The time it was about Love, Simon

Posted March 9, 2018 by Stacee in Movies, Press | 8 Comments

Once upon a time {okay, last week} a not-so-little-girl {fine, I’m an adult} got an email that made her scream while at work {that is 100% true} and she was so excited about what the email said that she reread it 3 times before she could actually believe it {and I’m completely done with referring to myself in third person.}

In case you haven’t figured it out or you didn’t see my flailing about it on social media, I was invited to the LA press junket for Love, Simon.

Now, of course that sort of invitation warrants the level of freaking out that I did for several reasons:

  1. I had plans to be out of town on Friday {the date of the junket}
  2. I had just turned down an invitation from Macmillan to moderate an event at The Grove
  3. and holy shit, I was invited to a press junket for a movie I was insanely excited for

Before we get to the actual recap of what I did and all that, let’s check out the movie trailer.

Doesn’t it look amazing? {Hint: it totally is!}

So, it goes without saying that I was able to move things around a bit in order to go.  Awesomeboss didn’t care if I skipped work {same for Hubs and his job} and our friends in Vegas didn’t mind our now unsure time of arrival.  I confirmed with my contact and eagerly awaited her getting back to me with the final details.

That email came the next day.  I was officially confirmed and on the guest list as press.  I was told that it was going to be very intimate {no guests allowed} and after the screening, Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, and Josh Duhamel {AKA: Simon and his parents} would be joining the screeners for a Q&A.

The day of the event, we woke up to cloudy skies in San Diego.  We checked the weather for Hollywood and it was showing that there was rain, so we left a bit earlier than expected.  Of course that means we got up to LA in record time.  It was pouring in Hollywood and we made our way through the nearly empty streets to Mel’s Drive In where I had the most delicious grilled cheese.

We headed over to the London West Hollywood hotel — it’s one of those places that you need to know where the entrance is — around 8:30, just to be sure that we were there in time.  The email that I received said that you had to check in no later than 9:45.  As we were driving to the hotel, there was a Love, Simon sign across the street, which just seemed absolutely perfect.

As we parked in valet, he told us where to go and the check in area was right inside the lobby.  There was a woman there who greeted us and told us that she was going to start check in at 9am. So we grabbed a seat.  Just before 9, that same woman came over and told me that they were now checking people in.  I gave my name to another woman and she crossed me off the list.  She then asked Hubs if he wanted to join me in the screening.  We were both surprised since the email said no guests, but he eagerly accepted.

We were shown a holding room of sorts that had all sorts of yummy food and tables and the Ferris wheel set up for photos…

..and at the end of the room was a door that took us into the actual theatre.

We claimed our seats and headed back to snack on all of the things while waiting for everything to start.  It quickly started to fill up.  What I thought would be maybe 20 people, there were actually close to 60-ish.  Everyone was so friendly and chatty and loving the yogurt and berry things the London had put out for us.

The lights flickered and went down around 10:15 and the movie immediately started.  I purposely didn’t read the book again before the movie because I wanted to sit back and enjoy it.  And to say I enjoyed it was an understatement.  The cast is perfect, the soundtrack is amazing, and I actually got a bit teary eyed at a couple of spots.  I laughed and cheered along with everyone else in the audience.

After the movie, we saw four chairs being moved to the front of the room.  One of the women who checked us in had a microphone and asked if we liked the movie {everyone cheered} and then introduced the moderator of the discussion. The moderator was from People magazine and he then introduced Nick, Jennifer, and Josh.

The interview lasted about 20 minutes or so and it’s sort of long {16 pages!}, so instead of posting the entire thing, I’m going to share some of my favorite parts.

Moderator: When each of you got this script, was there a particular scene that leapt out at you that said, gosh, I really want to play that scene, or I have a thought about how this will go that made you want to do this? And we’ll start with you, Nick.

Nick Robinson: I think there were several scenes. The one–kind of all of the sequences of coming out. The first coming out scene between Alex and I, I thought was handled really delicately and kind of beautifully and not too heavy-handed. And it was hard to get that from the script, but after talking to Greg [Berlanti, director] I felt confident that he would be able to kind of bring the delicacy that it needed. And then also the scenes between Josh and Jen, just because they were so beautifully written and I felt like kind of necessary for this whole journey that this Simon character goes on. So, those were both exciting for me, and the dance sequence, obviously, because, I mean–.

Josh Duhamel: –Yes–.

Nick Robinson: –Wow. Yes.

Moderator: And you, Jen?

Jennifer Garner: I thought the scene between Emily and her son is just like a template for how moms could handle a moment like this. And selfishly, I really wanted to be the one to say it.

And I was talking to a friend of mine as I was trying to decide do I try to do this? Is this movie going to work? And he said, you know, this movie would have been really helpful for me when I was growing up. This would have been a big deal for me. And I just said, okay, I’m in. I’m doing it. You’ve got it.

Josh Duhamel: Are we talking about which scene in particular? I forgot the question.

Moderator: Yes. No, the question was you can–you may answer this question or another one, and I can throw you another one. But I was asking what scene, when you read the script, really stood out for you as a scene you wanted to play.

Josh Duhamel: Well, that’s easy. It was the scene with Nick and I in the driveway. I mean, there’s several reasons I wanted to do the movie, but if you’re going to ask me which scene, it’s that one, because I think that this character represents maybe a lot of fathers out there who have found out that their sons were gay, or their daughters.

He wasn’t necessarily homophobic, but he was, like you said, tone deaf to a lot of things, and probably wasn’t as tuned in as he should have been, and learns through the reveal that, you know what? It doesn’t matter. I love you no matter what. And I think that there’s something really powerful in that.

Press:Great work, guys. This question is mainly for Josh and Jen. Both–obviously, you’re both parents. How has this movie impacted, changed, or reinforced your way of being if one day one of your kids tells you that they’re gay?

Josh Duhamel: I guess it did make me think about how I would react. I truly just want my kid to be happy and be passionate about whatever it is that he loves. And if he happened–if he–if that–if he came out as he was gay, so be it, you know, if that makes him happy. I truly believe that that’s what it would be.

And it’s–maybe it’s because I’ve–you know, I waited a while before I became a parent. I’ve seen a lot. I have a lot of gay friends. And so, it doesn’t–I don’t really–I really don’t care. I just want him to be–I just want everybody to live–be their highest self, you know? And if that’s what it is, that’s what it is. It really doesn’t bother me.

Jennifer Garner: But also, our kids are growing up in such a different time where–my kids are growing up saying, oh, some day when I get married, I don’t know if I’ll marry a man or a woman. They really–that door is open in a way that it never has been. And they really do know, oh, this is so and so and this is his husband, and this is so and so and this is her wife. And that has completely been normalized for–at least for my kids and hopefully will be for this whole next generation.

So, I think it would be a conversation that, you know, if–that somebody would be part of–hopefully me, but, you know, somebody in their lives would be a part of from a much earlier stage so that it wouldn’t be as involved with, like, the teen angst at the same time. But I certainly–you know, my kids would know that I’d be super gung-ho, awesome, let’s do it.

Press: Hi. Nick, thank you so much. You did such a good job with this and the whole–I was just wondering if you had read the book, and how much of Simon you feel is a part of you.

Nick Robinson: I have read the book. I read the script first, though. I was first introduced to the story through Greg, who had this script that he was kind of championing. And it was afterwards that I met Becky (author) and I read the book. And I think that everyone, myself included, can relate to Simon and his sort of journey in just trying to find yourself and come to terms with yourself in a way that feels comfortable to not just you, but all the people around you as well. And I feel that Simon, his journey, for a lot of it is about him sort of tamping himself down, which I think people can relate to. It’s like, you know, what kind of person are you when you’re constantly trying to please other people and, like, tamp down your own personality? And I think that that’s kind of something that, you know, the film deals with really beautifully. And it’s something that I can totally relate to with Simon as well, just being in that position of trying to– just trying to keep all these balls in the air and just get through it. So, yes, I think–does that answer your question? I think it does.

The entire interview was amazing.  Nick, Jennifer, and Josh were all fun and friendly and gave great and thoughtful answers.

After the interview was over, someone announced that if you received a specific invitation, to stay in your seat and if you didn’t, to please exit.  Hubs and I waited with about 15 other people.  Once everyone had cleared the theatre, they asked us to go down to the front of the room because they wanted a group photo.

So we’re all gathering together, trying to get into some formation where everyone can be seen and Josh and Nick walk back in.  There were a few women who started screeching a little, but it wasn’t too bad.  Jennifer walked in a minute after that and we all took one group shot.  After the photo had been taken, Hubs shook Josh’s hand and told him he loved the movie.  They had a brief chat and got a photo together.  Meanwhile, Nick was standing near me and I told him I loved the movie and thanked him for coming to the event.  He smiled and said thanks and then the three of them were ushered out of the theatre.

Annnnnd with that it was officially over.  I went over to the two women who had been doing check ins {they were from Fox} and various things and thanked them for the event. One of the women talked about transcribing the interview {which was so awesome} and that everything would be sent to us. I thanked them again and we headed to valet to get our car and start the drive to Vegas.

In case I’ve been somehow ambiguous about all of this: the movie was fantastic and this event was sort of mind blowing for me.  If I ever get to meet my contact, I’m going to squeeze her so hard for giving me this awesome opportunity.

Huge thanks to my contact for the invite and to Fox for hosting such a great event.  The trailer, still film photo, transcript of the interview, and the links for tickets were all provided by Fox.

Love, Simon releases March 16 and you can get your tickets here.  And for one night only, it will debut as a sneak peak preview on Saturday, March 10th! Find out if your local theatre has a “Sneaking Out on Saturday Night” showing by clicking the link.

Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year old Simon Spier it’s a little more complicated: he’s yet to tell his family or friends he’s gay and he doesn’t actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing. Directed by Greg Berlanti (Riverdale, The Flash, Supergirl), written by Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (This is Us), and based on Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, LOVE, SIMON is a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about the thrilling ride of finding yourself and falling in love.

Cast: Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Miles Heizer, Keiynan Lonsdale, Logan Miller, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Tony Hale Rated PG-13

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #LOVESIMON

Now, have you read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda? Will you be seeing the movie?

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8 responses to “The time it was about Love, Simon

  1. OMG, I’m so jealous. I cannot wait to see Love, Simon and I have read the book. It’s fantastic. I wanted to re-read it but didn’t have the time, so I’ll have to find time after the movie. I’m so excited for Nick Robinson – I’ve been watching him for years now, so it’s amazing to see him in all these big films now. I really hope that Love, Simon does well. It deserves it -as does the people involved -and Becky of course! I want more gay films!

    -Lauren

    • Stacee

      This is pretty much my exact reaction. I sort of kept waiting for someone to come tell me that I was there by mistake. I hope you love the movie!!
      Thanks for reading and commenting.

  2. Ahh! I am so happy for you Stacee :D Eeeeee. Group photo! SO AWESOME. And you were just the luckiest to be invited to this :D I’m so happy for you. <3 All the hugs. I have not yet read the book, ahhh. But I do own it. And this movie looks SO GOOD :D I'm thrilled that you loved it sweetie. This whole day sounds amazing. Sigh. Thank you for sharing about it precious. <3

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