Guardians of the Galaxy Red Carpet Event

The Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) Red Carpet event was held yesterday, 12 July 2014 at Shaw Urban Plaza. This was the third such event to be held in Singapore this year and all three were for movies with Marvel characters. We must have hit the jackpot or something. I mean to have three red/blue carpets events in a year? That's just fantastic! Read on to see what went on at the GOTG event. 

So which stars were here? Well there was director James Gunn, Zoe Saldana who plays Gamora and Dave Bautista who plays Drax the Destroyer.

The MCs for the event were Nikki Muller and Glenn Ong. They both did a great job of trying to keep the crowd pumped on. On stage there were Q&As and games where you could win prizes such as notepads, t-shirts and autographed posters. I felt the Q&A had too many questions on songs from the movie soundtrack. 

I spotted some cosplayers. Rocket holding a gun looked cute. Don't tell him I said that though! There was also a Star Lord and Gamora walking around.

The crowd continued to build as the time for the arrival of the stars grew close. The first fan to arrive at the venue was said to have came at 7am. Super props to him!

Dave Bautista was the first to arrive, looking sharp in a shirt and tie. Some sections of the crowd started a Bautista chant as he appeared. James Gunn followed next and lastly Zoe Saldana. Aside from meeting the fans, they had to do interviews too. 

You know when a star is near when the hands and cameras go up. 

Zoe Saldana was the first who came into view. She looked fabulous in a white, sparkly, floral dress. And unlike the men, she didn't appear to be sweating. I was star struck when she came in front of me. I think I stood there smiling like an idiot as I held out the figures I had brought to be autographed.

I managed a "Hi" and "Thank You" when James Gunn and Dave Bautista came by. James was friendly and he always wore a smile on his face.

Bautista was exceptionally accommodating. I think he spent over an hour with the fans, signing autographs and taking selfies. He went out of his way to reach as many fans as possible. My respect for him went up several notches.  

The stars then made their way on stage where they were asked some questions. James Gunn was asked about the heat and humidity here to which he replied it was not too different from what they got in Los Angeles. He said that they were touched the crowd waited and came to see them. He mentioned he was used to the crowds as he sees them outside his house all the time. He spoke a little of the movie. The movie is about a bunch of jerks who learn to like each other and learn to be heroes.  

Bautista was asked what was the most challenging thing for him to play Drax. He replied that he was kind of like a newbie on set, working with some of the best actors and directors and had to step up his game. It was a little overwhelming and he had to step out of his comfort zone. 

Zoe was asked if she was trained in martial arts. She said not when she was growing up.  She learnt ballet and was able to kick a lot of things through that. It wasn't until she did Avatar that she got interested in martial arts and has been training ever since.

The stars were then presented with some gifts from some Marvel fans. 

I'm thankful to have got a VIP ticket this time round. Hence I could catch a 17 minute preview of the movie. which was held in the IMAX theatre. Would you believe this was my first time in an IMAX theatre? I usually avoided it as I get dizzy easily. I'm happy to report that I enjoyed it a lot and had no ill effects. The graphics were superb. Man I've been missing out on this all this while. I'm considering catching GOTG in IMAX. Hopefully I can last for the duration of the film.  

On the way to the theatre I came across these two. 

Before the screening began, the stars made one last appearance. 

The clip we saw is of the prison scene.

*SPOILER ALERT. Highlight the text if you want to read further. 

We see the the Guardians introduced one by one with their rap sheets read out as in the first trailer. They are then brought down a corridor where they argue among themselves whose fault it was that got them in prison. They past by a cell where a guard puts on Peter Quill's head phones and he steps in to confront him. The guard promptly prods Peter with his electric stick, to which "Hooked on a Feeling" begins to play. The team are showered down with a hose. Peter notices Rocket's implants on his back. The group walk into the main prison area. The prisoners are angry and start throwing things at them. Apparently Gamaro works for Ronan and has murdered a lot of people. A large convict threatens Peter but then is taken down by Groot. Rocket declares if they want to get to anyone of them, they'll go through them first. Over meal time, Rocket devises a plan to escape and assigns a task to each of them. Groot acquires a battery while they were still in discussion and sets off the alarm. New plan! Improvise. Action sequence as each goes about their task. Drax who is a prisoner assists and throws Rocket a gun. Oh yeah! After acquiring the items they need, they take over the guard control tower. Peter's task was unnecessary. Rocket thought it would be funny. Rocket starts configuring the controls while guards with heavy artillery arrive and they are fired upon. Rocket disables the artificial gravity surprising the guards. The control tower detaches. Rocket takes control of the drones and uses as thrusters to pilot them out of the main prison section. End clip.

It was a great day for me as I got to see the stars up close, catch the screening and get my figures signed by all three of the stars. Here's my loot.

Be sure to catch Guardians of the Galaxy which opens in cinemas here on 31 July 2014. I personally can't wait for it and see how their story links up with the Avengers.

Thanks for viewing!