 a.m. Haylee Garay, 14, daughter of Amy Brandt, AAFES Home Traditions supervisor, and her friend were the first ones outside the theater in those early morning hours. "We get to pick the best seats in the house," she exclaimed. "That's what you get when you wait in line for 10 hours!" The best seats indeed. Haylee and her friend found themselves front row, just a few feet from the celebrities for a question and answer session prior to the movie.
Earlier that evening, the stars flew into Maryland from New York, but ran into severe thunderstorms and had to be rerouted from Baltimore Washington International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport. After the delay, the party at last passed through Andrews gates and police escorted them to the 1st Helicopter Squadron. Inside Hangar 1, they were given an Andrews and 1 HS mission brief and then presented coins from Army Maj. Gen. Keith Thurgood, AAFES commander, and Col. Steven Shepro, 316th Wing/Andrews commander.
"You're going to meet some real American heroes today," General Thurgood said to them as he addressed each guest in turn with a handshake and coin. "You'll meet Airmen, some of our Wounded Warriors and those who keep the home fires burning while they are deployed."
The honored guests were provided the opportunity to mingle with pilots and tour the helicopters at the 1 HS after the coining ceremony. "I've never been this close to a helicopter," said Mr. Wayans. "I was always scared that if you get this close, you'll get your head chopped off, but thank god it's not on! It's amazing that these people fly these things ... the only thing I fly is paper planes," he said while gesturing the toss of an imaginary origami aircraft.
Although "G.I. Joe" is purely based in fantasy, the actors talked about training they underwent that is very real for many men and women of the U.S.
military.
"We had some Navy Seals that helped us with the weapons," said Ms. Miller. "We did two or three days of ammunitions, weapons and flight training with some of the military guys."
"Sienna and I trained in mixed martial arts because we have this crazy girl-fight between the two of us. We had an army of people to help us look like, well, the Army," added Ms. Nichols with a smile.
"We also learned how to clear a building," said Mr. Wayans. "I wanted to do the six to eight week boot camp, but we didn't have enough time for that. After this I'm like, 'I'm just acting this? ... They really do this!' What you end up seeing is the hard work and dedication of the military; what the real heroes do to help us continue to have a safe America. We get to play heroes, but the real American heroes are our military forces."
Mr. Tatum expressed how impressed he was with Andrews. "I've been on a few bases, but this is where Air Force One is ... it's a little more special," he said. He also seemed to express some fears about visiting an installation with such an important, intriguing and ... mysterious mission. "I know you all just cleared out the alien stuff and stealth bombers. I'm gonna get tapped out, black bagged and taken to a room somewhere. My social security number is just gone. They'll even cancel the movie," he said while cautiously looking over both of his shoulders. Well, Mr. Tatum, "knowing is half the battle."
After the meet and greet at the 1 HS Squadron, the actors were driven by Humvee to the base theater, where they met with anxious fans and took part in interviews with media members from USA Today, People Magazine, Washington Times, Reuters, the Country Music Channel and Entertainment Tonight.
While on the red carpet, the actors also had the opportunity to meet some real American heroes. "Andrews is close to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and [AAFES] wanted to do something special for our Wounded Warriors, and working with Paramount, we thought that this would be a very good venue to do that," said General Thurgood of the premier and actor meet and greet.
More than 50 Wounded Warriors and their family members were provided prime seating at the edge of the red carpet as well as inside the theater. Underneath their seats were great blue bags filled with Hasbro toys, Sharpie markers, "G.I. Joe" baseball caps and popcorn provided by Hasbro and USO Metro. For close to an hour the Wounded Warriors mingled outside the cinema with the celebrities.
"They're going to go home tonight and know that they had a great afternoon," said Jackie Brazier, USO Metro hospital services specialist. "Being able to get out of the hospital is very uplifting for them. They weren't expecting the red carpet or goody bags. This was an awesome surprise for them."
Inside the theater, patrons had begun to file into their seats, and introductory statements were starting to take place.
"I want to thank everyone who has helped make this event possible, from AAFES, to Paramount Pictures and from Andrews Air Force Base, the 316th Wing," said Colonel Shepro. "This is about honoring what you do and honoring the Wounded Warriors. You all are the heroes that are depicted on the big screen, and you know America supports you when we have Hollywood here to spend time with you. They spent time getting a snapshot of what you do across this base, across the country and downrange."
Once the red carpet greets came to a close, the actors made a grand entrance into the theater, each with their own armed escort courtesy of the 316th Security Forces Squadron. As they walked down the isle of the 950 plus person packed theater to the stage, a deafening roar erupted from the crowd. "I love you Marlon!" and professions of attraction could be heard above the din. The heroes of "G.I. Joe" went to their seats in directors' chairs at the foot of the Paramount Studios mountain, which was projected on the big screen behind them.
The producer, director and four actors took part in a question and answer session with the moviegoers. Curiosities from the crowd included, "If you could do [life] all over again, would you become a Soldier? What was your most embarrassing moment on set?" and, "What does it feel like to be in front of all of these people?" One bold young woman even asked Mr. Tatum, "Will you take a picture with me?" He did.
After the Q&A, the celebrities had to bid adieu to their faithful fans. The theater erupted in a round of applause, more proclamations of love, and with the final wave of their hands, they made their exit through a side door.
Immediately, the lights went out; an excited wave of hushing murmurs percolated over the crowd like brewing coffee. Phones were silenced. Children settled in their seats, and more than 2000 eager eyes locked on to the silver screen to see this summer's last big-budget action flick for the first time.