So last night, Luke and I went to a press screening of Hannibal at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square. He had managed to get the tickets through work, and rang me just before six to see if I’d be interested in going along. I, of course, was. I’m not going to write too much about the film itself, because I’ve already written an epinion about it, which – should you wish – you can read at your leisure: Epinions.com – “Pre-dinner conversational gambits: A repository of wit.”, by H. Lecter MD [Read Luke’s epinion]. Instead I want to write a bit about the experience of going, which was quite extraordinary.
Evidently it is to screenings like this one that make all of London’s medialand come together and worship at the big screen. Within moments of us finding our seats in the huge theatre, Luke had spotted Nick Cave looking winsome and worn with a bad dye-job. Then it was my turn to spot Will Self (who incidentally left the film half way through, causing the people on his aisle no end of irritation). And then as we left the cinema, Luke literally fell over Jonathan Ross, who apparently was not looking his best. It was – all in all – a wonderful foray into media-whoredom that I thoroughly enjoyed!