Monday May 22, 2001 - Hawaii Premiere of "Pearl Harbor" aboard the USS John Stennis by 'Mr A'

The Premiere:
The first words that come to mind when I think of the premiere is that Disney sure knows how to throw a party!!! It was so much fun and very patriotic.

The Buses:
All invited Hawaii residence were told to park at Aloha Stadium and board Robert's Hawaii Busses which then would take us to the carrier. The stadium parking lot was full of all branches of the military. All the way from your new enlisted men to your high ranking officers. I can't remember the last time I saw so much brass from all form of military at one place. The buses were to begin at 4:30 pm but it looked like they had been starting earlier.

The Red Carpet and First Arrival on Ship:
We arrive at the pier which the carrier is docked and just across from the USS Arizona Memorial. We all line up(long line) and we slowly make our way to the red carpet. We are greeted with Hawaiian song and dance and leis. Then, we make it to the red carpet. Wow……..  All these people staring at you in the stands on our right trying to see if your a star and on the left was the HUGE press corps from every part of the world. All the famous news anchors were there all staring at you. Every camera facing you. The red carpet was about over 800 feet. No stars have arrived at this time but veterans did enter with us where they got standing ovations from the crowds. It was great. We go aboard the USS Stennis and walk through the hanger. At this time it is covered with a tarp curtain to hide the USO club that was set up. They hand us a sort of folder with the credits of the movie inside and movie shots in it. The cover is the same as the CD but bigger. Inside was a paper with the planned events. We are escorted to the elevators that they use to take planes from the hanger to the flight deck. Wow…that was a great ride. It was fast but at the same time very smooth. I wish civilian elevators were made the same way. 

Flight Deck:
We arrive on the flight deck where there are tables, food, military bands, and aircraft to tour. At the front of the ship were tents set up for all the radio stations from around the world broadcasting from the premiere. There also were tours of the aircraft carrier itself, but I opted not to so I don't miss any of the events or stars I might bump into. There were demonstrations of aircraft and military readiness over the carrier and water demonstrations off the port side of the ship. You can read the exact events in the Pre-show schedule which is also posted. Cameras were not allowed on the ship. I apparently was the only one that followed that rule. Everyone had video and still cameras. Taking pictures with the stars. I had to settle for autographs until I found a friend that had a camera and took some pictures for me with some stars. I also met tons of influential people and got a picture with some Baywatch girls, but the stars were not brought up on the flight deck until the ceremonies began. At about 6:30 pm, the US Navy Pacific Fleet band lead us into the Theater where we watched the Navy Seal demonstrations. I made sure to grab a commemorative popcorn 'Pearl Harbor' bucket, actually 4, and went inside.

Theater and Ceremonies:
Man, me and my date had GOOD….no….GREAT SEATS. We were closer than most of the military brass!!!! We were sitting in the front row of the second section of seating if you look at the chart of the aircraft. We were able to see everything and had lots of leg room. I saw all the commanders of the military, the now former secretary of state Warren Christopher, and a bunch of movie stars. And to see the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri in front of you with huge spot lights on them…WOW.

There is a missing man formation flown over us. Then ceremony starts with I believe was the President of Disney Pictures at the podium giving a speech about WWII and the movie. He then introduces the producer, director, and cast of 'Pearl Harbor'. Each one coming on stage one at a time. They introduced the commander of the Pacific and the captain of the Stennis. 
Faith Hill comes out to sing the star-spangled banner along with the Honolulu Symphony. You could see tears dripping down peoples faces. This was going to be some patriotic night. They introduced veterans. Then they finally lowered with great drum music. The anticipation rises. Then the movie starts. See the review I wrote. I gotta say, I thought the outside theater would have bad sound. I was wrong because you felt every single explosion and gut wrenching bullets. Impressive.

Once the movie end, the screen is raised to that cool music by the symphony and out comes all the veterans. What a standing OVATION!!!! They introduced the remaining Pearl Harbor nurses, military survivors of the attack, and the remaining Doolittle Raiders. The patriotic-ness of the night is so high at this point. Then that Grammy award winging guy that sings "I'm Proud to be an American" comes out to sing it. Then the Symphony with and the Navy Chorus, a spectacular 12 minute fireworks display erupts over the water and behind the Arizona. The spot lights are just going all over the place. It was AMAZING. I'd be surprise if the entire Pearl Harbor area wasn't waken by this which was at about 11pm.

USO Club:
After, we ride the deck elevator back to the hanger where there is a USO night club. Complete with band, dance floor, and bar. Plus lots of food and desert. All the tables had mini-card posters of those propaganda banners that were seen in the theater. I just grabbed all that I could. They had a V.I.P section where the stars were. So the stars were all an arm reach away but everyone was calm and just hoped a star would come up and take pictures with them. No one was trying to jump the booth seats. I saw all the Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight people in there along with the cast and others. The former Chicago Bulls coach was there too. Dan Aykroyd was cool because he came out of the VIP section and had pictures taken with him. Of course I couldn't find my friend for a picture so I settled for an autograph. He then later got up on stage with Tom Siezmore and sung a couple songs like "Mustang Sally." The lace just erupted with their singing and dancing.

It was about 2 am and so me and my date decided to head out since both of us had work in a few hours. As we left we received the "Pearl Harbor - The Movie and The moment," a Premier booklet about the USS Stennis, and the 'Pearl Harbor' CD soundtrack.

Leaving:
We get on the bus where we see Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa who plays Genda in the movie. He was also that bad guy in 'Mortal Kombat.' He rode the bus along with us, back to our cars. I made sure to get an autograph from him too.

It was a great patriotic experience. As you leave, you can't help but think "God Bless America."