LIVE FROM AFI FEST

The 2007 AFI Fest kicked off with a roar Thursday night as a stellar gathering of Hollywood's power elite gathered for the opening night screening of United Artist's LIONS FOR LAMBS at the ArcLight Theater.

The Red Carpet

For film fans, waiting in line for a Hollywood premiere can be a balance between excitement and anticipation. But not for two eager, yet patient fans, Jember Carcaamo and Ana Martinez, who were the first two to arrive in line for premiere of LIONS FOR LAMBS. Carcaamo from Whittier and Martinez from San Pedro became friends in line, having not known each other previously. While Martinez explains her first time at a premiere is "overwhelming," Carcaamo has been to over 80 premieres with multiple pictures of him with various celebrities attached to the side of his wheelchair. "My purpose is to take a picture with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes together," explains an excited Carcaamo. "He is my favorite actor, and I like how he acts in his movies."

Having arrived to wait in line at 11:00 a.m., the two fans were let in to the carpet five hours later for appearances by LIONS FOR LAMBS director Robert Redford, along with the cast of Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Michael Pena, Andrew Garfield, Peter Berg, and the film's screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan and the composer Mark Isham. Will Smith and soccer superstar David Beckham graced the carpet, along with AFI jury member Tate Donavan and director Jeffrey Schwarz of the documentary SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY.

The Screening

Before the lights went down and the projector fired up, AFI FEST Director Christian Gaines welcomed audience members and attending artists to a special opening night.

"I have to admit that it's both a pleasure and a bit of relief to kick things off tonight," he said. "Over the next 10 days, visitors from around the world and thousands of film fans will come to Hollywood to participate in this communal celebration of cinema, to yield to the experience and to honor the artists that make it all possible."

LIONS FOR LAMBS not only represents the beginning of the AFI FEST, but also represents the beginning of a new chapter for United Artists with Tom Cruise and longtime production partner Paula Wagner at the helm.

"This is very much a special evening for us because this is our first film for the new United Artists and our first year anniversary of this new partnership to reinvigorate and brand the future of United Artists," Wagner said.

AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale echoed Wagner's take on the significance of LIONS FOR LAMBS as the festival's Opening Night Gala.

"To open this event with this film and a new era of United Artists is a distinct honor," he said. "We stand in the long shadows of Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, pioneers all - geniuses who pooled their talent and inspired audiences and artists alike for nearly 90 years. And now, more than ever, we need artists united and we need the movies, because when our days are darkest, the movies shine the brightest."

Finally, LIONS FOR LAMBS director Robert Redford took the stage to officially introduce the film and raise the curtain on the 2007 AFI FEST presented by Audi.

"First, my gratitude to the studio, because taking a chance on a film like this first shot out is commendable," Redford said. "The film is about the consequences and the effects of the last few years in our country, but I think the less said about the film the better. It now belongs to audiences and might provoke some thought and maybe, if we're lucky, even some debate."