DEEP DIVE Into Aquaman in Manila

Jason Momoa, Amber Heard and Director James Wan during the Aquaman Fan Event last December 11, 2019 at the SM Mall Of Asia, Music Hall. 

So it's four in the morning after what I am now dubbing as "Aquaman Day" and despite the long day most of which were spent waiting and or standing for an event to start, sleep has eluded me once again. I guess that's okay so that when I go back to work come tomorrow, it's an easier adjustment. In case you don't know, I'm an analyst for a BPO company and Paul and I work the night shift. 

I'm already done with my "Aquaman" movie review, it's already posted by the way, since the embargo has now been lifted. So while I'm waiting for sleep to engulf me I decided to start on my post Aquaman Day write up. 

Some people like climbing up mountains, riding bikes, baking cookies, but for Paul and me, it's covering events like these. He gets to take photos, I get to write, all the while being in the same room as Hollywood A-Listers, as well as being with local and international press. It's a bonus if I get to ask a question during a press junket or get a selfie. 

I guess we're just weird that way. Funny also because December 10 is actually our wedding anniversary and this year, we are celebrating our seventh year as husband and wife and we seem to always find ourself "working" on our wedding anniversaries. Case in point, one time Paul actually covered a wedding. So now, we share the same wedding anniversary with this amazing couple. Another time, we covered the Barbie (Almalbis), Kitchie (Nadal) and Aia (De Leon) "Secrets" concert. And now "Aquaman Day". 

So even if the Aquaman Presscon and Fan Event were on the 11th, the required press screening (to be able to attend the Press Con) was on the 10th. It's a good thing that Paul and I were allowed to go on leave from work on both days. 

I loved the movie and really enjoyed it. You can read my full review here. 

Local and Foreign Press during the "Aquaman Press Conference" held at the Grand Hyatt. 
We were seated in the fourth row. 

We woke up early on D-Day -errr I mean Aquaman Day, Tuesday, December 11, 2018 so we can pack our stuff. Since we were coding, we decided to book an Airbnb stay, a condo near Mall of Asia, where the Fan Event was taking place. If you've been following us, you would know that booking a hotel stay (and probably now, Airbnb units) is a thing, whenever we cover events that are too far from home.  

With only packing the essentials, we set off a little before lunch time to the Grand Hyatt hotel in BGC where the Asian Press Conference would be held. This was by far the biggest Press Conference we would be covering and I was just in awe and flabbergasted the entire time. 

We are a small group of pop culture/geek bloggers, content creators and we basically know each other from events and its nice to get to share something as big as these events with each other. (Hi Jerald, Prince, Awie and Naz! It was nice meting you Chris.) We were like giddy school children, of course as media / press we had to behave ourselves, most especially during the press conference. 
This was especially true since there were also foreign press present. Of course, it was everybody's game during the fan event. The louder screaming, the better, but we'll get to that later. 

During the Press Conference, Jason Momoa, Amber Heard and Director James Wan talked about the movie, from the tight fitting (but you'll still be able to go to the bathroom) costumes, to the different messages the movie brings. From representation, for Amber Heard, who feels like her character Mera - "is no damsel in distress. We need more characters like her" she says.

Coming from different cultures themselves Director James Wan (who was born in Malaysia and is of Chinese descent but grew up in Australia) and Jason Momoa (whose Mother is of German-Irish and Native American ancestry, his father is of native Hawaiian descent) talk about what it means growing up and coming from different worlds like Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and coming to terms with this.  

The beautiful stage during the Aquaman Fan Event at the Music Hall at SM Mall of Asia. 

After the Press Conference, we all rushed to get our Grab Cars (since we were coding) and headed to Mall of Asia. Since Paul and I had booked an Airbnb, we checked in first, throwing the things we won't be needing on the bed (so we'd have lighter bags), refreshing up a bit and rushing to the Music Hall for the fan event. We had to register first and secure our spot for good photos. 

I wasn't even planning on going to the fan event, because of my heart condition I was having second thoughts, I can't stand for a long time, nor could I be in a crowded space for long. Good thing, the press area still had room for us to walk around in. I just made sure to drink my medication, that I was well hydrated and I actually got to sit down and rest while waiting for the fan event to start. 

There were a couple of times when I felt overwhelmed with everything that was happening and one of them was while waiting for the event to start, standing there in the middle of the Music Hall, when you look up, you can see that no expense was spared, there were huge banners and posters of the characters from "Aquaman" from ceiling to floor. I mean look at that stage! Because the venue was circular in structure, all you had to do was look up and do a turn and you would know that this is it. This is what big fan events are made of. Then you look in front of you and behind you to the many, many fans who have been in there as early as possible, for the chance to see Jason Momoa, Amber Heard and James Wan, bringing with them art work, comic books, toys and posters to sign. Some even coming in costume and you just get goosebumps, at seeing how much love passion and effort it must have taken these people just to be here today.  

Then, they arrive and I have to say that the anticipation and excitement is just palpable in the air and it is just utter controlled chaos, if there is such a word. Controlled because security did their jobs well, everything went smoothly, there were no wild attempts or grabbing at the stars, the fans called to the gracious guests who took time to sign the different tokens that they brought and to take selfies with them. 

Okay, I was lucky enough to get a selfie with Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. :) 

So yeah. Definitely worth it. 

As the event came to a close, there was a shower of blue and white confetti that rained from above and I was looking up completely enthralled by it, that overwhelming feeling came flooding back to me. 

What excites me the most (yes, even more than those epics selfies, are the possibilities that this successful press tour will bring. It was definitely a good precedent and what could follow is more than exciting but mind blowing, actually. 

Studios will be more confident in the Philippines, that we can host something as big as this. Can you just imagine all the upcoming Hollywood movies and the big studios setting their eyes on Manila? 

It seems that all that had work paid off - the local box office numbers of Aquaman broke records! Read more here. 

The success of the event would not be possible without the hard work of so many people, from the folks at Warner Bros. and their teams who have spent months working on this event, , (scouring the Metro for a hotel that has a big enough bed for the 6'4 tall Jason Momoa, I watched a video that says his chest is about 50 inches wide, looking for vans so that he and is entourage would be comfortable. If you think Jason was big, you should see this one guy in his crew)  to the fans, cosplayers, media, bloggers, content creators, to the many, many unsung heroes, I'm sure I'm forgetting people but all of the hard work culminated to a successful and unforgettable Aquaman Day! This is definitely one for the books and my experience is just one in the million of the many memorable stories that happened on that day. 

What's your #AquamanPH story? 

Click here for more photos.