6 days to go.... Radiohead fans crash Stupid server

Location | Mood | Date 16 September 2009
Author (full name): 
Franny Armstrong
Date: 
16 September 2009
Hello, 
Global Premiere going swimmingly... 
2 Presidents, 1 Ex-President, 1 Pulp Fiction actor, 6 models, loads of movie stars and the Chair of the IPCC
The scramble for a place on the guest list is reaching fever pitch, with all sorts of dubious shenanigans going on for one of those coveted tickets (though said tickets have just missed their print deadline, so here's hoping they make it back from the printers in time to avoid a riot). 
Money shot
The sailing boat which will cruise round the Hudson full of movie stars supping on champers and waving to the Statue of Liberty before gliding tastefully up to the premiere is funnily enough over-subscribed. Whereas we were having trouble finding someone to arrive in the rowing boat. One brainwave from Lizzie later and we have just confirmed the single most perfect person currently alive on the planet to arrive at a climate premiere in a rowing boat. 100 quid says this is the photo in the news the next day. 
Ebay: two tickets to the New York green carpet premiere
If you're near New York and fancy snuggling up to a President or two, you're very welcome to try to buy your way in: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160362777046
5,000-seater stadium in pacific island of Kiribati
Eagle-eyed Stupid fans will remember Pelenise Alofa as the "climate witness" who spoke so movingly at the Oz/NZ premiere a couple of lifetimes ago (oh, it was only three weeks). Now she is the human dynamo who has organised the biggest Stupid screening anywhere in the world. "We are aiming to have 5,000 people, God willing!  But I am optimistic because we are sending the information out to the churches, schools, government offices and our advertisement will be on air, tv and newspapers starting tomorrow. We will have preliminary and closing programme: dramas, songs, speeches (by youth going to Copenhagen) and dancers. Thanks for this tool to use for campaign and also for the opportunity to serve and save my country."
UK: Watch in London
We felt bad that most of Team Stupid back in London couldn't watch the Global Premiere, so we've booked the Odeon Covent Garden. A few tickets are on sale if anybody would care to join them. You'll get to see the whole show: green carpet celebs, sailing boat, Kofi Annan, Thom Yorke singing, launch of 10:10 Global etc etc. 
UK, Australia & NZ: Watch anywhere you want
Any Brits, Aussies or Kiwis holding their own screening on Global Premiere day (Sept 22nd) will be able to get a password to long on to a special web stream to watch the live event from New York. Book via the Indie Screenings website. (Only in these three countries cos they've already had a cinema release, so can't be part of the premiere. Oh, the world of distribution windows is a gloriously exciting one.)

Coral Reef Tax
Everyone going to the screening on the tiny island of Utila, off the coast of Honduras, has to pay a small charge to help protect the coral reef. Perfect.

La Vie en Rose en Buenos Aires
At the Argentina screening, top singer Elena Roger - currently starring in the musical Piaf - will sing for the crowd. 
Empty-handed no more
Another one of our brainwaves: let's give everyone in every cinema an Action Pack full of suggestions for getting involved in climate action. But who knew that Portuguese in Portugal is different to Portuguese in Brazil is different to Portuguese in Mozambique? An exceptionally big round of applause for Jahlia, Vicky, Tom, Satu and 12 volunteer translators who have spent more than a month producing 100,000 packs in 12 languages (see attached). 
Stupid photos
Loving the competition an activist group in LA is running to win tickets to their local screening - best photo of a stupid thing wins. 
Toilets taken
Generous Stupid supporter Alex Jelly just donated 1,700 pounds to pay for the toilets at the New York premiere, “Glamorous no ... necessary yes!”.  There's only a few things still left on the wedding list if anybody can help further. Buy yourself a policeman or two: http://www.ageofstupid.net/money
Welcome welcome
More cinemas joining the party in Finland, France, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland. 
Go go go Gideon
I was rejected as the host - bit of a relief really - for incomprehensibility and have been replaced by the totally cool and very clever ("and hot!" - Laurel) Gideon Yago from MTV. Perfect. So he'll be doing the interviews and links and stuff and all Lizzie and I have to do is run the whole show, speak succinctly yet eloquently and passionately, look like super models, preside over guestlist squabbles and then stay up all night (can't even go to our own party) editing the US show and sending it in ten minute chunks to the translating team in London, who will get the subtitles slapped on for the re-broadcast to the rest of the world a few hours hours later....

Will they ever learn? 
.... Our long-suffering cinema partners, Arts Alliance, mentioned the other day that this is the first time anyone has ever attempted a live event which needs translating. There's been global live events,  of course, but always things like pop concerts, which don't need translating. Or there's events like operas which have all the subtitles lined up and ready to go as they've had several hundred years to get the translations done.... The sooner someone splits up Lizzie and me, the better for all concerned. 
Global Premiere going not swimmingly... 
Radiohead fans crash our server
Thom Yorke blogged about playing at the premiere last night ("Now I believe it's true" - Rhiannon, Team Stupid & Radiohead obsessive), which caused the biggest spike of traffic our website has ever seen, followed by the meltdown of our server. Particularly unfortunate as tech support was tucked up in bed in the UK, what with it being 4am over there. 
Trouble in the Himalayas
The Greenpeace gang currently hiking up the mountains with satellite gear in their rucksacks are battling against late monsoons, rock strewn roads, mudslides, and "lunatic bureaucratic hurdles". But we have absolutely no doubt that, when Gideon says "And now we're going live to a melting glacier in the Himalayas", a friendly and calm face will pop up onto cinema screens across the planet. 
Trouble in Spain
While yesterday's press screening in Paris was packed to the rafters with enthusiastic journos scrabbling for exclusive Stupid angles, a grand total of nobody attended Barcelona's. Yikes. That'll be no Spanish publicity for us then. Please forward this link to all your friends in Spain, she said pitifully: http://www.ageofstupid.net/spain 

Trouble in Japan
Equal lack of interest in Japan, though at least there's only one screening there. Any friends in Tokyo? http://www.ageofstupid.net/japan
Trouble in Germany
Despite having an astounding level of press - see below - the Germans just ain't buying no tickets. Is this because: 
a) It's illegal to buy tickets in advance in Germany
b) The Germans have built a giant rocket to evacuate all their citizens when the climate goes pear-shaped
c) There's a football match on that night
Answer on a postcard to whynogermans@ageofstupid.net
And if you have any friends over there, please point them towards: http://www.ageofstupid.net/germany
Bayern-online.de <http://nuernberg.bayern-online.de/magazin/kino/artikelansicht/veranstaltungen-kultur-auffuehrung-kino-the-age-of-the-stupid-nuernberg-2009/> 
Berlinonline.de <http://www.berlinonline.de/kino-und-film/vorschau/_bin/filmdetail.php?id=179908> 
Critic.de <http://www.critic.de/filme/detail/film/the-age-of-stupid-1818.html> 
Commonsblog.de <http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/the-age-of-stupid/> 
DigitalVD.de <http://www.digitalvd.de/entertainment/2009/09/10/the-age-of-stupid-das-einmalige-event-zur-gruensten-filmpremiere-der-welt/> 
Es-presso.de <http://www.es-presso.de/index.php?site=news_details&amp;id=3009&amp;no=0> 
Filmstarts.de <http://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/103587-The-Age-Of-Stupid.html> 
Filmjournalisten.de <http://www.filmjournalisten.de/2009/08/21/the-age-of-stupid/> 
Filmmag.de <http://www.filmmag.de/index-seitenid-9~filmid-3901-Age-of-Stupid.html?PHPSESSID=e7leevc1ts9a9jmhtqoebge651> 
Filmreporter.de <http://www.filmreporter.de/kino/33519;The-Age-of-Stupid> 
Filmz.de <http://www.filmz.de/film_2009/the_age_of_stupid/> 
Freitag.de <http://www.freitag.de/alltag/0936-10-ten-klimakampagne-franny-armstrong-miliband-graswurzel-age-of-stupid> 
Gamingmedia.de <http://kino.gamingmedia.de/news,id15072,age_stupid_globales_event_weltklimagipfel_2009.html> 
Kino.de <http://www.kino.de/kinofilm/age-of-stupid/fotoshow/119110.html> 
Kino-zeit.de <http://www.kino-zeit.de/filme/the-age-of-stupid> 
Lohas.de <http://www.lohas.de/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=933&amp;Itemid=87> 
Moviemaze.de <http://www.moviemaze.de/filme/3074/the-age-of-stupid.html> 
Natur.de <http://www.natur.de/scripts/basics/natur/news/basics.prg?session=d96ec7c24aa951d6_28035&amp;a_no=3240&amp;r_index=2> 
Outnow.ch <http://outnow.ch/Movies/2009/AgeOfStupid/Bilder/> 
Prinz.de <http://www.prinz.de/kino/kinoplaner/the-age-of-stupid,673394,1,Article.html> 
Prosieben.de <http://www.prosieben.de/kino_dvd/kino/galleries/filme/popup_import/t/the_age_of_stupid_10915518/index_1.php> 
Spielfilm.de <http://www.spielfilm.de/kino/2985413/the-age-of-stupid.html> 
Subway.de <http://www.subway.de/news/shortnews/?hnr=&amp;tx_mfarticle_pi1%5bshowUid%5d=9219&amp;cHash=9d172f5d2a&amp;hnr=> 
Tagesblick.de <http://www.tagesblick.de/kino/32/2030/ver%C3%A4ndern_statt_verbl%C3%B6den.html> 
Yahoo Video <http://de.video.yahoo.com/watch/4679987/12507743> 
3PLUSX.Net <http://www.3plusx.net/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=78:age-of-stupid&amp;catid=1:neuigkeiten&amp;Itemid=37> 
Scheduling Skills 1
Really bad news just in: Michael Moore's new doc Capitalism: A Love Story, is also premiering on Sept 21st in New York. How can that possibly be?!? We checked and re-checked the list of scheduled events a million times to make sure there was no clash - and, besides, nobody premieres on a Monday.... That could be a killer blow for the press coverage. Quelle bummer. 
Scheduling Skills 2
Who the hell decided that we should finish the double-disc DVD extravaganza (8 deleted scenes, 12 short films, crew commentary and on and on) in the week before the Global Premiere?!? Oh, it was me. Did I forget that the McLibel DVD took three of us a year to make? Speaking of the DVD, if you are planning to buy a copy, please could you pre-order it now? It would really help our small (well, very large) cash flow problem. Order here: http://www.ageofstupid.net/shop and you'll get your parcel in the post in mid October. Thank you. 


Other things also happening on the same planet as the Global Premiere 

Taking a beating
I got a bit of a kicking in both The Times and on Newsnight this week for flying to New York. Oh well, take it on the chin. And it was worth it to get Ed Miliband to agree on national TV that the best chance the governments are giving us is a 50/50 chance of avoiding climate catastrophe. 

A big week for the Big If
Remember Pete threatening to give back his OBE at the premiere if said Ed commissions new coal power stations? Pete was the first signatory on the Big If campaign (as in: if you commission Kingsnorth, I promise to do X), which now has 6,000 people pledging to do all sorts of funny stuff.
Serena Williams played tennis in high heels in the street outside our window today... See evidence attached.... Did anyone realise she is absolutely stunning looking as well as rather argumentative? (Oops, that wasn't about climate change, was it?)
See you,
Franny  
- and very-stressed Lizzie
- and head-down-keep-designing Tom
- and still-smiling Rhiannon
- and just-off-the-boat Jahlia
- and squatter-in-the-office Susan from tcktcktck