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I assure you, I would have posted last night after the premiere if I'd had access to the Internet. My hotel's service was completely down to the point where they were unable to charge people's credit cards. And now that I'm home--yeah, I'm the woman from Minnesota--my home connection went on the fritz and I had to undo wires and connectors to get back online. So, aside from having a nice morning and afternoon in Seattle, seeing the sights and shopping a bit, I went to the Egyptian Theater at 6:00. There was a line outside already, but friendly folks told me to claim my pre-purchased ticket inside first. Amazingly, the couple who shared my three-seat row at St. Paul Nationals were already in line! So I got my ticket and then chatted until the theater was open for seating.

I was told that the Egyptian used to be a Masonic hall, explaining some of the decor. I sat with my friends and was tapped on the shoulder, so to speak, several minutes later by Kristina and Martha.

The film? I was very impressed. I've only seen one segment of the Japanese DVD Johnny Be Good; I can't make a complete comparison with Popstar, but I'm so pleased with the editing and editing and editing that James and David performed on their hundred hours of tape. (Yes, the DVD extras should be fun when it's released.) Popstar doesn't assume that the viewer knows much about Johnny or even elite level skating, and lures one in with humor and audacity--why is this young man saying these things and why do the authority figures (commentators, officials, pro skaters) praise him or roll their eyes? And then the film recounts Johnny's skating career in mostly chronological order, using the occasional flashback to attempt to explain why his natural talent is so immense and why he has had failures in addition to his successes.

Kristina has nicely listed the general flow of the film--and it does flow. (It would be a shame to see it with commercial interruption, but that's true of just about everything.) The non-skating fan finds out succinctly what the skater has to perform and when: for the 2:50 and 4:40 skates there are these many required elements and they are no longer scored by the 6.0 system but by COP. And now here's all the hard work and dedication and training and falls it takes to make the magic happen year after year--and even if it's a bad season and Johnny isn't connecting to the routines or to Priscilla's coaching or to whatever, there still was a lot of work to even try. Johnny admits that there were times when he wasn't committed totally and the eventual switch to Galina is logical in hindsight. And through it all there's the constancy of his family's love, his friendships, and his sense of fun.

Fan reaction is mentioned a few times, and the Angel appearances from the Spokane Nationals work well with the narrative.

I think the audience reaction was great and David and James must have been pleased with the reaction. Thanks, Kristina, for a personal introduction to them. Of course I've seen them at several events, but they're usually in gear, working and uninterruptable.

Popstar works well whether you're a fan or not. I hope all of you get to see it as soon as humanly possible.

Now I should make sure I have something to wear to work tomorrow morning, turn the heat on because it's a lovely 45 degrees on the shores of Lake Superior tonight, and catch up on some sleep. Two days flying and one day having fun in Seattle can be tiring.

Joyce