City Cinemas 123 in NYC hosted the VIP movie screening of the film A Long Way Down last Monday night starring Pierce Brosnan, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul, Toni Collette and Imogen Poots.
I had no idea how awestruck I'd be seeing 007 in the flesh. This wasn't a James Bond film but as far as I was concerned, it was.
The 61 year old Brosnan was pleasant as he strutted around rocking a custom suit, a full head of hair, and handmade ultra expensive Speake Marin watch. Maybe Diamonds Are Forever, but a Speake Marin watch made especially for you by your friend's company is to (Live And Let) die for.
In addition to seeing the star of the film, I also got a bird's eye view of the back of Barbara Walters head. Actually, I sat directly behind her during the film. Barbara is small, and has a small head, so my view of the screen was fantastic!
The movie was about four people who meet on a London high-rise rooftop on New Year's Eve. Oh, and they're coincidentally all there to commit suicide at the same time. They all get to talking, become friends, support each other, and decide to Die Another Day (Sorry, couldn't resist another Bond reference). They make a pact not to kill themselves, at least not until Valentine's Day. I won't say who dies...or not, but I will tell you that Aaron Paul plays a depressed guy( Maybe because Breaking Bad ended?) I know, I was shocked too! That's such a stretch for him.
The premiere was also attended by criminal defense attorney, TruTv personality, Rikki Klieman who is the lovely wife of NYC Police Commissioner (former Boston Police Commissioner) Bill Bratton. He rolled up after the screening to pick up the Mrs in his black Suburban. He was accompanied by a couple of LARGE pleasant guards. The commish was quite affable chatting and posing for pics with Barbara Walters and her man friend outside.
After posing for pics, I James Bonded with the commissioner (also a 007 fan). We agreed that the current Bond Danielle Craig rocks, and Pierce has gotten better looking with age and would still be a badass Secret Agent. Rikki added that she was a big fan of his 80's show The Manions Of America, I'll save you the trouble of looking it up http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081899/.
Brosnan and his costar in the movie, Toni Collette, attended the after-party at the restaurant/lounge B&Co. Interestingly they sat at tables in opposite corners. Also in attendance was NYC Power Socialite (That's code for "Rich as shit Park Avenue philanthropist") Jean Shafiroff. She looked beautiful as always and was a pleasant host for the screening and after-party.
At the end of the night Collette was a bit snippy when my good friend Jean and I asked for a quick Patrick McMullan photographer shot. She breezed by us saying "I've taken enough pics tonight." Maybe her sixth sense didn't tell her it's never a good idea to be rude to the host of the party, and a guy who could write about it in the Huffingtonpost, because tomorrow, people might not even remember your name. And if you didn't get that 1999 Sixth Sense reference, I've proven my point.
Random notable in attendance was John Stossel's mustache, and he was with it too.
I have to thank Andres at Peggy Siegal PR for the invite, and Pierce Brosnan for not having a sweet tooth. His disinterest in sweets netted me a big box of 50 assorted cupcakes from cupcake gangster Ben Zion ( Co Founder and the guy who decided to make them small) of Baked by Melissa. Gourmet treats and 007, what more could a guy ask for?
