LEGUIZAMO "MELTS" FAIRBANKS
Hello again. It was another memorable night here in Fairbanks last night, where Governor Frank Murkowski and actor John Leguizamo opened the "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ice park in a big way at the Ice Alaska ice park!
Now, there was plenty of time to kill before the big moment came at 7:00 pm (I arrived at 4:00), so there were ice sculptures to gawk at from all over the world in both single-block and multi-block. The best of the bunch has to be the "Balto's Charge" followed by "Time for Tea", both multi-block. The Ice Park by the way is open until March 26, meaning you've got all the time in the world to check out these masterpieces and more.
Anyway, back to Murkowski and Leguizamo: The two arrived on dog sleds and addressed the packed crowd. And knowing that they brought their flag with them, a group of fans flew all the way from Puerto Rico for this occasion. There were also a couple of young ladies -- fans of Leguizamo for years, probably since "House Of Buggin'" -- who were the only ones with homemade signs proclaiming their love for him (one of them said to the "News-Miner" that he's hot...not knowing for the fact that he's married with two children). After he and Murkowski used blow torches to cut the "ice ribbon" open, the two gave interviews to the press and Leguizamo stayed around for a few minutes to sign autographs.
I dunno about you, but from close-up, the guy looks more like 28 than 41 (he was born in 1964). At that age, I think he looks like a Latino George Clooney...only that he has darker hair.
After Leguizamo gave a behind closed doors interview at the warm-up room, it was security that had a meltdown of their own, pushing people out of the way --including me -- and grabbing them by their jackets so that they would clear the path for him to get to his limo. And believe me...that security guy played more naughty than nice; and I'm not used to this here in Fairbanks. But if you're a big-name celebrity like John Leguizamo, you had to take chances.
Despite that at the end, it was yet quite a night...and that he got way more camera time than John O'Hurley when I captured him at the 2002 Iditarod start in Anchorage. And yes, I did film it, but you WON'T -- I mean WON'T! -- see my video on any of the entertainment news shows tonight; they're for my own personal viewing...well, unless I feel like making a DVD copy. And you can tell that Leguizamo's visit was the best video I've ever took in six years: He noticed my camera and my camera noticed him.
Of course I will keep an eye on those major entertainment news shows later tonight to see if they'll have a little something on Leguizamo's visit; KTVF, KXD, and ABC Alaska News on KATN will no doubt have it as well on the local side. And yes, I'll rate them all tomorrow in another old feature from the Allen Report, "Covering the Coverage."
Now that all that's over, the attention is refocused on the Iditarod. Jeff King remains in the lead; he arrived in Shaktoolik earlier this morning at 2:00 am and left at 5:22, followed by Doug Swingley, Paul Gephardt, Dee Dee Jonrowe, and Bjornar Anderson in the top five. Dave Tresino, Matt Hayashida, and John Barron are the latest scratches. Something tells me that if King holds on in the final stretch, we might expect him in Nome sometime around early Tuesday morning or evening.
But like I said, what an incredible and another historic night I've been a part of last night, because it was John Leguizamo and all of Fairbanks turning out for him just one week after the Oscars. Screw the "Sopranos" season premiere we've been waiting 800 years for; this was a real-life moment! Oh, before I forget..."Ice Age: The Meltdown" -- in which Leguizamo reprises his role as the voice of Sid the Sloth -- hits theaters March 31. From the Golden Leguizamo -- I mean, Heart -- City, so long!
Hello again. It was another memorable night here in Fairbanks last night, where Governor Frank Murkowski and actor John Leguizamo opened the "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ice park in a big way at the Ice Alaska ice park!
Now, there was plenty of time to kill before the big moment came at 7:00 pm (I arrived at 4:00), so there were ice sculptures to gawk at from all over the world in both single-block and multi-block. The best of the bunch has to be the "Balto's Charge" followed by "Time for Tea", both multi-block. The Ice Park by the way is open until March 26, meaning you've got all the time in the world to check out these masterpieces and more.
Anyway, back to Murkowski and Leguizamo: The two arrived on dog sleds and addressed the packed crowd. And knowing that they brought their flag with them, a group of fans flew all the way from Puerto Rico for this occasion. There were also a couple of young ladies -- fans of Leguizamo for years, probably since "House Of Buggin'" -- who were the only ones with homemade signs proclaiming their love for him (one of them said to the "News-Miner" that he's hot...not knowing for the fact that he's married with two children). After he and Murkowski used blow torches to cut the "ice ribbon" open, the two gave interviews to the press and Leguizamo stayed around for a few minutes to sign autographs.
I dunno about you, but from close-up, the guy looks more like 28 than 41 (he was born in 1964). At that age, I think he looks like a Latino George Clooney...only that he has darker hair.
After Leguizamo gave a behind closed doors interview at the warm-up room, it was security that had a meltdown of their own, pushing people out of the way --including me -- and grabbing them by their jackets so that they would clear the path for him to get to his limo. And believe me...that security guy played more naughty than nice; and I'm not used to this here in Fairbanks. But if you're a big-name celebrity like John Leguizamo, you had to take chances.
Despite that at the end, it was yet quite a night...and that he got way more camera time than John O'Hurley when I captured him at the 2002 Iditarod start in Anchorage. And yes, I did film it, but you WON'T -- I mean WON'T! -- see my video on any of the entertainment news shows tonight; they're for my own personal viewing...well, unless I feel like making a DVD copy. And you can tell that Leguizamo's visit was the best video I've ever took in six years: He noticed my camera and my camera noticed him.
Of course I will keep an eye on those major entertainment news shows later tonight to see if they'll have a little something on Leguizamo's visit; KTVF, KXD, and ABC Alaska News on KATN will no doubt have it as well on the local side. And yes, I'll rate them all tomorrow in another old feature from the Allen Report, "Covering the Coverage."
Now that all that's over, the attention is refocused on the Iditarod. Jeff King remains in the lead; he arrived in Shaktoolik earlier this morning at 2:00 am and left at 5:22, followed by Doug Swingley, Paul Gephardt, Dee Dee Jonrowe, and Bjornar Anderson in the top five. Dave Tresino, Matt Hayashida, and John Barron are the latest scratches. Something tells me that if King holds on in the final stretch, we might expect him in Nome sometime around early Tuesday morning or evening.
But like I said, what an incredible and another historic night I've been a part of last night, because it was John Leguizamo and all of Fairbanks turning out for him just one week after the Oscars. Screw the "Sopranos" season premiere we've been waiting 800 years for; this was a real-life moment! Oh, before I forget..."Ice Age: The Meltdown" -- in which Leguizamo reprises his role as the voice of Sid the Sloth -- hits theaters March 31. From the Golden Leguizamo -- I mean, Heart -- City, so long!
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