Dress and accessories shopping for an event, especially a red carpet premiere, is almost as much fun as the event itself. Hair, makeup, accessories. It’s go time. I loved being a special guest of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures for the world premiere of Pete’s Dragon in Los Angeles on August 8th at the El Capitan Theatre. (Read my review of Pete’s Dragon here.) We attended the Pete’s Dragon premiere party at the Roosevelt Hotel. Premiere parties are always so much fun with all of their themed entertainment: photo ops, crafts, food, beverages, and more. What’s even better? Attending a party and a world premiere with 25 of your friends!
I love the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Roosevelt is an old iconic Hollywood location. In its early years, it hosted some of the Hollywood greats such as Marylin Monroe, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, The hip, upscale hotel built in 1926 sits along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is across the street from the TCL Chinese Theatre. Seriously, even the toilet paper is swanky. No cheap commercial toilet paper in these washrooms.
The Hotel is where the Academy Awards were first held in 1929. In fact, the Academy Room where we interviewed Bryce Dallas Howard, Oakes Fegley, and Oona Laurence was where the first Academy Awards were tallied. The hotel has such a rich history in film, television, and entertainment, with many scenes having been shot there:
- The Roosevelt Hotel pool was featured in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy when the Ricardos and Mertzes came to Hollywood.
- Several scenes from the 1988 film Sunset (starring Bruce Willis and James Garner) were filmed at the hotel, including a recreation of the 1929 Academy Awards ceremony.
- The famous scene of the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys where Michelle Pfeiffer as “Susie” sings “Makin’ Whoopie” while Jeff Bridges as “Jack” plays the piano was filmed at the hotel’s Cinegrill nightclub.
- The hotel’s hallway can be viewed in Episode 7 of the 2016 FX true crime anthology television series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. It was as a substitute for an Oakland hotel where Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark spend the night.
- Other films include Internal Affairs (Richard Gere), Beverly Hills Cop II (Eddie Murphy), and Catch Me If You Can (Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, directed by Steven Spielberg).
- Other television shows include Knots Landing, Moonlighting, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
- In 2007, Prince performed five shows, which included dinner with his personal chef, a 2-hour performance, and a post-set jazz jam session.
- And I’m sure the list goes on!
The Pete’s Dragon photo ops are my favorite photo ops are a premiere party yet. Who doesn’t want to cuddle with and fly on a dragon?!?
It’s always fun to run into a few of your favorite celebrities! I saw a ton more, too. Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Beverly Mitchell, Lou Diamond Phillips, Josh Gad, Oona Laurence. I just hate bugging them all for photos (not my style) so I keep my giddiness inside and take an easy opp where it makes sense. I saw Suzanne Todd and chatted with her for a bit. She was excited to see us again.
Joey Fatone
Patton Oswalt
Oakes Fegley on “Elliot”
Walking the red carpet sometimes means it’s not red. This time it was a green carpet. For Captain America: Civil War it was Blue and Red (choose your side). I love being able to do it with friends! I came with 25 friends on our press trip and ran into other LA blogger friends Carly and Mindy. I was so excited to see them there!
Mindy Marzec from This Fairy Tale Life and me
Mindy Marzec (This Fairy Tale Life), Carly Anderson (Lip Gloss and Crayons), me
Kerri Jablonski from I am the Maven and me
I’ve been invited to an all-expenses paid trip to LA. As always, all opinions are my own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPOamb6d_20
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PETE’S DRAGON flies into theatres everywhere on August 12th!
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Always a pleasure to see you! Such a fun night!
This was so much fun! You really got some great photos. You looked amazing on the red carpet 🙂
This was such a fun night and I am still playing it over and over again in my head. I am glad that I was able to experience this with such a great group of bloggers.