Grandmothers Can Be the Craziest of All

Word of the Post: Zac Efron Italiano (The Italian Zac Efron)

Children screaming. Mom’s creeping. And grandmother’s pushing. This was clearly the High School Music 3 Red Carpet walk for the Italian premier.

I arrived at the Rome Film festival at 11:00 AM on Sunday October 26 to watch the photo call for actor Corbin Bleu and actress Ashlee Tisdale. When the photo call ended at noon, we left the cinema and saw people lined up along the red carpet. We assumed that someone would be coming out to walk the red carpet soon, so we asked a little girl who was waiting. She responded in Italian that she was waiting for Bleu and Tisdale to walk the red carpet at 4:30 PM. These kids were waiting for four and a half hours for their childhood idols.

It reminded me of my 8^th grade year of middle school. When I was thirteen-years-old I too had an obsession like these Italian kids. Only my obsession didn’t make one random red carpet walk in my city, they made several concert stops and mall signing stops in my region of the states. My obsession was Dream Street. My friends and I would line up, up to six hours before the mall signings, and deck ourselves out in face paint proclaiming our love for one of the members of the group. I knew from my Dream Street experiences that kids lining up four-and-a-half hours in advance could only mean many more would join in the coming hours.

So when I got to the red carpet at 3:30 for the 4:30 walk, I wasn’t surprised at all. Stacks of children were waiting outside the red carpet in hopes of getting an autograph, a picture, or at least a glimpse of who could be their favorite person in the world at that very moment. I knew I wouldn’t see anything from the side of the red carpet unless I started throwing some elbows at these kids who were barely up to my waist (and I am only 5 foot 2), so I headed inside to wait by the entrance which they would come in through.

With a half-hour to show-time, pre-red carpet events began. A choir of singers walked out onto the carpet wearing graduation outfits appropriately for the movie that would be ending with a graduation scene. Following the choir, out came the Italian Zac Efron. When I say the Italian Zac Efron—I mean the Italian Zac Efron. He sings the Efron songs from the HSM movies in Italian, he was nearly the same height, was thin, and had the same shaggy hair going on, however the voices were no match. Even still the little girls surrounding me began screaming and shoving. As he finished singing a song, he made his way to walk into the auditorium. To my left stood a mom who seemed star-struck as she got her digital camera ready for Jacopo Sarno (Mr. Italian Zac Efron). Behind me, I had a pamphlet nearing my face and poking me, almost causing a paper cut to my eye. I looked back and I saw a grandma shoving and waving the pamphlet that was going to cause me to have to wear a patch over my eye for the rest of my life possibly—and this was just the Italian Zac Efron. I began to worry what would happen when Miss Tisdale and Mr. Bleu walked in.

In my head I proclaimed that soon “Shit was going to hit the fan.” Sure enough, when Tisdale and Bleu entered the red carpet, it did indeed hit the fan. The pushing became worse, the pamphlets to my face increased, and I suddenly felt like I was stuck in a movie about a 20 year old girl being killed by a raging grandmother at the premier of a Disney movie. Sure guns and knives are scary, but they are nothing like those grandmas.

Tisdale and Bleu made their way into the auditorium and rushed through without stopping. I was lucky enough to get a picture, but of course Miss Tisdale’s eyes were shut. She must have been blinded by the thousands of digital cameras going off deafened by the encores of yelling children (and grandmas). Mr. Bleu gave a wave. Then the flood gates were opened, and the crowd rushed to give their tickets to enter the movie theatre.

Tisdale and Bleu introduced the film which they did in English, but would follow their introduction in Italian with English subtitles—probably because it was a movie for kids and not adults. Sarno walked into the theatre and girls began screaming again. He sat down to watch the movie with the crowd.

An hour-and-a-half later I found myself jetting out as the closing credits were about to come on. I went for the nearest exit, and realized I had just exited through a fire exit. Oh well, no problem. If I just kept walking down I would get out somehow. Then I realized standing in front of me with a private car was none other than the Italian Zac Efron. He had security standing next to him and I had my camera out as I approached him. I realized this was one-on-one, and was my first real one-on-one experience with a star without hundreds of fans screaming in the background. I didn’t even know who the guy was until two hours prior. I said “Scusi,” and his security guard shook his head no at me. “Un complimento,” I said, and Sarno turned around. I tried to make words in Italian but all that came out was a bunch of jibberish that didn’t sound like any language let alone Italian or English. I finally completed my thought by saying, “Io parlo Inglese.” He responded slowly, “I speak English too,” and laughed at me. Sheepishly I ended the night by telling him he has a great voice (even if it is no match for the real Efron) and best luck.

Then I walked away basking in the glory of meeting at least one star for the night—even if I couldn’t make out a word to him.