A massive crowd turned out for last night's Arizona premiere of the new sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Fans lined up in rows that snaked through the Tempe Marketplace Harkins Theater, spilling out onto the sidewalk and clear around the other side of the building. Not everyone who held a coveted movie pass got in, but those who did were treated to an eye-popping show by the ASU Sun Devils cheerleaders, a robot dance-off and an opening speech by toy and comic guru Todd McFarlane. One lucky audience member even won a $5,000 car makeover -- more on that later.
So, how did folks manage to score passes to Tempe's advance screening, held the same night as the Hollywood premiere? Some won magazine contests, got tickets through studio reps or joined TXT Movie Club. Others knew someone involved with the pre-show. And a few participated in the Transformers costume contest at Atomic Comics' Mesa Superstore that we mentioned in last week's Geek Beat.
Either no one got the memo or there just wasn't enough time for local Transformers fans to put together their giant cardboard costumes, because only a handful of people showed up. We give props to the dude above, though, who humiliated himself (and his lovely wife) by wearing a woman's tank top and yellow construction paper purchased from the neighboring dollar store. He even glued the paper to his face. Glued it, folks!!!
Was the film an equally epic failure? Find out more after the jump...
The winner was this adorable (but unhappy looking) kid as the "all-spark." Kudos to his mom for being the only one who actually put any thought or time into a costume.
Fans started lining up at 6 a.m. for Transformers 2 -- most of whom were adults (without kids in tow).
Sadly, there were no Transformers costumes spotted at the premiere, but a few folks including Eric Beck (above) donned themed tees and belt buckles to show some Transformers love. Crazy = standing on line for over three hours to get into the premiere. Smart = bringing your own lawn chair and a backpack of munchies.
Machelle Keeling won a $5,000 makeover for her beat-up vintage Camaro in Chapman Chevrolet's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Complete Car Makeover Contest. We're not sure if she even stayed for the flick, but hey, anything would've been a letdown after winning five grand.
So, how was the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?? Well, we're sworn to silence until the movie opens tomorrow, but let's just say we guarantee it will be waaaay better than last Friday's costume contest.
