Walking up to will call at the premiere of Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” I first did a double take to make sure that I was in the right place.
The line to pick up tickets wrapped around a parking lot near UCLA’s Westwood Village and as far as the eye could see there were rows and rows of young people who all looked like they were headed to prom. In fact, the swarm of snazzy-suited youngsters turned out to be the designated line for influencers hoping to snag a spot on a stroll along the red carpet. The outfits were fantastic, with many understanding the assignment and dressing up in their best Spidey Threads.
After a little bit of a back and forth to retrieve my tickets (we hopped through about three separate lines) the trusty and helpful Eliza came to my rescue and made sure I had my spot for both the screening and the pre-show reception.
I walked into the red-carpet area at the Across The Spider-Verse Premiere to see a giant Air Jordan which proved to be the go-to photo op for everyone near it. The red carpet itself stretched an entire block and was filled with a galaxy of stars from every corner of the multiverse. I was personally too caught up taking pictures of the fabulous Hailee Steinfeld to notice recent Academy Award nominee Brian Tyree Henry (wearing a jacket made of old seat belts?) trying to wedge his way past me.
A personal highlight was catching a glimpse of Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya, whose voice performance as “Spider-Punk” was a high point of an already stellar second installment in the franchise. Overall, it was a great evening at the Across The Spider-Verse Premiere that concluded with a thrilling follow-up film which was, in this reporter’s humble opinion, even better than the first.
