SPACED INVASION -- The British are coming, The British are coming--actually they've already landed in the form of the American DVD release of the BBC series Spaced. When I found out that Simon Pegg was the lead actor of this series, I knew it had to be funny. I caught the first episode on BBC America but that's all I've seen (I know, I know--where have I been?) ... it's hilarious...hooray for the DVD and the extras. The director and stars of Spaced are on a nationwide tour to publicize the release and they stopped into LA on July 24th for a free screening at the ArcLight Hollywood of 3 episodes and a Q&A session moderated by director Kevin Smith.

The line for the ArcLight screening stretched west down Sunset Blvd. and snaked down Ivar Ave. (across from Amoeba Records). Thank goodness it wasn't sweltering, like it was at the NY screening, while my comradess-in-arms (my sister) and I waited somewhat patiently. Some of these fans were die hard astute queuers as they came prepared with portable outdoor/sports folding chairs. Earlier, some of these same lucky fans went to Kevin Smith's shop (and haven for comic lovers), Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, to get their SPACED DVDs autographed. The dude in the ArcLight line behind me saw Edgar Wright (the director of the series & Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc.) checking out the merchandise and chatted with him for a bit. You can see what the scene was like there and more interesting videos/photos, etc.
on the Spaced site: http://www.spacedinvasion.com/

The people in line were all pretty cool, if somewhat a bit rascally. Whenever someone would pass by and ask what the line was for, one guy would reply "Mamma Mia"! Even though my knee was complaining about the standing around part, I was glad to know that I'd soon be in air conditioned comfort. And just when I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack, a little murmur was heard toward the end of the line. Wha?!? It was Edgar, Jessica & Simon strolling down the line saying hi to everyone and high-fiving! Phooey--my fangirly giddiness prevented me from whipping out my camera and getting a quick snapshot!!! So much for getting a close-up of Simon. What I did notice and appreciated was that Simon dressed like he was meeting up with a group of friends by sporting casual summer clothes. You could also see evidence of solar exposure as his skin was now a lovely 'kissed by the sun' pink.

(whisper-whisper): "Hey, wasn't that Jonah Hill who walked by?" I wasn't sure if he was going to the end of the line or maybe he was just walking past us to go to Amoeba Records or Charcoal restaurant. I choose to believe it was the former.

(whisper-whisper): "Hey wasn't that the director of Michael Jackson's Thriller, Blues Brothers, etc. etc.
John Landis?" I smiled at him in the lobby after the Q&A. I wasn't sure if he was at the ArcLight for another movie or for Spaced, but after reading on Simon's website peggster.net, I find a 'fan letter' from Landis.





I could go on and on about how funny Kevin, Edgar, JessicaHynes and Simon all were but then this post would be crazy long. The evening ended on a sweet note with Simon asking us to say hi to his wife because they were celebrating their wedding anniversary --- AWWWWW!!!