Movies In Motion

On June 15^th, 2003, my husband and I decided we would take a trip up to see the touring Monster trucks sponsored by Movies in motion and Lever 2000. We had never seen a movie truck of any kind, so we thought why not see the Tomb Raider truck that happened to make its stop in Connecticut. This was a 2 hour ride for us each way. On the way there I wasn’t really enthused, just curious. I wanted to go dressed up as Lara, but I had nothing ready. I think I wasn’t as excited because I thought by the time we would get there they would be closed. What made me think this was we had left rather late.

So, we get there, and my husband is snapping pictures of the poster, and trying to get the terracotta warriors even though there was a bit of a line. Then we go inside the truck. Its interior is designed in a cave-like motif. Once the door is closed, the only items illuminating the room are the screen in the back of the truck, the Orb, and Pandora’s Box. You can faintly make out the weapons on the walls, and we were towards the back so we couldn’t see much of anything else. The movie trailer starts to play but they included a few more scenes. Then a slideshow plays with behind-the-scenes information going along with the pictures. After it was over, my husband asked if he could stay behind and take a few pictures. We were told to hurry because the next group of people were ready to go in. Upon leaving I realized we had missed the jacket that was supposed to be on the tour as well. It was after we had left the theater that we realize then was the best time to take pictures of the truck and terracotta warriors. We were getting our pictures taken along-side the truck, and I am up first…

While this was happening, a nearby DJ said “Ladies and Gentlemen, What did I tell you about how much celebrity appearances we get at Movies in Motion tours, we have a Lara look-alike right here with us getting her picture taken!” I never felt my face blush so fast! I would have expected it if I went in costume! I have never called myself a Lara look-alike – even in costume – so it was a bizarre experience. Then we started talking with someone who was working there, and he asked if I braided my hair specifically because the TR trailer was here. I told him, “I normally do braid my hair when I am uncertain if my husband or I would be manning the camera at any event, because if I am outside and my hair gets in the way of the lens, my stupid auto focus camera would focus on the strand of hair instead of what I want.” But I did explain that I do dress up as her a lot, and take pictures. He told us, “Stay right there, we have a gentleman from Paramount Pictures who would love to talk to you!” Ok, this is the part where I turn into a full out dork! The man from Paramount Pictures was named Steve, and we talked a little bit about the props inside, and he told me that the jacket was in there, and how he was amazed at how tiny it is. He said, “If you go back in, you have to take a better look at it. It looks like it was made for a child!” I say I acted like a dork because I think my mouth probably hung open the whole time. I wished I actually talked to him more. I am not sure if the DJ should have called me a celebrity, I would say “glorified geek”.

After my first jaw-dropping moment (yes there is more), we walked around and checked out some other things at the event. We saw a one-man-band street performer, a jazz group, and a really good group called Andes Cosmos. I have no idea how to begin to describe their sound, but it is really good. We ended up buying 2 CDs of theirs. So about a half hour later my husband says, “They (the monster trucks) should be closing up soon, we should catch the last show just because.”  I agreed, so we were the first in line to watch again. We sat in front, and watched the whole thing again…

After the show my husband is snapping pictures away, because the door was opened and everything was easier to see. Then all of a sudden the exhibit gets dark. We turn to see Steve with a flashlight, and everybody else has left the theater. He smiled and said, “Since you guys are true fans…,” and he climbs over the divider that blocks the audience from walking around the props. I get the ok to follow him, and I am standing in the middle of the display. I think from that from point on I am not breathing. What does he do next? He unzips the jacket and takes it off the hanger!! But to his disappointment he couldn’t free the jacket from the wall, because the sleeves were nailed to the wall. He told me it was a shame because he really wanted me to try it on! I told him I am just speechless just to be able to touch it! I remember running my fingers over the embroidery on the front. The look of the jacket isn’t something I would wear on a day-to-day basis, but it had to have been so comfortable. We also looked at her motorcycle boots, and it didn’t even dawn on me that I had my brown version of movie boots. I would have rolled up the bottom of my pant leg and put her boot next to my foot for a comparison on foot size. Afterwards we thanked Steve and left. We tried looking around for someone from Movies in Motion, who asked if he could have my picture next to the terracotta warriors, but they had packed up the warrior heads, and we couldn’t find the kind gentleman that had introduced us to Steve. He said he wanted to send a picture back to the company.  For this reason, I would like to try to attend when they make their way to Boston or New Jersey.  I would love to try to show  up in costume, too!