David Seow's Blog, page 17

Captain America: Civil War Blue Carpet Premiere

The excitement of The Huntsman: Winter's War premiere was barely over when fans were all clamouring for the next big fix which was the Captain America: Civil War Blue Carpet Premiere which was to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Skating rink. The video above set both fanboys and fangirls into virtual meltdown mode. It was the event that everyone wanted to go to. In addition to the main event, there would be a four day festival including games and activities that would cap off, pardon the pun, with a fireworks display at the Helix Bridge.


Now unlike Universal Studios, the skating rink is a relatively small area and not that many fans would be able to get up close and personal with the stars. Back in 2014, I scored a pair of passes to the Spiderman event and from experience I knew that if you didn't have a pass, it was highly unlikely you would get to meet the stars.

Organisers so anticipated the magnitude of the event that the skating rink started being prepped a week in advance of the premiere.


A week before the event

Two days before the event

The day of the event.

This time there weren't a slew of competitors than fans could enter to get into the rink. There was an instagram competition in which fans had to pose in their best superhero poses. I sure wasn't going to do that and, anyway, they were only giving passes to the top four entries. 



Since not everyone was into dressing up or posing, the organisers offered the fans alternate ways they could get in on the blue carpet action. You could be one of the top spenders at the Marina Bay Shoppes. And there's no way I could afford to do that. Oh, yes and you could also win blue carpet passes if you were the 88th, 888th, or the 1,888 person to sign up for Marina Bay Sands privilege account. 



And lest I forget Reed Exhibitions were selling Captain America Packages that included one blue carpet pass for $688 or you could even pay $1,288 and that would include a night's stay at Marina Bay Sands. Fans were outraged and their ire even made it to the Straits Times. Never before had fans had to pay to get onto the red, or in this case, blue carpet of a movie premiere. It was totally unprecedented. 


I all but resigned myself to the fact that there was no way that I was going to the event. But then a day before the Blue Carpet, my mum scored me a pass!! Thanks, Mum and to everyone who helped. You know who you are. :) :)


My VIP wristband that gained me access to the blue carpet.
On the day itself,  arrived at MBS at about 1pm and the place was already completely packed. Some fans were disgruntled because there was no clear indication of where they could wait and they had been asked to move several times already. I met JM, who had already attended the press con and was sporting her fan zone wrist band, and Liza who was already staking her claim on her spot.  Fellow Marvel fans Chee and Ray were at the food court surveying the scene and Caroline was waiting for her daughter Jess who had the all important blue carpet passes in her possession. Chee, Ray, Caroline and I met two years ago at the Spiderman red carpet event so this was kind of old hat to us.




My friend Anthony, who had also scored a  VIP pass arrived soon after and we headed off for a bite to eat, but truth be told I could hardly eat anything so I had a drink instead.

The press, the VIP guests and the fanzone pass holders all had to enter via the same area so it began to get really packed and they finally let us into our designated areas at 4:45pm.  Anthony, Caroline, Jess and I made our way to the VIP area and claimed our spots on the barricades right opposite the press pens. The VIP area was relatively empty and we wondered how many people would actually show up.



This is what it looked like before the stars arrived/From this instagram photo you can see me, Caroline and Jess in the relatively empty VIP area (The section with the tables). Anthony can be seen near one of the tables taking photos.  Let's just say it wouldn't stay that empty for long.


Anthony and me, looking like smurfs.I also have no idea why they used blue lighting when they had blue carpet. Everyone ended up looking like smurfs. What's also interesting to note is that the DC SuperHero cafe on the top floor was shrouded in black  right before the event. WOW!

Right before the DC Cafe  on the top floor was blacked out in a black shroud.
After about half an hour, hosts Glenn Ong and Stephanie 
Carrington appeared on stage and various cosplayers walked the carpet before taking part in a cosplay competition. 



Having barely eaten, I didn't pay much attention to the competition.  With that portion of the event over, local celebrities walked the blue carpet. And they looked like a bunch of smurfs just like the rest of us.  You know when the local celebs appear that it isn't going to be too much longer before the main stars turn up, so I got my stuff together and braced myself for deafening shrieks from the thousands of fans present.


local celeb Henry Golding.And sure enough at around 7pm Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie and director Joe Russo arrived to be greeted by the strained vocal chords of four floors of fans.


Anthony Mackie on the blue carpet. It was impossible to get agood shot.They signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans who had strategically positioned themselves on the outskirts of the rink before making their way to the fanzone and VIP areas. I had brought some of my books for all of them but I knew that it  would be tough to give them my books given the situation.
Anthony Mackie was the first to show up in our section, he signed for some further up the carpet, talked to press, then he jumped into the press pen and walked to the food court to meet the masses of fans who didn't have blue carpet passes. I tried to get his minder to get him to come over, but she refused and instead she said she would give my book to him. I'm not sure if she ever did.

Joe Russo was next and he signed an illustration that my illustrator had done and that was to be presented to Sebastian Stan.  Stan 
was next and I lucky enough to get him to sign an autograph for a young fan that I had met as well as one for myself. Then he posed for a selfie with Anthony and me. I was also able to pass him a copy of The Lion Dance as a souvenir.

Sebastian signing for me ©Gettyimages


Found this photo on instagram. You can see me just about to give Sebastian the book.
Sebastian Stan autographed magazine cover

It seem quite a while before Evans appeared on the carpet. I had a copy of A Day with the Duchess that I wanted to pass to him for his  nephew Miles and I wanted to tell him I hoped Miles 'Wiked' it, but  again who knew what the situation was going to be wike. I mean like.

After a premature announcement that Evans was on the blue carpet,  and a few moments of uncertainty on the part of the hosts, Evans arrived surrounded my a phalanx of security. Fans screamed, shrieked, yelled, you name it. Arms stretched out with phones and sharpies, all hoping to get that all important selfie or autograph but Evans breezed past them, smiling, waving and looking a tad anxious and uncertain. It didn't look like he was going to stop or sign at all. Then when he  was about 10 feet away he stopped and starting signing. "Chris! Chris!" I yelled holding out my Captain America Civil War hardback book. The cover was too  glossy and I didn't want his autograph to smudge, so opened it up and hoped Chris would sign it. Chris signed the fastest autographs I have ever seen anyone sign. And with all the shoving it was impossible to get a good photo.

See what I mean?The worrying thing at that point was that he was skipping quite a lot of people. Finally he was within arm's length and I held out my book. He was about to sign for me when someone held a Captain America Shield over my head, obscuring me from his view. Chris signed the shield and then looked at me and smiled and signed my book. "Chris!" I heard Anthony yell and he got his photo signed too! 

Chris signing my book for me. (I'm in the cap on the left)


Done signing my book he gets ready to sign for Anthony (top left) The much sought-after Chris Evans autograph



Chris signed two more autographs before he placed the cap back on the sharpie. Caroline and Jess couldn't get an autograph as the shield wielding fan behind us blocked them as Chris stood right in front of them. Done with signing, he moved over to the press pen of star struck journalists who  wasted no time in getting their own selfies as they were forbidden from asking for selfies and autographs during the press junket. 
Guess who's behind Chris's right shoulder
When all four stars took to the stage, a forest of arms sprung into the air with cell phones dangling like the first blossoms of spring. I was too exhausted to hold my camera above my head so I cornered a server for a burger slider and a much needed Coca Cola.

The stars bantered with the crowd. Posed for a selfie with one lucky fan. Met the children's beneficiaries of Marina Bay Sands and were presented with specially commissioned pieces of Superhero Art, one of which was done by my illustrator Soefara.







With the blue carpet portion of the event over, we were ushered up to the Mastercard Theatre for the screening of Captain: America Civil War. Free popcorn and coke for everyone!! It was one of the best Marvel Movies I've ever seen and ranks alongside Guardians of the Galaxy and Antman as one of my all time faves. The movie let out at almost 11pm. Though completely exhausted, Anthony and I both felt it was a pretty great day. Thanks again, Mum!

Though I didn't get to give my books to Chris or Joe Russo or meet Anthony Mackie, hopefully one day I'll be able to do so. Who knows they may even want to do something with my books. Wishful thinking I know and I'm not going to hold my breath. But you never know.


Autographed Shield on Display at the Captain America Festival

Marvin the Royal Hamster

Kate the Hamster meets HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
When I was writing Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: A Day with the Duchess about three years ago, Sam's  hamster 'Kate' named after the Duchess of Cambridge played a key role in the story. After the book was published, I sent a copy to the couple explaining that I had written it to commemorate their visit to Singapore and I received a very nice reply from the Duke's Private Secretary, Miguel Head.

Yesterday I found out that the Duke and the Duchess bought a Hamster named Marvin for Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Now I'm wondering if I should write a story about how 'Kate' the  'Prince Marvin' the Royal Hamster and they could have an adventure of their own all across the royal palaces. Hmmm...

The Huntsman: Winter's War

The Huntsman: Winter's War premiere was scheduled for April 3, 2016 at Universal Studios. Fans who wanted a glimpse of the stars: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron and Jessica Chastain had to buy the standard Universal Studios Day pass to gain access to the red carpet or they could enter numerous competitions that would allow them entry into the "exclusive" fan zones.
I decided to take my chances and enter the competition. As I was working on a project for Resorts World Sentosa, I was able to snag two tickets to the premiere, but those unfortunately did not include access to the red carpet. I gave those tickets to Joyce and Chee.



As luck would have it, I managed to snag one of the competition passes and together with fellow movie fans Ray, Anthony and Liza, I headed down to Universal Studios at around 3:30pm well ahead of the 5:00pm start time of the event. The place was packed with fans by the time we got there.



With passes in hand, we were ushered to the far end of the carpet.  Though we were able to get to the front of the barricades on the red carpet.Suddenly it didn't look like the prized passes were so fantastic as the stars would probably sign for a long line of fans before making their way  towards us. From past experience, when the stars reach the far end of the carpet, their handlers rush them along and they barely have time to sign any autographs.

Nevertheless, we took our spots on the barricade and waited it out. The movie premiere was supposed to start at 7pm but by 6:30 there was still no sign of the stars and we figured we  would just see them walk past, but 6:45pm we heard screams coming from the front of the carpet and figured that the stars had arrived.



It was a rather excruciating wait, not knowing if we would be skipped because at red carpet events there is no guarantee that you could get anything at these kind of events, even when you win a spot in the fan zone.

Cedric Nicolas Troyen, the Director @RLiwIt was a rather long wait before the director of the movie came over to sign for us. He signed and that was a good indication that the stars might sign for us too. Before he left I gave him a copy of my book The Lion Dance.
Ray and me waiting for Charlize Theron, you can see me about to give her A
Day with the Duchess ©Today


Next up was Charlize Theron, a vision in white. She was the last to hit the red carpet but the first to reach the end of it. She signed autographs and posed for photos and she gave multiple hugs to a girl who was no doubt her biggest fan there. The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Finally, she came to our side of the carpet. I held out a copy of A Day with the Duchess for her. She took it and began to sign the cover. I yelled "It's for you and your children." My friend Liza took the photo below
Charlize realises that the book is for her and her kids.She stopped smiled and thanked me graciously and then she kindly signed my poster. I later found out she signed an abbreviated version for the other fans. 


Then Chris Evans and Jessica Chastain joined her on the red carpet and posed for some photos before Theron moved off to the press section and Chris and Jessica continued to sign autographs and pose for selfies.


After a lot of yelling Chris came over and signed for us. He signed my poster but as you can see he must have been really tired because he didn't give me a complete Hemsworth. 



You can compare the one he signed for my friend Joyce on another occasion. Still it's similar enough and I'm happy that he signed for me. Ray asked him for a Selfie and I managed a photobomb. Then I gave him a copy of A Day with the Duchess for his kids. He seemed pleasantly surprised and he thanked me with a big grin and then moved on to the rest of his fans.
@RLiw



By that time security asked us, none too politely I might add to remove our posters from the red carpet before Jessica Chastain came over to us. She had been to the S.E.A. Aquarium that morning and so I gave her a copy of At the S.E.A. Aquarium and she promised that she would read it. Then she signed an autograph for me and posed for two pictures. She is such a lovely lady.









With that we called in a night and skipped the movie as we were too exhausted to go. All in all, it was a pretty amazing day and we got autographs from all the stars! We had a brief respite for star gazing before the next big premiere: The Captain America: Civil War  Blue carpet event at Marina Bay Sands. But getting up close and personal stars would prove to be a far trickier endeavour....

Happy Birthday, Princess Charlotte

Happy Birthday, Princess Charlotte. A copy of A Royal Adventure is on its way! I can't believe that it's been a year!

Cover for Return to S.E.A. Aquarium Coming Soon....

A Book on Friendship

I like to write stories about things that I think need to be addressed. In my book, There's Soup on My Fly! I wrote about a small boy's all consuming desire for a pet, any pet! 



In Blow a Kiss I wrote about a child's wish to spread love to a very damaged and shattered world. 






And in If I were a Blue Kangaroo...I wrote about the importance of having a true friend who means more than any other whimsical fantastical things you could possibly have.



Now, we first make friends when we're in school and it's while we're there than we learn that friendship isn't always so clear cut. You'll have fights and you'll  fall out.  You'll be friends one minute and the next something will happen and you're no longer on speaking terms. You'll lose touch, sometimes for a while and sometimes for longer than that. And sometimes friendships come to an end whether we want them to or not. But that's life.

The risk we take when making friends is that friends may disappoint you and may hurt you very badly by what they say or what they do. But it's a risk that is worth taking and no matter what road our friendships take, we all learn something from them.

What I want kids to know is that no matter how badly you may be hurt by friends  there will always be people who make you feel valued and worthwhile again; new friends will come along just when you need them. And that is the book I would like to write for kids.

Points I'd like to include:
1. Friendship is mutual
2. It's about give and take
3.  Trust
4. Honesty
5. Respect
6. Loyalty
7 Gratitude
8. It should never be should never be taken for granted
9. It should never be taken advantage of.

Take it from Me

Someone once told me that a lonely student at one of the international schools read my book Blow A Kiss everyday in the library. Now, that really touched my heart. If one of my books can entertain a child and make him or her laugh then it's done its job.

I've been doing this for 18 years and it's not easy, creatively speaking. And it's even harder to make it a sustainable career. Unless you're an internationally recognised author like Wendy Orr or Jacqueline Harvey, you're not going to make a decent living from it. Thankfully I have an incredibly loving and encouraging family as my support system.


Everyone thinks they can write. Well, duh, that's a stupid thing to say, of course they can. But not everyone can write a children's picture book. I'm not saying that to sound like a snob, but it is a very very difficult process. A lot of thought has to go into what you write about. You have to think about what you are going to say, how you're going to say it effectively in 600-800 words max. 


Most new writers want a quick fix to getting publicity and book sales. It does not work like that. It really doesn't. There is no formula to writing and there is no formula to success I've taken 18 years to hone the skill and I'm still learning. Not so easy, is it.

If you want to write a picture book, you've got to read a lot of picture books and you've got to think like a child and use their language.  I've told aspiring authors it's not about you, it's about your reader.

I've seen a lot of picture books that have been written without the proper thought process that is aimed towards children. Mem Fox takes months selecting each word for her picture books.


Getting your book published is just the very first step in a very long and undeniably painful journey. You've got to ask yourself if this is what you really want to do and commit to it if your answer is yes. There are no short cuts.

Meeting Charlie Cox

Without a doubt I am a big kid and that's why I'm a children's book author and I'm a huge superhero fan too. So it's needles to say I was super psyched when I heard that Chris Hemsworth would be in town for The Huntsman Premiere. About a week later it was announced that Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan would be hitting our shores too for the Captain America:Civil War premiere at Marina Bay Sands. If that were not enough, Charlie Cox, star of Netflix's Daredevil was scheduled to drop by for a press junket.

Cox, the newest Marvel superhero, was the first to hit our shores to   to promote the second season of the highly successful Netflix series, Daredevil. Singtel ran a competition for highly coveted meet and greet passes that I, unfortunately, did not win.  But on the day of the press junket a journalist posted a photo of herself with Cox on instagram and geo-tagged the location! But by that time, the post was two hours old and I was unsure if the junket was over. But I just had to try my luck.



Without any hesitation I hailed a cab and floored it to the hotel. When I got there, the media signs were in the lobby and there were a group of journalists who were waiting to be ushered up for their interviews. My friend Ray was already there with two other fans and so we waited it out in the lobby for about an hour and a half. During this time the press banners were taken down and the netflix staff came down with press kits and other assorted promotional items and departed the premises.



I was beginning to wonder if Cox had left by some other secret exit, and just as I was about to pack it in and leave, Cox, accompanied by his minders, emerged from the elevator. 

He took his time posing for pictures and signing autographs. I, of course, had a copy of A Day with the Duchess to give him as a souvenir, which he graciously accepted and began flipping through the pages on the spot.




"I look forward to reading this," he said with a smile. I asked him to sign an index card for me and one for my friend Anthony who was unable to join me there. We all took turns having a photo taken with him before his minders rushed him off for a meet and greet with contest winners.
All in all it was a pretty great day. Thanks, Mr Cox. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks to Ray Liw for taking the photos.

Meeting the Charlie Cox

Without a doubt I am a big kid and that's why I'm a children's book author and I'm a huge superhero fan too. So it's needles to say I was super psyched when I heard that Chris Hemsworth would be in town for The Huntsman Premiere. About a week later it was announced that Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan would be hitting our shores too for the Captain America:Civil War premiere at Marina Bay Sands. If that were not enough, Charlie Cox, star of Netflix's Daredevil was scheduled to drop by for a press junket.

Cox, the newest Marvel superhero, was the first to hit our shores to   to promote the second season of the highly successful Netflix series, Daredevil. Singtel ran a competition for highly coveted meet and greet passes that I, unfortunately, did not win.  But on the day of the press junket a journalist posted a photo of herself with Cox on instagram and geo-tagged the location! But by that time, the post was two hours old and I was unsure if the junket was over. But I just had to try my luck.



Without any hesitation I hailed a cab and floored it to the hotel. When I got there, the media signs were in the lobby and there were a group of journalists who were waiting to be ushered up for their interviews. My friend Ray was already there with two other fans and so we waited it out in the lobby for about an hour and a half. During this time the press banners were taken down and the netflix staff came down with press kits and other assorted promotional items and departed the premises.



I was beginning to wonder if Cox had left by some other secret exit, and just as I was about to pack it in and leave, Cox, accompanied by his minders, emerged from the elevator. 

He took his time posing for pictures and signing autographs. I, of course, had a copy of A Day with the Duchess to give him as a souvenir, which he graciously accepted and began flipping through the pages on the spot.




"I look forward to reading this," he said with a smile. I asked him to sign an index card for me and one for my friend Anthony who was unable to join me there. We all took turns having a photo taken with him before his minders rushed him off for a meet and greet with contest winners.
All in all it was a pretty great day. Thanks, Mr Cox. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks to Ray Liw for taking the photos.

A Royal Adventure Cover