After more than three months of in-person Hollywood events being put on hold due to coronavirus concerns, the premiere is back in an old-school way. In a partnership between IFC Films and ArcLight, Dave Franco hosted a pop-up premiere screening of his directorial debutat Vineland Drive-In on Thursday followed by a Q&A with his cast, marking the first event of its kind in L.A. amid the global pandemic.
Ahead of the 8:30 p.m. showing, Franco and Brie arrived in their car with enough time to pose for photos — including a socially distant one with their collaborators — in the parking lot as masked red carpet photographers navigated the new normal. As Brie dropped to the ground and threw peace signs for photos, she joked, "We're making a new poster.
on the phone the next morning and reflected on his one-of-a-kind premiere. "Everyone kept telling me, 'This is the first time anyone has premiered their film at a drive-in event' and ultimately, it did feel very unique and special. Standard premieres are a bit more formal where everyone is dressed to the nines but I don't think that would have been the right vibe for this film," he said.
And though he joked at the screening that Brie "will continue to hear my complaints about that" as a "crazy perfectionist," he toldthat the event "made me realize that none of that matters. Everyone at a drive-in and just wants to have a good time and the raw sound and picture quality is part of the charm." touched on the seemingly unlikely decision to make a thriller as his first film.
Hopefully James is socially distancing as well. No young girls around, right?