On The Scene: TNT Hosts ‘I Am The Night’ LA Premiere

We are the night:  The Los Angeles premiere and after party for “I am the Night” bring art and untold stories into focus.

“Remind me to write about the grilled cheese.”

Allow me to set the scene for this line, gleefully uttered into existence late Thursday evening at the Chateau Marmont Hotel.  Upon being beckoned into the space by live artists, guests were well prepared to Snapchat women waving from inside artful cages, Insta-story balancing gymnasts, and rub shoulders with talented stars.  Offerings of champagne and wine appeared alongside rapidly disappearing hors d’oeuvres (it took 21 seconds for the aforementioned grilled cheeses to disappear) and graceful painters working on a large canvas, all serenaded by a free-floating yet sexy version of “Summertime,” punctuated with gleeful chatter and discovery.  It could have been a surrealist freeform Hollywood party in 1965, and that’s probably what TNT would like us all to think. This was, after all, part of an elaborate set-up to celebrate, and perhaps closely experience, TNT’s newest drama, I am the Night.

Let us rewind to two hours prior.

Part 1 of this two part excursion starts the Harmony Gold, homebase for the screening of episode 1.  Here, though, if you succumbed to the invite too quickly, you might have missed the surprise of the red carpet: Wonder Woman herself Gal Gadot.  Then again, to categorize her attendance as a surprise may have been misleading considering the company of the evening: I Am The Night is directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Chris Pine.  Fellow Wonder Woman alum Connie Nielsen also makes an appearance in the show. Among these Wonder Woman co-stars and crew lands India Eisley as Fauna Hodel, a precocious teenager whose excavation of her biological past sends the story towards her infamous grandfather, Dr. George Hodel, and the Black Dahlia murder.  Golden Brooks also stands out as Fauna’s mother.

I am the Night is comfortably sandwiched between Sharp Objects, the drama that prepared us for not-so-typical families, and The Passage, Leave No Trace, and You Were Never Really Here, the dramas that prepared us for actors in grizzly grey beards driving around with teenage counterparts.  This story is complex, and under a different eye might have been too fast paced.  But in this one, the scenes are long, and by their completion exhausted viewers may find that actually only a few things are revealed at a time amongst a swirl of slow paced dialogue or extended monologue all delivered in curiously chosen southern accents (the series is set in Nevada and California).  Don’t blink during the last five minutes of the first episode, when the story really adds layers in preparation for the rest of the series.

The six episode limited series is shot on film, an ambitious and notoriously expensive endeavor.  Viewing the first episode in a theater helped to heighten the beauty and feel of that creative decision.  Should you embark on TNT’s complex and suspenseful adventure, it deserves to be seen on a large screen with high bandwidth, to appreciate its selected medium.

Part 2 of the evening took place down the street underneath the watchful and beautiful eyes of Chris Pine… or at least his face via billboard:  The recently replaced ALLY sign on Sunset now sports an advertisement for the TNT series, perfectly placed adjacent to the scene of the crime, or at least the scene of party, the Chateau Marmont Hotel.

There is perhaps no better location for a throwback to 1965 Hollywood combined with a television show’s artsy premise than the Chateau Marmont.  Enter the surrealist artists from above, mix in the interactive experiences, add an environment conducive to friendly introductions and conversations, and it became a night that not only beckoned the stars from the show but also noted attendees Regina Hall, Steve Perry, and Patricia Clarkson.

Among the red and orange hues, drawing from the tone of the series, was a devotion to the juxtaposition of black and white: chess pieces and a chess board, black words on a white wall, and one artist literally split in half, wearing a woman’s dress in white on one side and a man’s tuxedo in black.  Guests were invited to write on walls, cut portions of a woman’s dress, participate in a “a healing touch” and other experiences. These extended to an exclusive invite-only room of the hotel, where guests who were lucky enough to snag a hand delivered card, were invited continued with exclusive moments (This reporter was indeed not lucky enough to get one; but maybe next time!). The interactive world of the after-party was conceived and created by New York art collective Little Cinema led by audiovisual artist CHNNLS aka Jay Rinsky. 

In the I am the Night trailer, we hear that “some stories don’t want to be told.”  But this one does.

This whole unique experience, both the premiere and the party, was possible because of Patty Jenkins’ devotion to the true story of Fauna Hodel and TNT’s willingness to take on an untold story in a unique way.  Our glee and our memories are intertwined with the experimentation of a complicated true story that needed telling, a television show shot on film, and a network that believe it could work.

At one point in the evening, I found myself saying hello to and thanking Patty Jenkins for all of her work.  Later, Patricia Clarkson floated over to the trumpet player in the evening’s band and thanked him for his work. In in a freeform art-filled evening, these were both gestures that reminded me that gratitude can share our appreciation for stories and the willingness to show them.

I Am The Night premieres Monday January 28th 1965,  I mean 2019, on TNT.