» ENCOUNTERS Sunset on the Beach     |     28 August 2004     |     Christine We arrived at around 3:15. The event wasn't supposed to start until 6:00, but in order to get decent parking, you have to get there insanely early. Our plan was to arrive, stake things out, and then wander around Waikiki for an hour or so, before heading back. This is what it looked like at 3:30 [ image ]. And this is the “special” VIP seating area [ image ]. So, in order to kill time, we walked along the beach, visited some shops, ate some food. My mom had to listen to my pre-squeals and jitters. I made it a point to stop by 88 Tees, which is a lovely little shop I found thanks to April (chadwinrules). Unfortunately, they didn't have what I wanted, but I did find a cute snoopy t-shirt for really cheap. At this point, it was already 5:00, so, after a quick stop at Cold Stone, we headed back to the beach. It was lots more crowded. There were also road blocks set up where they were going to arrive and more scary security guards hovering about. I was definitely feeling the excitement. We set up our towels and other items in a pretty good spot right in the middle. I was supposed to be reading a book to pass time, but there was no way I could concentrate. So my mom and I decided to walk around. She wanted to find out where the press line was going to be and I just wanted to stand up and move around. That's when I found Chanda, Feliz, and Lara, who are all super cool Dom fans. We talked for a while and twiddled around excitedly. I took a picture of Dom's seat [ image ] (sorry about that lady's ass. I took 3 and she was in them all.) Anyway, this was when my mom found Erin, the publicist. Now to be clear, this is LOST'S publicists, not Dom's personal publicist. She told my mom where the press line was and I was able to follow because I had a pass. Unfortunately, the girls that I met up with couldn't come with me, but they were able to get a great spot right next to where the cast would be dropped off. So, this was my first time in a press line. It was definitely bizarre to say the least. I had Extra was on one side of me, TV Guide on the other, and fancy shmancy video equipment everywhere. I felt like such a loser with my digital camera and notepad. But whatever, I was going to talk to Dom. Slowly, but surely, the cast and crew started to arrive. First up was Malcolm David Kelly, the wee little boy who plays Walt, and is just adorable. He's so young, but worked the press line like a complete professional. [ image ] Next was Harold Perrineau, who plays Michael (the little boy's father) [ image ]. Then came Ian Somerhalder, who plays Boone. And damn. He has mad sexy eyes like whoa. He was one of the cast members who came up to me because he thought I wanted to talk to him. So he shook my hand and I introduced myself, but couldn't really come up with any questions because, hello, I was waiting for Dom. In fact, I'll probably be kicking myself in the future for practically ignoring all these wonderful people just because my one-track mind could only comprehend one thing: “where's Dom?” Eventually Daniel Dae Kim came by, as did Jorge Garcia, Evangeline Lilly, Matthew Fox [ image ], Josh Holloway, Yunkin Kim, Terry O'Quinn, and Maggie Grace [ image ]. I also got a lovely picture of Evangeline and Ian conversing and looking great [ image ]. One person who I did manage to ask a few questions to was Naveen Andrews, who plays Sayid. He is super cool and well-spoken, but of course, I don't remember jack squat about what he said because, what was that? Oh yeah, DOM. And alas, the object of my affection arrived. By this time it was already past 7:30 (he always has to be fashionably late, right?) and all of a sudden, it was evident the real star had arrived. Without warning, there was an excited murmur, turning heads, and a whopping mob of people who proceeded to migrate over to one corner. I heard one of the reporters next to me say,“Well, I guess Dominic's here.” Sure enough, there I saw Dom's little head bobbing up and down and smiling in the midst of it all. I realized Chanda, Feliz, and Lara had managed to call Dom over to where they were and thus, that was the spot the crowd was drawn to. I could see flashes going off and pens and paper being passed about. My mom went over there to see what was going on [ image ]. Gradually, the mob shifted closer and closer until he finally got to the press line. Unfortunately, one of the cast members was already at the beginning of the line and the publicists were really peevish about people starting in the middle of the line, so Dom had to wait. He went over to the VIP mingling area where he was greeted by flocks of people. Now that he was closer, I saw he was wearing a white spider T-shirt, a colorful scarf, and a black and white wrist band given to him by our very own Chanda and Feliz! By this time, my nerves were definitely obvious. I looked my questions over and over and over, but it didn't really matter because I knew I would flub something up anyway. Finally, Dom was led to the front of the press line and began the interviews. I took some pictures, tried to listen in on the questions, and continued to wait [ image | image | image | image | image ]. I'm pretty sure it was Access Hollywood and TV Guide who were in front of me, but I could be wrong. Then... there he was. I thought he was going to pass right by me because Erin, the publicist, wanted him to go do the Extra interview, but thankfully, Dom recognized me (bless him). The Interview (this time, I was prepared and had a TAPE RECORDER. Ha ha.) [ image ] Dom: Hey! Me: Hi! Dom: Right, we did the interview at Lanikai Juice! How are you? Me: I'm good, how are you? Dom: Great. Me: I just wanted to do a small little follow-up interview if you didn't mind. Dom: Oh, absolutely. Me: Ok. So, has your character changed much since the last weeks of filming? Dom: Yeah, he has. My character is going to come to grips with his cold turkey. He's a drug addict, so he's going to run out of drugs. In the next couple episodes, he's gonna have to deal with that. He's also starting to get keen on a couple of the girls on the show and he's starting to get a little pissed off with some of the guys. So I think Charlie has not truly, kind of, realized that his plane has crashed yet. He's been high on drugs and it hasn't really hit him. I mean, if you're taking heroin, you don't really care about anything. Me: How much time has passed? Dom: Each episode takes place over the course of a day. So about 3 or 4 days have gone by. Me: Have they established yet if you're a good guy? Dom: I don't know... I would describe Charlie as a... a bad good guy. (laughs). He's got a few demons, a few skeletons in the closet. Me: Have they filmed your backstory yet? Dom: No, we're doing that next. Episode 5 is going to be Charlie's story. (Erin starts to hover) Me: Have you gotten a chance to surf more? I know you mentioned you weren't able to as much as you liked. Dom: Yeah, a little bit. I went out to Diamond Head the day before yesterday. I just surfed Waikiki. Me: Have you tried any Hawaiian food? Dom: Yeah, we had a whole day eating Hawaiian food, actually. Me: Did you enjoy it? Dom: (pause) I liked some of it. I very much liked uh, Chicken Katsu, is that Hawaiian? Me: (no Dom, you silly billy) No, it's Japanese. But.. you liked it? Dom: Yeah, I really liked it. Erin: (barges in) OK, thank you. Dom: Oh... uh, (to me) thank you. Bye! Me: Bye... (He is dragged away) AHHHHHH. I wasn't DONE with my questions, dammit. *giantpout* And I didn't get to ask him if he wished Billy Boyd a Happy Birthday! ComebackDommmm. I had so many more random, fan-oriented questions, but because I started with the show-related ones, there wasn't enough time. Anyhoo, after I was done pouting, I realized that Dom was posing for some pictures. I took advantage of being close-up and snapped a few [ image | image | image ]. Then he moved further and further down the line, the publicist breathing down his neck for each interview. By then, it was getting really late and I guess I could understand why he was being so rushed. My mom comes up to me. She gives me something that absolutely makes me feel better. A VIP pass [ image ]. She said she got it from her friend who got it from his friend who got it from this other guy. However it came into my possession, I was now able to get into that little VIP area with all the food and fancy tables. Unfortunately, everyone was clearing out of the area to move over to the pilot showing. However, there was one thing they had yet to do. The cast picture. So the cast was poked and prodded and gathered into a line. I made it past the security guards with my spiffy VIP pass and was able to get right up close for the picture [ image | image | image | image | image | image ]. Finally, it was time for everyone to get ready for the show to begin. We moved as a group over to the area with the big screen. As we were walking, with Dom being right in front of me, I managed to snap an adorable picture of him and Malcolm [ image ]. Did I mention how I love that little boy?? I do. The cast was shuffled over, barging through people, and causing a few squeals. It was strange to be a part of the entourage (haha, Chanda, I used your word), but I wasn't complaining. People were staring and I got to look all famous and important. Except that I wasn't, but shhh. We were then led into the VIP seating area. Dom and the rest of the cast had to do a little thing with the radio station that was sponsoring the event, so I proceeded to take a seat while they took care of that. I ended up several rows behind Dom's seat, but with a decent view of the back of his head (insert fangirl squee). Oh and for those of you who were wondering, the extra seat with his name on it was for Erin, the publicist. (No, not for Billy.. =P) Then the mayor came onto the stage, said some stuff about how this was an exciting event, and blah blah blah. He declared August 28th to be the ABC and Touchstone Day.. or something? I don't know, it was kind of silly. Then he introduced the cast members one by one (yes, Dom got the loudest cheers). I tried to take pictures of this part, but they came out dark and horrible. Anyway, after some more talking, the cast got down from the stage, and the show was about to begin. [MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD] OK, I know a lot of you have already seen the pilot, but this was my first time. And oh wow, was it ever good. I really was surprised, I thought it was just going to be loud and action-y, but the storylines were actually intriguing. I totally love Hurley and I think that Locke character has a lot of potential. However, Jack kind of seemed too much of your typical I-can-do- everything protagonist and Walt started to get on my nerves towards the end. Other than that, I LOVED it. It was scary in the right parts and funny in others. Personally, I think Charlie is hands-down the best character, although yes, I'm being perfectly biased. That's OK though, right? Ohmygod, how much did everyone love that part where he started to sing in that sexy high-pitched voice? I think I may have died. [END SPOILERS] And then it ended. Cheering ensued. People got up. I rushed up to the front to make sure I didn't miss Dom. But he was just talking to a few people and laughing and being Dom-like. I didn't want to bother him or anything, so I just sat down (in his seat) and proceeded to watch him. It was a very fangirl thing to do, but no one seemed to care. Eventually, Dom moved over to the side to talk on his cell phone [ image ]. As more people filtered out of the VIP area, the guards let in a few of the waiting fans (enter Chanda and Feliz). Dom signed some more utographs, posed for a few pictures, and talked with a lot of people. He did look a little restless though, so Erin started togather the cast to leave. I wanted to get a last picture with him, but I figured it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't. The cast worked their way through the crowd, Dom being stopped every couple seconds for autograph requests, until they made it to where the limos were. I overheard something about an after-party. Aw shucks, I wasn't invited. We waved as the limo drove by. Then we kind of sat there just taking in everything that just happened. I said goodbye to Chanda and Feliz and headed back to the car. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. There is definitely a different vibe talking to Dom in the middle of a press event compared to in his private company, but either way, he always carries himself tastefully. I really hope Lost takes off with good ratings because it really is a smart show. I'm acutely looking forward to the start of the season and our weekly Dom goodies. I'm hoping the show lasts a long time, not only because it would be great for his career, but also because he would get to grace Hawaii with his presence every year. Sweeeet. 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