Lauren (@okaylauren101) is one of the lucky fans who made it to the red carpet streaming premiere. Not only did she attend the event, but she also met Louis and became instantly known as the fan who got her Larrie phone case signed! Lucky for No Stunts, she has agreed to tell us all about her amazing experience.
Name/Twitter Handle
Okaylauren101
Age
24
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Where and when did you see the film?
I saw the film in Los Angeles California at the Ford Theatre and went to the premiere on May 13th 2023.
If it was at a premier, how did you obtain your tickets?
I obtained my tickets through a friend of mine in the fandom @Jessica8384ny. Many of you may know her, she’s helped many be able to see Louis in person or buy Louis albums.
Did you have far to travel to see the film?
I travelled about six hours there and six hours back home so it took 12 or so hours give or take in total.
How did you hear about the film at first and did you feel the promotion for the film was adequate?
I heard about the film through no other than HLDaily of course. And to be honest with the promotion of the film in that aspect I honestly felt they could have done a better job advertising it. I mean even for the premiere I thought the link was just to buy tickets for the veeps streaming not to actually go and be a part of the actual event.
What are your thoughts on the overall content of the film? Did you feel it was well put together and the order of events discussed was easily understandable?
I loved the film’s content. I honestly cannot say a bad thing about it. I loved that they included the Away From Home Festival in it finally because that was a major event. I don’t think I have ever heard of any other artist putting on their own festival before besides Louis. I loved that they included more of the fan-to-artist dynamic in the premiere version. I felt it was easily understood. I didn’t have to grasp for straws trying to figure out what was happening, besides the part where Louis is talking in the car saying, “Ya know what I mean?” In his little Donny accent.
The film includes many interviews with Louis’ friends and family, which of these stood out the most for you?
I would say his family sticks out the most just because they know Louis’ true authentic self better than any of us could ever imagine.
Loss is a large feature within the film, whether that be the death of family members or loss of the band, identity, etc. Do you feel these moments were handled sensitively? Is there anything you would have added or liked to have heard more about within this context?
I would have liked to have heard more about Felicity’s life. As a newer Larrie or someone newer to the fandom as of 2022, I don’t feel like I know as much about Fizzy’s life as I would like to.
Louis’ mum was covered in great detail within the film, both their relationship with each other and the family’s dynamic as a whole. What part of this stood out for you the most?
What stood out to me the most was Louis’ grandfather’s interview. You could tell by the raw emotions that Jay and Louis’ grandfather had a special type of bond no one can replace. When my mom and I went to see the film for the first time together we both cried during that part because we have experienced a similar loss ourselves.
The loss of Felicity was also covered within the film, with Lottie mentioning that Louis likely felt a level of responsibility greater than the rest of them as he took over the parenting role after their mum died. How did this section of the film make you feel? It was a very small segment of the entire production – do you feel enough time and attention was given to this?
You stated what Lottie said perfectly, in my opinion, I felt enough was shared on the topic. This was actually the part of the film I felt Louis fit into perfectly you can tell just by seeing the interactions with his siblings, such as Ernest and Doris in that one clip from the tour last year, that Louis is more like a father figure to his siblings rather than just a brother. Which then translates into how he views us as fans he is protective over everyone he can be which is one of the qualities I love most about Louis.
If you were able to see the Q&A section of the premiers, whether live or on a later video, what did you think about Charlie’s comments on making the film?
I liked Charlie’s comments about wanting to capture that fan-to-artist pipeline and showing that in the most authentic way possible. In my opinion, I felt like he did capture it well by showing the long camping lines, asking where people came from etc, and then going straight to Louis and him saying he loves seeing our faces as he’s performing on stage because he can tell just how much we love him.
Was there anyone you expected to hear from in the film that wasn’t included?
Hmm. he was included for a short time but I would say I would have wanted to hear from Mark more than we did. Louis grew up with him as a dad figure so it would have been nice to get some more insight from him. But as for someone I expected to hear from that wasn’t in the film, I thought Charlie did a good job including pretty much everyone we see in Louis’ life on a day-to-day basis on social media.
The soundtrack of the film was obviously Louis’ music. Which song featured was your favourite? Do you feel it was well placed within the film?
Obviously, I have to go with ‘Bigger Than Me’. The placement with the song at the end of the film leaves you with such excitement about what life has in store for you and if Louis could make it and do it and turn alright then we can too!
What was your favourite part of the film overall?
The part where we see Louis break his arm! I loved how he actually showed the rawness of the moment and how bad it hurt, but how he was still able to go on and perform and trusted us through the pain to not hurt him when he was at the barricade.
I know you only asked for one favourite part, but I actually have two!
My second one would be where we see how low/deep Louis’ voice can really go. I think that stunned all of us hearing that. It just goes to show how talented Louis actually is and how vital he was to One Direction, but also to himself as a solo artist. You can tell especially in this second album ‘Faith In The Future’ – which everyone should go stream – that Louis really pushed himself and his voice to go further than he did in the first album and it paid off well. But I may be biased since this is my first album drop of Louis in the fandom.
Was any part of the film uncomfortable for you to watch? If so, why?
With Louis being at the centre of the film I could never feel uncomfortable watching him. I felt both Louis and Charlie portrayed Louis’ most authentic self through his friends and bandmates and you can tell Ollie and his bandmates especially match Louis’ energy.
What do you think of the fan response to the film, based on tweets and other social media posts after the premiers?
I mean we got AOTV trending as a hashtag on Twitter, so I would say the fan response on Twitter was pretty well-established and overall good. It was so fun freaking out over every little detail Louis showed that we didn’t get to see in the first drop of the film in theatres.
Obviously, the moment you shared on Twitter with Louis singing your phone case is huge news and a large part of why I approached you for this interview, can you tell us all about this? Leave nothing out, please! Every little detail is needed. What did you say, what did he say, did he smile, and yes, I’m aware I sound a bit unhinged!
I live six hours from Los Angeles and this was not only my first time seeing Louis, but it was also my first “solo” adventure travelling all that way alone, so to say I was unprepared was an understatement. By not preparing, my parents had to get me a hotel room for a few hours after the premiere before I headed home the next day so I wouldn’t have to sleep at the train station. I will definitely be more prepared for my Louis show in June.
I took our local California Amtrak train at 7:56 in the morning and I’m not a morning person either. I had a brief moment the night before thinking I needed to bring something, like my CD, for Louis to sign. Fast forward to the next morning, I was focused on the food I might need if we break down etc. nothing related to signing. Then, after a couple of hours on the train, I was shuffling through the bag I brought and realised, “Shit (in my head), I’d forgotten to bring something for Louis to sign.” I remembered that Louis had signed a person’s phone case a few weeks back, and since that was all I had on me related to Louis, I decided he could sign that. My phone case just happens to be a Larry Stylinson phone case.
I arrived in Bakersfield about noon and hopped on a bus for another two hours to Union station, arriving in Los Angeles at about 3:30 pm or so. I was picked up by my new fandom friend Ellie (Lifeguardmomof3) and we drove in her Jeep to the venue listening to One Direction and Louis, of course.
We hopped in line once we got to the venue and Louis first came to our side saying “Okay it’s signing time” or something to that effect.
As Louis was coming to me all of us were like “Can you sign this”, so I presented my phone case and I asked if he could sign it and he did. I saw Louis smile a little bit at the phone case.
He didn’t say anything to me then, but I had my friend I was with take a picture of my phone case just in case the signature came off (which sadly it did).
As the premiere was going on my phone ended up dying on me as I had left my portable charger in my friend’s car. Thankfully, she had a portable charger too and let me use it. As Louis was coming around for pictures and stopped to take a picture with me he noticed I had the portable charger and he said something to the effect of, “Ooh I like your thinking” in his Donny accent. I then responded back saying, “You know it.”
It’s all a fever dream that this all happened to me. I can’t begin to express the gratitude I have to be able to have been a part of something like that.
To wrap up the night, I got about 3ish hours of sleep in the hotel room before I had to get on my train and bus the next day at 5 am to get back for Mother’s Day and work. To say I was tired was an understatement, but would I do it all again for Louis? Hell yes, I would!
Again, it was all thanks to my friends for making this all possible and, as I stated above, I am filled with so much gratitude, especially for the community we have created here. Without you all and Louis and Harry, I don’t know where I would be. So to say I am grateful for what happened is an understatement. It is all thanks to you whoever may be reading – this is why I am still here today.
Is there anything else you want to add about the film that isn’t covered by the questions above?
I don’t think so. Thank you again for allowing me to tell my story and for interviewing me for your magazine. I really appreciate it! 🙂 I can’t believe I even got noticed by HLDaily too!
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I want to thank Lauren for taking the time to answer these questions and allowing us to experience the LA Premiere and meet Louis vicariously through her answers.
Reading this interview has made me relive my own amazing experience when I attend the London Premier in March. It’s easy to see from reading this just how much this experience meant to Lauren and I can’t wait to hear about other fans’ experiences going forward as Louis’ FITF World Tour gets underway. It’s going to be an epic few months!
