Three Days in Portland (What We Did)

Our trip to Portland for the premiere of Blue Like Jazz was one of my favorite trips Ellen and I have taken together.  I could bore you with a 10 page manuscript of what happened, but let's look at some pictures, shall we?

We flew into PDX, rented a car, and almost immediately fell in love with the city.  Ellen kept saying that it was like a bunch of people got together and decided to make the most beautiful city they could.  Which I'm pretty sure is what all city planners say, but for some reason it really clicked with Portland.

Our view from the hotel of the Willamette River, pronounced "damn it," the internet told me.

Things in Portland have blurry edges.

This city has parks spread around like chocolate chips on a cookie.

Portland: city of many old signs

See?

Because Ellen and I were such huge fans of the book (and the movie) we had to take a visit to Reed College.  Their school motto is "Atheism, Communism, Free Love" and they have a student-run nuclear reactor.  Reminds me of my days at ol' Samford U.  Oh, wait.  No, it doesn't.

This actually does kind of look like Samford.

If you've seen the film you should recognize this bridge.  Actually, if you've seen the poster you should recognize this bridge.

The tourists are over here, guys.

"There's another one! Let's throw him off the bridge!" -one Reedie on a Dimetapp high

Our buddy Marshall, who plays the main character in the film, suggested we go to Multnomah Falls.  We took the 20 minute drive from downtown Portland and ended up by the Columbia River Gorge surrounded by beautiful waterfalls.

Photo credit: a crooked dwarf

Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the big night, where we also took a great new picture for our MySpace page.

And just like that it was time for the main event: the premiere of the film at the Bagdad Theatre.  The cast took a limo from the hotel and we arrived to see a giant line of fans wrapping around the block!  They'd even been standing in the rain for over an hour.  We walked the red carpet (approximately 7 feet long) while people cheered.  What a bizarre and incredibly fun experience that I'm so grateful I got to share with Ellen.

"Who's that guy?"  "No clue, but he's in a bow tie. Let's clap for him!" -one fan to another

Us, Tania Raymonde, Marshall Allman, and Jamie Anne Allman

That's also Jason Marsden, Don Miller, and our director Steve Taylor.

Might as well get your money's worth with the photographer.

I love going to see films with Q&As afterwards, so it's always a surreal experience when I'm a part of one.  I've done 3 now for BLJ and each one has just been so cool for me to do.  I  love this stuff!  Here's some pictures from our Portland Q&A before and after the premiere.

"Hmm." -me, while Steve is talking

After the premiere we hung out with the cast, crew, and some super cool people from Portland.  We even got to meet the real Penny who inspired the character in the book and film.  So cool!

Those three days went by too quickly.  I'm ready right now to go back and premiere another movie.