LOTL Premiere Last Night

Well it finally happened! Land Of The Lost is finally opening!!!!

Last night my friends Deanne, Bruce, Richard and I headed to the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. It was packed. I waited in line and showed my ID to get my tickets! No limo but a $6 self parking fee! How the mighty have fallen!!

I walked down the red carpet and it was surreal. To think our little Saturday morning show could generate so much buzz! The cost of the party after the show was probably the entire budget of our first season in 1973.

Philip Paley (Chaka) and his soon to be beautiful bride, Marla arrived shortly afterwards. They looked great!! I made sure the red carpet knew who he was. It’s hard to tell he was Chaka without his monkey suit! Philip was beaming as he worked the red carpet!!

Kathy Coleman was not invited!!! She has had a difficult life and the “powers that be” were afraid for her to show up... Kathy has faced a difficult life that many child stars have battled through. I was very disappointed she was not there. She should have been there! Her performance on LOTL was a main reason the show was a hit! It felt very empty without her...

I am told Kathy is about to reveal her story this week in the tabloids so I don’t want to jump the gun on her reveal. Because it is her story!!! And I love her dearly! I do feel like her brother.

Once she tells all I will be able to share with you the unbelievably difficult night of shooting on the set of LOTL. It was an unforgettable...or maybe it should be a forgettable... night!

I spoke with Will Ferrell and Danny McBride on the red carpet along with the Kroffts who had been doing interviews non stop all day long. Sid was famished!

Sid Krofft told me later that the question that kept coming up was why the new movie did not feature the Marshall family. He said that Kathy, spencer and I had created such a believable family that it was hard for the fans to see LOTL without us. It was very flattering..but I am not sure it makes total sense. But loved hearing it anyway.

There have been development deals on making the LOTL movie for many years. Disney had it for a long time. Some mucho bucks and scripts later...attaching will Ferrel was the magic “get it done” key!!!

The free popcorn and sodas were a bonus as the lights went down....

The movie opens with a very funny scene with Will and Matt Lauer...you have seen bits in the trailers.

I hate reading a review before I see a movie!! I have had three famous movie reviewers as friends in my life and I never once read their reviews before I saw a movie...I am a purest. I like to take the “ride” of the movie without any preconceptions. So what I am suggesting is that I give a few broad strokes but no details until the film opens. Then hopefully we can all share our reviews together....a bit of a cop out?...yeah, probably!!

If you are a Will Ferrell fan you will eat this film up! The movie is all comedy. It was great fun watching us be spoofed!!! Will is a master.

If you are looking for the serious sci-fi drama of the Marshal family you will have to watch the old series. The effects are wonderful and there are huge laughs. Chaka and Danny steal the movie for me. But as Danny McBride said to me after the show, “The character of Will was the best part!” Flattering and fun!! He is very kind and was very generous in his praise with me. For that I am truly grateful! At the party he told me had been answering a lot of questions about me the last few days. He graciously said, “I am certainly not the teen idol as you were!” My favorite part of the evening was spending a few minutes with Danny.

Grumpy is remarkable!!! Not your 1970’s special effects!! It has come a long way from a hand puppet! If you are a fan of the TV show you will love the references o the series. The Sleestak remained true to the old show as you have seen in the Subway commercial. Love their new teeth!

The entire ending at the La Brea tar pits was cut (including my cameo) and a new scene was shot. All very funny!!

Enough said about the movie until you all get a chance to see it and share your thoughts.

The party afterwards was great!! They decorated the huge ballroom above the Kodak Theatre with props from the move. The food was provided by Subway and there was also salmon, roast beef, cobb salads, mac and cheese, guacamole, an open bar, ice cream and all the fixings toped off the amazing spread. A pig out delight!

As I walked in I ran into Bruce Villance who was waiting for Brook Shields at the top of the stairs.

I got to tell you, it felt odd to be there. I was part of the past but not really a player in this party. Kathy and my scene had been cut out of the movie and there was no credit. Marty Krofft told me we were still in the movie credits a few days ago but on the final version we had been removed.

I ran into some old friends and meet some great people. I had not planned on going to the premiere last night for a bunch of reasons...both emotional and physical... but Philip talked me into it. I am glad I did!!

Philip and Marla just called and we reminisced about last night. I love those two! They are getting married in a few weeks at a small ceremony on the beach in Malibu.

So go see the movie and let everyone know what you thought on this blog....I will be very interested.

More later....

Check out more premiere photos on AP’s website at: http://www.apimages.com/Search.aspx?st=det&sort=date&id=Premiere%20Land%20of%20the%20Lost%20LA&showact=events&prds=10002&intv=3d&sh=1010&kwstyle=and&adte=1243782600&pagez=20&