Journey to the Center of the Earth

I just returned from the movie premiere of Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was an interesting night. First at a little after 5:00 p.m. I spent some quality time with Halls Republican residents Ted and Carla Hatfield. I then had a very cordial conversation with Inside Tennessee panelist Don Bosch. I also had a pleasant conversation with County Commissioner Mike Hammond. The food provided by Fleming’s was exceptional. Fleming’s always provides an excellent presentation. I passed E.W. Scripps Publisher Bruce Hartmann in the hall and we spoke. The stars and director of the movie spoke in the VIP tent. Following their remarks we moved into the theater.

We ventured into the lobby area to see and hear the public remarks from the stars. As we waited for the public remarks of stars Josh Hutcherson and Brendan Fraser, I realized that someone was close to me as I turned around, I realized that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam had seen us in the crowd and had crossed over to speak to us. It was a pleasant conversation. We discussed what our kids were doing for the summer and briefly discussed the budgets of the city and county. My son was able to meet both stars and they autographed his ticket.

We then ventured into the theater, no previews were shown. That was unusual. The movie is GREAT. I am not going to attempt a review as Brian’s Blog is not a movie review blog. I will tell you that on July 11, 2008 when the movie opens it is well worth the cost of admission. The 3D ain’t your daddy’s 3D.

As we left a goodie bag was given to each patron. It was a fun night. In the end over $340,000.00 was raised for Variety the children’s charity and that is the most important part about the evening at Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Stadium 18 in Turkey Creek.

What a great community we live in that we have a corporate citizen like Regal Entertainment Group that always give back to the community in more ways than one.