On the 26th Thursday 2021, I was on the red carpet at the Marvel Shang-Chi Premiere in London. Before I talk about the experience, I just wanted to say that being on the red carpet is something that has been on my bucket list for many years. There is something about the glitz and glamour of the red carpet that really appeals to me.
I won’t be talking about the actual how-to attend these events but I will say I was invited to the event by an association of the organisers who was looking for suitable people for the event which I’m still stunned I was included to be there with so many other amazing cosplayers.
I don’t know what I was expecting from the experience, at one point I didn’t even know if I was going to see the film, meet anyone, get selfies with any of the cast members, I didn’t even know who was coming I personally was kept in the dark but that was because I didn’t want to ask many questions to the organisers.
But when I got to the red carpet, oh man, it is everything you see on TV, the cast members and celebrities come onto the premise and they go through the press junket being interviewed by various networks. They would snake around before getting their photos taken by the press photographers. I was with the cosplayers near the entrance of the cinema where the cast members might come past us and we would try and get photos with them.
It was also a chance for the cast members to possibly meet their counterpart cosplayers who dressed as characters from the film. It was amazing how the cast members really engaged with the cosplayers and also talked about the franchise at such a deeper level. We even had cosplayers, not in the film such as Iron Fist (Comic Version), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Vision) whom Simu Liu recognised these characters and had a conversation with the cosplayer. I think it’s very nice for the organisers to have cosplayers at films premieres as I think it shows how much the franchise means to people. Speaking to cosplayers who have atteneded premieres in the past, I know how passionate cospalyers are to the franchise regardless if they’ve only been a fan of the films or been following from the very beginning in the comics.
I met so many of the cast members and more. It was also pleasing to see so many Asian actors and director during this event, even one who wasn’t involved in the film which showed there is a start of a rich Asian talent pool. I took as many photos as I could of the event, I wasn’t in the best angle but it didn’t matter to me too much as there was official press whose job it was to get those photos.
The next thing I was given was a ticket to go and see the film which was such a surprise to me as I didn’t know how much of the event I was being involved in.
I don’t want to give too much of the film away at this point cause I really want people to go and see this film. Shang-Chi is a wonderful film, with great characters who all had the right amount of time on screen, the fighting sequences were amazing and also captured the Asian culture so well for an American film. There are lots of costume ideas which I hope lots of cosplayers get to make and wear. Please if you have the time and it’s safe enough to go to the cinema to watch the film, please do cause it’s so worth the trip.
I feel very fortunate to have been invited to this event, I didn’t realise how much this film meant to me as an Asian born in Western culture. It’s brilliant how much of the structure of the film is what I would love people to see and experience. I would love to thank the organisers who invited me to this event as it’s a memory which will live me for a very long time.
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