From Madchen: The day of Leno

I left San Diego at 2am. I know it sounds early but our last few Leno experiences have taught us that if we don't get there early we can be royally screwed! So I get to Burbank at 4am and NO ONE WAS THERE!! I mean NO ONE! It was so weird. At first I thought that perhaps there was a change or something because Crowe fans are always in line early. So I decided to get in the 2nd line and camp out. [There are two lines for Leno. Line 1 is the ticket line. The ticket booth opens at 8am. Line 2 is the actual line to get into the studio. We learned the first time that one person stands in Line 1 and the other in Line 2. That way you get a good spot in Line 2.]

It was a long day.... We all spent the day together talking about movies, music and Crowe events. It might sound weird or like we don't really have a life (LOL) but it was fun and it was different. It was a positive experience and I'm glad that after all these years I was able to meet these people. One thing I really liked about the other people on the line was that they had other experiences in addition to Russell Crowe. Mr. Crowe might have brought everyone there but each of these ladies has a rich life outside of Crowedom. I, for one, like to learn about people.

So after a long, hot afternoon they lined us up at 3:00. They make you stand cramped against the wall while they check ID's and tickets, and count the line numerous times. LOL When you finally get to go into the lobby you are thrilled because there is AC on!! It felt good to sit on a nice, soft couch with AC. After that we go into the studio.

The studio is 50 degrees!!! I'm not kidding!!! There is so much equipment that they have to keep it really cool. So even after being so hot outside most of us had jackets. LOL

A lot of seats in the studio are reserved. They can be reserved for friends, family and strategically placed fans. I sat in the 2nd row on the left side of the stage. I completely pouted. I'm not going to deny that I was miffed that we had to sit there. With all the HDTV cameras, your views of the stage, and the couch in particular, are blocked. I tried to switch around a seat that was reserved but was caught!! LOL So much for being sneaky!! I tried numerous times to get new seats but once the studio started filling up it was impossible. Most of the people we met outside were one section up from us. I don't know about their visibility.

So Jay comes out and chats with us. I like him but dude, get some new material. LOL He said the same things as before. Make sure you clap at the guests and stay seated -- stuff like that. Then the "Audience Warmer" comes out and does the same jokes as he always does. So the warm up guy comes out and gives us the stupid old speech about how to act and stuff like that. He bores me so I look to my left and guess who is standing right there???? Russell and he's holding Charlie! They were about 5 feet away from me. Lord have mercy he looked so good!! Shorts and a tee and clean cut. He was talking to Charlie and pointing things out to him in the studio. A lot of people really could not see him because he was standing by the wall. I was freakin' in shock!!! Charlie is so beautiful! I mean it...I'm not a big baby-kind of person but this child is really beautiful!!!

I kept trying to get my friend's attention so she could see him too! Finally she sees him and smiles. I tried really, really hard to get a few other ladies attention but they were in a different section! By this time the two older ladies behind me must have thought I was actually having a seizure!!!

I turned back and Russell was walking upstairs carrying Charlie. They walked to the left side of the stage at the very top of the seats. He was kissing Charlie on the side of the head and talking to him. You could still see Russell pointing things out to Charlie. I finally got hold of the other ladies and said, "Look up!!" They looked up and saw Russell w/Charlie but, Russell only stayed up there for about 5 more minutes and then he walked backstage.

It was a really cool moment. I mean, hello - father and son 5 feet away from me!!!

When Russell came on we looked to see if Dani had brought Charlie up to the side stage but we never saw her.

The show was great. I really loved the longer interview. He was in great spirits and happy to discuss his family and work. I did not see this face when they showed the clip of CM but I was told that his face stayed stoic. I have not seen the Leno show but I can tell you that when the clip was over and it ended with the hug scene the audience went "Awwwwww." It was so cool to hear people around me buzzing, "That looks really good" I can't wait to see that!"

The animal guy was a wee bit annoying but the animals made it cool. Did they show when it aired how hard it was to get the croc out of the studio? He was one pissed off croc and each time someone approached him to wrangle him he got more pissed. During that break the entire audience was watching the croc and we clapped when he was finally wrangled.

They filmed 3 promos and for 2 of them Russell kept laughing! It was really cute. For the 3rd promo he had a stoic face but ended up cracking up. It was really cute and again, he was in great spirits!

I was not aware that Russell's parents and Charlie were in the audience. After they filmed the promos we started leaving and saw Russell's Mom on stage with Charlie. I assume they came out after the show was over.

Madchen