Exclusive report from the Love and Other Drugs LA premiere! And new LAOD stills

Tonight is Bonfire Night and it's appropriate. All the fireworks that you can hear (and if you can't, just imagine them) sparkling, banging and popping tonight provide a fitting backdrop for a very special post. Last night, as we know, was the LA premiere of Love and Other Drugs and I am thrilled to say that we had our very own eyes and ears inside the theatre, and at the afterparty at the Roosevelt, in the lovely shape of my dear friend Lisa (aka BBMISwear). And, as you can see, from the marvellous picture below, the event went very well indeed! And this picture serves as a useful tip for these situations - if you fear that you may not be able to take the photo yourself, Jake Gyllenhaal can always step in.


Lisa has written a wonderful account of the evening and you'll find it below, interspersed with videos from the evening as well as more pictures taken by Lisa. So, I hope you're sitting comfortably....

'My fellow LAOD premiere partner-in-crime and I left the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd., where we were staying, and headed to the will call window at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater around 5:00PM and were able to see how the red carpet was set-up. We noticed that it was not a very fan-friendly red carpet. There was a lot of signage blocking the carpet (the signs with the festival and sponsor logos where the stars pose for pictures) with not very good views for anyone wanting to watch the action. Those across the street could not see much but based on what’s on the internet we see they did get a quick walk through by Jake with a few autographs before he entered the theater. We chose to get our tickets and party wristbands and get into the theater instead of taking our chances across the street with the hopes of good seats down front. Well, good seats is an understatement - we ended up in the very front row acenter in front of the podium where we assumed Jake would be standing in an hour or less. (Special thanks to my very smart partner-in-crime who insisted we sit in that very front row even if it’s not great for viewing the movie itself)!'



'At 8:00PM the head of the AFIFest said a few words and introduced Ed Zwick who came to the podium and spoke about the AFI and the many people who worked with him over the years and on LAOD. He introduced the gentlemen who were the creative team for the film and they all came and stood next to him at the podium. He then introduced the cast of LAOD who were there and stood when announced and received their round of applause but did not go up to the podium. And then he introduced the “two young actors” of the film – Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway – who were standing in a side aisle about halfway back who came down to the podium to join the small group there. Anne waved to the crowd a few times as the audience clapped and cheered – Jake went up to each and every person from the creative team that were standing with Ed and shook hands, hugged and patted backs. Of course when Jake Gyllenhaal is standing directly in front of your chair and only 6 feet away your camera skills become zilch (where is Ruby when she is needed?!) but we managed to get a few quick shots. Luckily a professional photographer was positioned in the center aisle right over my right shoulder so the photos he took are going to be amazing and exactly what our view was from where we were sitting. Jake looked absolutely stunning (as you can see from the many photos on line) – that dark suit with the dark shirt and tie were absolutely perfect on him, I think!'


'It was a short but sweet introduction and the group walked back up the side aisle and out through a curtain. As far as we could tell they did not come back into the theater and sit down – unless they did and were far back and could not be seen easily. This was my second viewing of LAOD and it was as amazing as the first – this is simply a movie one can see over and over again and it never gets tiring, in my humble opinion! When the film ended everyone exited to the lobby and we were very surprised to see Ed Zwick and a number of the actors from the film mingling in the lobby casually talking to people who approached them. This included Hank Azaria, Judy Greer and Josh Gad. Jake and Anne were nowhere to be seen which was not a surprise as this intimate theater lobby was not set up for the commotion and security issues those two would have caused if they were there! Having party wristbands we headed back to the Roosevelt Hotel for the premiere party.'


'One thing that can be said about Ed Zwick is he certainly is a friendly, talkative man who continued to talk to everyone who approached him throughout the party – he seemed so sweet. It was obvious he was very happy and upbeat and I can’t imagine him not being extremely proud and delighted with this film premiere! Of course our eyes were peeled for Jake but after an hour or so there was no sign of him. We did see Stephen Gyllenhaal enter and head to the back VIP area. This area was roped off for special pass holders but we could see part of the room while standing in that immediate area, but again, no sign of Jake or Anne unless they were further back where they could not be seen. The party was starting to thin out around 11:30PM and we checked the back VIP area one more time and that’s when I saw him – just a glimpse of that dark suit and shirt - and I knew, after yelling to my partner-in-crime “He’s here!” to stand right where I was and wait to see if he was exiting the area.'



'He stopped and posed for photos with a couple of people inside the VIP area and was walking toward the main floor but it was obvious he was heading straight to the Audi VIP area which was another section for specific pass holders. I waited right there as a security person walked ahead of him and a woman who was directing him (actually she was “pushing” him!) toward the Audi VIP entrance. He stopped and said hello to a few people who approached him as he walked but the woman handler kept on pushing him onward. When he got in front of me I walked up to him and said “Hey Jake!” and he said “Hi” (yes that look right into your eyes which you know the feeling it causes WDW!). I then asked “Remember me?”, he paused and said “Ya…Hey” (but I couldn’t tell if he was just being nice or really remembered – ha ha)! I then really pushed it by asking “Can I have a picture?” and he said “ummmm…..” and looked at the woman handler who I was sure was going to say no way as she was trying to push him along but she said “Hurry up!” so I leaned into him, he put his arm around me, and I held the camera in front of me to try to take the photo. Well, let me tell you, I am bad at this “take a picture of yourself thing” in a calm moment so there was no way this was going to work with Jake standing this close!'


'The woman then said “hurry – quick and dirty” to which I responded “I can be dirty but I don’t know if I can be quick” (I wish I could have seen his reaction to that but I was still trying to work the camera so didn’t turn to look)! And then instead of snapping the photo I turned my camera off!! I yelled “Oh no! I turned it off!” and then looked at the woman and started handing her my camera and asked “Can you take it?” then Jake said “I’ll do it!” and grabbed the camera out of my hand and took the picture. As crazy as it all was it wasn’t such a bad thing to have to stand there a bit longer leaned up against Jake during this whole camera mishap!! I then turned to him, put my hands on his chest, and said “thank you…you know I came a long way here” and he said “Of course” and nodded and smiled. (Too bad the smile came after the photo but with the way things were being rushed it’s amazing he even got to look into the camera never mind smile)!' [Time to repeat the picture, I think.]


'Then he was literally pushed into the Audi VIP area. The whole thing was quick and rushed and crazy but such a wonderful few moments after a long and wild day and I continue to feel like one very lucky Gyllenhaalic after yet another great adventure!'



Some more videos from the evening:




Love and Other Drugs stills

The official Love and Other Drugs website now has new stills, as well as more information on the film. And if you take their love personality test, you'll see a few more (and possibly learn something that may or may not be true about yourself...)!




Jake's official site even has a new look (it's been a while).


Pictures by Jake Gyllenhaal, Lisa/BBMISwear and Love and Other Drugs, squeees courtesy of WDW.