My Experience At The 'Logan' Press Junket

(My interview with Hugh Jackman)

A few weeks ago, I came across a contest on ScreenRant.com that was offering one lucky fan the chance to come to New York City to see the new ‘Logan’ film. But that’s not all; the winner would also be able to attend the press junket to interview Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman. I entered the contest, not thinking too much of it. I’ve entered plenty of contests before with little luck, though I did get to see an early screening of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ thanks to Collider.com.

Anyway, a week goes by, and, to be honest, I had completely forgotten about the contest altogether. I was on my way to work when I was rear-ended on the highway. My car was totaled and I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Thankfully, with no serious injuries, I was released a few hours later. On my way home, I received an e-mail from a gentleman named Rob Keyes. Rob notified me that I had been chosen as the winner of Screen Rant’s contest, much to my shock and initial disbelief.

I quickly replied back to Rob, asking if the e-mail was legit. Rob confirmed that it was and that I’d been chosen as the winner. I could not believe it. After the morning I was having with my accident, my luck had taken a complete 180. The next few days were very sore ones as I recovered from my accident, but the sheer thought of being able to meet and interview Hugh Jackman had lifted my spirits. I began composing questions to ask Hugh during the interview. I was able to get my travel arrangements nailed down, thanks to an awesome girl named Molly, from Fox. The initial plan was for me to fly to New York, but as I live outside of Philadelphia, a short train ride would suffice.

(Black & white shot from the Trenton Transit Center)

Day 1

After a week that felt like an eternity, the anticipation at its peak, the day finally arrived. My fiancé dropped me off at the train station and I was on my way. After a 90-minute train ride and a pain in the butt time trying to get a cab, I arrived at the beautiful NoMo Soho Hotel in New York City. I had just enough time to get checked in and order a quick bite to eat from room service. After scarfing down my burger, I was back downstairs to meet Rob and head a few blocks over to the Crosby Street Theatre for the screening.

(Pictures of my hotel room at the NoMo Soho Hotel)

As I got into the elevator to head down to the lobby, Steve “Frosty” Weintraub from Collider was standing in there. I had previously met Steve at the ‘Civil War’ screening last year, as he ran the event and held a Q&A session with directors Joe & Anthony Russo. I found Rob and we headed to the theatre. As we got to the main lobby, I began to recognize various bloggers and internet personalitie like: Grae Drake from Rotten Tomatoes, Eliot Dewberry & Ricky Hayberg from The ETC Show, Scott Mantz from Access Hollywood, and Dan Casey from Nerdist. Because I’ve been following sites and shows that people like these appear on or write for, seeing them in person was, to me, like seeing a celebrity.

(Scott Mantz & I) (Ricky Hayberg, Me, Eliot Dewberry)

The film started, and while I won’t write about the details here, was good. The film followed with a reception in the bar area where we all got to mingle and talk. I was able to get a picture with Scott Mantz and chat with him for a few minutes. No sooner did I say hello and introduce myself to him did he immediately jump right into a conversation with me like we had been old friends. Seriously, he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. After an eventful day & night, Rob and I headed back toward the hotel. When I got back to the room, I began typing up this post and editing some video that I shot as well. I did my best to document as much of my experience as I could to share out with friends, family and fans of my show, The Cinescape Podcast. As awesome as this first night had been, the next day was sure to be even better.

Day 2

After waking up and ordering a nice breakfast, I found out that my interview wouldn’t be until after 1:00 PM, so I spent a few hours working on some videos and other news topics for The Cinescape. Finally, I walked over to the Crosby Street Theatre to meet Rob, where a nice buffet spread was laid out for us. I talked more with Scott Mantz, as I found out he’s originally from the same area I live. He also gave me his business card and agreed to call in to my show sometime. I also got to chat with Eliot Dewberry and Ricky Hayberg from ETC as well as Dan Casey from Nerdist and Steve Weintraub from Collider for a bit.

(Logan Poster at the Crosby Street Theatre)

Rob and I were called upstairs to wait for our turn to the interview room. I watched Eliot and Ricky continue their “feud” with Scott and even made eye contact with Sir Patrick Stewart right before he got onto an elevator. I just narrowly missed my chance for a photo-op! After 15-20 minutes, it was my turn. Staff prepped me for what to expect as I entered a room full of lights, cameras and, well…action! There stood Hugh Jackman, smiling, greeting me. For a second I felt like I was hallucinating.

I sat down for the interview, star struck, hoping to not mess anything up. A quick joke from Hugh loosened me up and I fired back with a joke of my own. I asked him when to expect ‘Kate & Leopold 2’, which he laughed at and said that his wife would like for that one to happen. I got the chance to ask a few more questions and Hugh answered them in turn, seeming genuinely interested in everything I had to ask him. I can’t tell you how nice of a guy he was. It would be so easy for him to turn his nose up in the air and think that he’s above all of the “common folk” like myself and the other people there, but he was awesome. He was charming and funny and made me feel comfortable during the few precious minutes I had with him. The minutes seemed to fly by at light speed, and just like that, my interview with Hugh was over. He did tell me that this was absolutely the last time he’d be playing Wolverine, and it sounded like he meant it. Another handshake and I was back out the door.

(Me outside of Hugh Jackman's interview room)

Rob and I collected the video disks from our interviews, as he had also interviewed Patrick Stewart, director James Mangold and villain of the film Boyd Holbrook earlier in the day. Back downstairs, we chatted for a few more minutes before the cab I called for arrived to take me back to Penn Station. Fox also gave everyone in attendance books with artwork from the film: beautiful black and white images taken by photographers from the film as well as James Mangold himself. The photos had been released periodically online as promotional material for the movie. As I finish up this article from the train, I take back with me not only physical souvenirs and photographs, but once in a lifetime memories that I will cherish forever. This whole event has deepened my passion for wanting to get into the entertainment business and I made some really good contacts and connections that could prove fruitful in the future. I hope you have enjoyed sharing my experience from the pictures, videos, and posts I’ve shared. A major thank you to Rob Keyes, Screen Rant, Molly Doherty and Fox for this amazing opportunity. Rob, you were so awesome to hang out with and I enjoyed our conversations on movies, TV and hockey as well. Thanks for sharing in this all with me.