goldengod

Snakes on a Plane, arguably the biggest internet movie phenomenon in years opened on August 18th, 2006. My local theatre, The Rio, had recently been restored and reopened after spending time as an aging Bollywood theatre. To commemorate this occasion, I arranged to have our group of friends converge on the Rio Theatre for the sneak preview on August 17th.

Unable to resist the opportunity for insanity, Nick Eddy and I hatched the plan of bringing Monty to the show. Monty is Nick’s four-foot long python. I also brought my camera to cover to premiere. Theatre managers and owners down at the Rio were great, really enthusiastically getting in on the idea with us when I stopped by to present it to them.

The staff at the Rio already had plans of their own. Everywhere were rubber snakes and SoaP promotional materials, ushers were wearing uniforms with little SoaP wings on their lapels, and every customer received a ‘Pacific Air Flight 121′ boarding pass. Nick and Monty hung out near the door, talking with people and sometimes getting their pictures taken with fans. The movie was hilarious, with more people than I expected following the audience participation script.

I want to extend thanks to the staff at the Rio Theatre, they were all really helpful and friendly for the premiere. They made the event fun and interesting, and when I made things crazy by throwing my camera and a live snake into the mix they just ran with it. All in all, it was a great experience thanks to them.

Snakes on a Plane premiere photos are now located in the gallery.