Sunday October 15, 2023 at 5:00pm saw the Red Carpet Gala Event at Cinema Nova on Lygon Street in Carlton. This was always going to be a special event, because whilst it may not have been the final screening of The Cost in the country, it does mark the final screening of The Cost in its home state of Victoria, and what better way to celebrate than making it something special.
At 3:45pm I arrived early to help set up the media wall, red carpet, posters and life size figures of the lead cast, who resembled action stars in their own right.
No sooner had the setup been underway, guests started making their way up to the foyer, arriving early, either eager to start having a drink and mingling, or to ensure they found a parking space in the bustling precinct that is Lygon Street.
Before too long, drinks were in hand and the photographer was in full swing. Impossible to contain everyone around the media wall, the snaps were taking place wherever the mingling was taking place, which evidently was everywhere!
There were many familiar faces in the crowd and many new ones. The three lead actors were all present, with supporting actress Nicole Pastor a notable exception. Also present was the core production team, including Director and Co-writer Matthew Holmes, as well as Producers, Executive Producer, Make-Up Artist as well as other cast and crew.
Despite the ticketed start time of the screening meant to be 5:00pm, it was still 5:25pm before the almost 200-strong guests found their way into the beautiful Cinema #1.
Once in there, Executive Producer Adam La Rosa found his way to the front stage with microphone in hand and briefly introduced the film to the eager crowd.
It was an amazing experience, being in a cinema of that size nearing capacity. I can't actually recall the last time I've watched a movie with that many people in the cinema, and having seen The Cost about 7 times now, was eagerly anticipating the audience reaction in several key moments. Thankfully, they didn't miss a beat.
There were gasps, shock, horror, disgust and even nervous laughter from the audience exactly where it needed to be, which was everything I needed to hear to confirm that this brilliant film was and had hit the mark.
In the seconds after the final scene and just prior to the closing credits, there's a clever pause of blackness, just long enough to allow the audience to catch their breathe and contemplate what on earth they just sat through; no doubt with numerous questions bouncing around in the back of their mind. Then, as the closing credits began, the entire almost 200-strong audience gave a thunderous round of applause, the exuberance of which reassured me that what I had confirmed earlier was still the case at the conclusion of the film, that the audience absolutely loved it.
It's official, The Cost was a resounding success!
As the audience continued with their round of applause, I quietly got up out of my seat, ensuring I didn't fall over anyone in the dark and made my way down to the front of the cinema, where I met Director Matthew Holmes, complete with microphone in hand ready to pass on to me. Whilst this was taking place, lead cast Damon Hunter (Aaron), Jordan Fraser-Trumble (David) and Kevin Dee (Troy) also made their way down to the front of the cinema where the our special Q&A was about to begin.
As the house lights came up, almost everyone bar a few remained firmly in their chairs as for many, this was a very uncommon occurrence to have the very faces present they had just watched on screen, whilst for others this was an opportunity for them to directly ask those questions bouncing around in the back of their mind to the very individuals who were in a position to answer them; the director and lead actors.
All it took was one initial question to get the ball rolling and I was darting around the room with microphone in hand in an attempt to get to as many questions as possible. The intrigue, insights and questions were fantastic and the entire Q&A continued for what felt like 45 minutes. With the Q&A complete, the audience gave another well deserved round of applause for The Cost and the entire cinema began to spill out back into the foyer in order to ensure that the subsequent screening was able to start on time.
Out in the foyer was a thing of beauty. The friendliness of everyone, chatting to friends and new faces, all wearing beautiful smiles and eagerly discussing the brilliance of The Cost whilst both posing for photographs with the stars in front of the media wall and occasionally being the subject of the odd candid capture.
Overall, it was a fantastic and fitting final Victorian screening and send-off for The Cost, with the film now available to purchase on Blu-Ray or DVD with digital services coming very soon.
If you happened to watch The Cost and loved it, please leave a review on either Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb. As independent filmmakers, your positive reviews really do assist us in helping to attract a wider audience both domestically and internationally.
Thank you to all who attended, loved the film and made it such a special night! Special Credit goes out to Melville Quilliam of Fotografi Group for capturing the images of the entire night.
