Monday night provided a very rare triple threat of local Los Angeles premieres for three films that are all major Oscar players in one way or another. Simultaneous world premieres for highly anticipated films happen every so often in a town this movie centric, but three? That’s pretty much unheard of.
Things kicked off with Walt Disney Animation Studio’s “Moana” world premiere. Disney held the event at their own El Capitan Theater in conjunction with AFI Fest and closed down part of Hollywood Blvd for a pre-screening party (better for the kids). Voice actors Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho as well Original Song contender Lin-Manuel Miranda were the biggest stars on hand, but co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements as well as Disney Studios head John Lasseter, Walt Disney Chairman Bob Iger and Walt Disney Studios president Alan Horn were also on hand. Oh, and it looks like Pete Wentz was too (hey, he’s got kids who want to see Disney movies too, right?).
Just as crews were disassembling the “Moana” red carpet the red carpet for Fox Searchlight’s “Jackie” was underway at the TCI Chinese Theater with a slightly later start time to stagger the events. The Best Actress and Best Picture hopeful was an AFI FEST gala presentation and director Pablo Larraín introduced the film that resonates even more in the aftermath of the presidential election (it’s worth noting it’s not the only film that is being seeing in a different light either). Best Actress frontrunner Natalie Portman was on hand along with co-star Greta Gerwig and the adorable Sunnie Pelant (in full princess regalia) that played young Caroline Kennedy and the twins who portrayed John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Aiden and Brody Weinberg). Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim, composer Mica Levi as well as producers Scott Franklin and Mickey Liddell were also on hand.
Across town, “Manchester by the Sea” had its Los Angeles debut at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Sundance Film Festival favorite had a star-studded screening with stars Michelle Williams, Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Matthew Broderick, Anna Baryshnikov, Kara Hayward and writer/director Kenneth Lonergan, producers Matt Damon and Kimberley Steward, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh and Chris Moore in tow. Ben Affleck came by to support along with Busy Phillips, Amanda Peete, Juliette Lewis, Emile Hirsch, Elisabeth Olsen, Molly Shannon, Tika Sumpter and Catherine Hardwick (quickly become a fixture at awards season events this year). That’s a quite an impressive turnout considering the other options frankly.
There will be no rest for the weary this week (mostly publicists and press at this point) as “La La Land” enjoys an AFI gala tonight, “Live by Night” screens for guilds this week and “Patriots Day” closes AFI on Thursday.