How we ended up at the Star Trek Beyond World Premiere
Wednesday July 20th was the start of the famed Comic-Con in downtown San Diego. We read that there were going to be lots of VIP A list celebrities at the Star Trek Beyond World Premiere, and tickets were in high demand and short supply. So our plan was to head down to the Embarcadero where it was playing and spread a blanket out on the grass and just listen to the live orchestra play the score as the movie played.
We headed out south toward PetCo Park and stopped at the Mr. Robot exhibit along the way. They were hosting a press only event and were not open to the general public so we chatted for a minute and moved along.
We then headed over to the Neil Tyson exhibit that was mostly several VR vendors showing off their new products. They had several that were pretty cool including a totally wireless VR game that was a first person shooter.
After looking around here we started to head over to the marina as the sun was setting and we knew that the Star Trek Beyond World Premiere would be getting started soon as they had to wait for it to get dark.
Originally we intended to spread a blanket out on the grass and just listen to the San Diego Symphony Orchestra as they played the movie score live as the movie played above them on the IMAX screen.
As we were looking for a place to pitch camp someone walked by offering to sell their tickets. I was suspicious but interested, I asked the guy how much and he responded $20 each. I then asked a security guard if they were legitimate tickets. As it turns out they were. At this point it was a no-brainer. We went through the line to get in and they had us throw away our canned sodas that we brought with us. After getting inside we lined up to pick up the SubWay dinner boxes that were being handed out then on over to the next line to pick up cans of soda. All the while thinking it was rather off that they had us throw away unopened diet Pepsis only to give us unopened diet Pepsis. Then began the hunt for seats….
Finally we found seats that were a little far back for luckily the view of the screen was decent. The whole experience was pretty good all in all as it was in IMAX and even this far back the picture quality was really good and the sound was impeccable. Not to mention that the San Diego Symphony Orchestra’s performance was nothing short of flawless. They truly do an outstanding job!
Much to our surprise they were kind enough to provide with seat cushions for the event.
As the sun slowly sat across the harbor and Point Loma in the distance the show started with Conan O’Brien coming out on stage and talking about the engagement and production of the movie. Then they brought out all the principal actors as well as the director Justin Lin.
After the introductions and the discussion about the making of the movie there was a very well deserved moment of silence for principal actor Anton Yelchin, as he sadly died on June 19th after filming but before the world premiere. In attendance were his parents Viktor Yelchin and Irina Korina.
The movie started as the sun had set and the flood lights were dimmed, with fog machines flooding the open area with fog for an unexpected laser light show accompanied by fireworks over the bay.
As for the movie itself it definitely did not disappoint! The acting and writing were all very good and definitely lived up to the standards you would expect from the Star Trek universe. Going to see the Star Trek Beyond World Premiere was a great way to spend the evening, even if we were out way past our bed time on a work night.
After the movie the San Diego Symphony Orchestra played the end credits piece with authority and without a single error that we could tell.
Even the San Diego Symphony Orchestra members seemed like celebrities at the Star Trek Beyond World Premiere event.
