The lights were finally dimmed at the filled to capacity Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City in Hollywood and the mood was one of excitement as moviegoers waited in anticipation for the world premier of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to begin. All of a sudden, in the darkness and silence that occurs brief seconds before the start of a movie, we heard someone scream "MUMMY!". It was Brendan Fraser's voice, and the crowd went wild - clapping, yelling, and whistling. (If you read my blog on Brendan Fraser's visit to Chicagoland Speedway a couple of weeks ago you know how loud Brendan can yell.) In this new adventure set in China, the third in the Mummy franchise, Brendan Fraser reprises his role of explorer Rick O'Connell. Also in the audience for the premier were other stars of the movie, Maria Bello, who plays Rick's wife Evy, Luke Ford who plays their son Alex, John Hannah who plays Evy's brother John, Jet Li who plays Emperor Han, and Michelle Yeogh who plays sorceress Zi Juan. As each star appeared for the first time on the big screen the audience clapped and cheered.
This enthusiasm was heard time and again during the entire movie whenever the crowd loved something they saw on the screen. But, the loudest cheers were heard when the end credits began to role.

I 'm not going to tell you too much about the movie because I want you to see it for yourself, but I will tell you that it is action packed with great special effects and the comedic moments we enjoy so much in the Mummy movies. My favorite scene was Jet Li's wild chariot race through the streets of Shanghai, while the scene of the Yeti's in the Himalayas was my husband's favorite. However, we both agreed that the fight scene between Jet Li (Emperor Han) and Michelle Yeogh (Zi Juan) is the best part of the movie. You don't want to miss it, so don't leave the theatre to refill your popcorn!

Popcorn, drinks, and even pizza was provided for those attending the premier.

In case you are wondering, I was in Hollywood on Sunday, July 27, to attend my first movie premiere and walk the red carpet! I thought I knew what to expect as I have watched many red carpet events on my TV at home, but to experience it first hand is surreal. First of all, you can't fool the paparazzi or the many fans lining the red carpet for hours just waiting to get a glimpse or photo of the stars as they walk by. My husband and I strutted down the red carpet and put on our best mysterious airs to try to make everyone believe we were "someone", but they were not fooled. No one took our picture. Secondly, the red carpet walk was very long. It started near Jillian's Hi Life Lanes, went past Universal's CityWalk Cinemas Stadium, through a lane between buildings, and then snaked around to the entrance to the Amphitheatre. (I found out later that this is not typical for a red carpet event.) Lastly, we were rubbing elbows with people who were famous but we didn't know it. While waiting to enter the Gibson Amphitheatre we saw Russell Wong who stars as General Ming in the movie, actress Phoebe Price, actress Jo Champa, and actor Travis Van Winkle. These folks definitely stood out from the crowd but I did not know who they were until someone close to the Hollywood scene pointed them out to me.

Here is a view of the red carpet on Universal's CityWalk before the stars began to arrive.

When the movie was over we went directly outside the theater to the concourse area for the after-party and to try to get up close and personal with the stars. We were able to get close enough to snap some photos, but we were not able to get personal as security was very tight around the stars.

Brendan Fraser greets Luke Ford

The after-party area was lit by giant Chinese lanterns and decorated with large statue displays of the characters from the movie, while table upon table was laden with all kinds of Chinese food (of course).

Statue of Emperor Han and his chariot horses

Statues of the Terracotta Army

Kodak's Entertainment Imaging group offered "photo spots" where you stood in front of a green screen to have your image imposed in the movie promotional poster. This was very popular and there was always a line of people waiting to get their photo.

Everywhere you look in Hollywood there is a billboard announcing the opening of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor nationwide on August 1st. Make your plans now to see this movie at a theatre near you. If you are a Kodak employee, a special showing of the movie is scheduled for Thursday, August 7th at 7:12 at the Theatre on the Ridge in Rochester, NY. See you there!

As Jenny mentioned in her recent blog, Eastman Kodak Company and Universal Pictures partnered with Penske Racing (http://www.penskeracing.com/)  at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/chi/) on July 12th  to promote the latest epic adventure in the blockbuster global Mummy franchise, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. 

Not only did the Kodak No. 12 Dodge feature a bold paint scheme from the movie, but Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman's firesuit and helmet were also specially designed for the race.   Click here for full images of the racecar, firesuit and helmet.  Best of all though (at least for me), actor Brendan Fraser who plays Rick O'Connell in the Mummy series was on hand, live, and in person, to experience it along with NASCAR fans.

One of Brendan Fraser's first stops of the day was to the Garage area to visit with the crew and inspect the Mummy paint scheme on the Kodak No. 12 Dodge. 

Brendan Fraser in the Kodak No. 12 Dodge garage talking with the crew as they are preparing for the race.

Brendan Fraser getting a closer look at The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor paint scheme on the Kodak No. 12 Dodge.

Ryan Newman then hosted Brendan Fraser on pit road where he presented Brendan with an autographed replica of the Mummy racing helmet that he would wear during the race and a personalized "Fraser" Kodak racing shirt welcoming him as part of his pit crew for the day.

Brendan was now ready for his role as Grand Marshal of the race, a role he took seriously.One of his responsibilities as Grand Marshal was to greet and wish all the drivers well during the Driver Introductions.

Brendan Fraser greeting Ryan Newman during the Driver Introductions

The best and what I think is the most exciting responsibility of the Grand Marshal is to recite the most famous words in racing "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!", and Brendan did this in the most resounding way.Here is a clip of these famous words by Brendan that I was able to video from the edge of the track apron.  I apologize for the instability of my hands, but I was told that after he was done that I had to RUN FAST across the infield and get behind Pit Road as the cars would quickly enter the track.  My hands were shaking as I was taping due to my nervousness about getting out of the way in time (note; I made it, but it took me a while to catch my breath).

After a wild ride in the pace car, Brendan Fraser headed back to pit road where he cheered Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Kodak-Mummy Dodge team on to a 10th place finish.

Brendan Fraser watching the race from Pit Road and talking with the crew

Earlier in the day, Brendan Fraser signed autographs at the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge merchandise trailer where The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor themed merchandise, such as die-cast cars, t-shirts and hats were available for purchase.  Long-time Ryan Newman fan, Brian Billman from Duluth, Minnesota was one of a very few lucky fans who was able to get both Ryan Newman's and Brendan Fraser's autograph on his Mummy die-cast car.  Brian is an avid collector of 1:24 die-cast cars and wanted the car and autographs to enhance his collection.

Young Edward Florek from nearby Calumet City, Illinois made his Grandpa get up very early on race day so that he could get to the track and snag one of only 125 tickets that were available for Brendan Fraser's autograph.  Even though there were a limited number of autographs available to fans, Brendan made each signing memorable as you can see from this series of photos of Edward with Brendan.

Brendan Fraser took pictures throughout the day on his new KODAK EASYSHARE V1273 digital camera and thanked Kodak for the many memorable moments that he was able to experience and share with NASCAR fans.

Brendan Fraser reviewing the images he captured on his KODAK EASYSHARE V1273 digital camera with Kodakers Mike Houser, Director, Studio Initiatives, Entertainment Imaging and Tom Page, Manager, Motorsports Marketing.

The Kodak-The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Dodge show car will be on display at universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks throughout July and the movie opens nationwide on August 1st.  I hope to see you there!

To see more pictures from the race visit Kodak's Flickr page. You can also see more race videos that were taken with a Kodak Zi6 on Kodak's YouTube page.

From the time I was a young girl, my aunt and uncle took my sisters and I to the local car races. Dirt, asphalt, oval, figure eight, stock cars, open wheel, midgets, the demolition derby. We didn't care what kind of race it was or where it was held, we loved it all. My kids have grown to love it too and every weekend from February to November a NASCAR race is on in our house.

Memorial Day weekend is a racing lover's dream as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is run as well as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. This Memorial Day weekend, the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 25th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway , and I was there to see it live and in person! This was my first experience at an IndyCar Series race and I was very excited. The day dawned bright and clear and we met outside the hotel to caravan over to the raceway.

Our police escort to the speedway was more than an hour late. However, he quickly made up for lost time by taking us on the opposite side of the road and bypassing the miles of traffic that was at a standstill. I won't tell you how fast we were going, but I did close my eyes and grab for the hand strap a few times, or more.

Upon arrival at the track we quickly made our way through the throngs of spectators and down Gasoline Alley to the Team Penske garage for our arranged tour as Kodak is an associate sponsor of Penske Racing. The garage area was meticulously clean and a bit crowded with all the equipment, cars, crew, and people jammed together but I managed to get a great photo of the group of commercial printing customers being hosted by the Kodak Motorsports team.

It was time for the cars to parade out to pit road. The pit crews for the No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar Series race car piloted by Helio Castroneves , two time winner (2001, 2002) of the Indy 500, and the No. 6 car to be driven by Ryan Briscoe in his Indy 500 debut, slowly made their way to pit road. I was very surprised to see that fans could get very close to the race cars.

Race fans with pit passes were allowed to walk pit road for an hour before it was closed to visitors. The Team Penske IndyCars were side by side on pit road as they would be in rows 1 and 2 on the starting grid. Some of the pit crews practiced while waiting for the start of the race.

Anticipation has been building all day and the race is finally ready to begin! The National Anthem is sung by Julianne Hough, Helio Castroneves's champion partner on Season 5 of "Dancing With the Stars" and four F-18 military aircraft perform a perfectly timed fly-over. Unfortunately, my timing was off and I only managed to get a photo of them after they passed by. Even though I was expecting the flyover the planes still took me by surprise.

The command is given; "Gentlemen, start your engines". These are the sweetest and last words one can hear on race day. The roar of the engines as the race cars come to life is unbelievable! Ear plugs are a must, but they barely provided any protection to the deafening noise. I managed to watch Kristi Yamaguchi wave the green flag to start the race and then the first few laps of the race from the outdoor viewing deck, but I then went to the Team Penske suite to save my eardrums (and get a front row view of the pit area).

The KODAK EASYSHARE Z8612 IS Digital Camera that I was using to take my photos also records continuous VGA video (640 x 480) at 30 fps with sound. During the middle of the race I gamely ventured back to the viewing deck to capture this pit stop of the No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar. The video is about 30 seconds long, but the actual pit stop is only about 7 seconds. Amazing! Take a look and be sure to have your speakers on to get the full effect of the pit stop.

The Indianapolis 500 was everything I thought it would be and more. Helio Castroneves finished the race in fourth place. This was a great finish for Team Penske as Helio had to battle his way back into contention after the right front wing of his No. 3 Team Penske Honda/Dallara car was replaced due to damage suffered when he ran over some debris. Ryan Briscoe finished 23rd after encountering trouble (and nearly Danica Patrick!) in the pits.

Exhausted, but happy after an adventurous and memorable day at the Indy 500, we slowly made our way back to the cars. We all had the same thought - we can't wait until next year!

Last week I was sitting in my living room eating popcorn while watching Helio Castroneves, two time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (2001, 2002) and the "Dancing With the Stars" Season 5 Champion, cheer on Kristi Yamaguchi in the Season 6 finale not knowing that five days later I would be having dinner with them (and 100 of their closest friends).

Kodak, as an associate sponsor of Helio's No. 3. Team Penske IndyCar Series race car , was invited to attend the Penske Team dinner held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on the eve of the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. This was an opportunity that I definitely did not want to miss. Indianapolis is only a nine-hour drive from Rochester. I could do this! So, five short days later I went from watching Helio and Kristi on TV to meeting them in person.

Kodakers Tom and Lori Page with Helio Castroneves.

Me with Kristi Yamaguchi

Other past contestants from "Dancing With the Stars" also attended the dinner to show Helio their support. Sabrina Bryan, Cameron Mathison, Drew Lachey, and Marlee Matlin with her partner Fabian Sanchez were there along with Helio's partner, Julianne Hough.

The dancers however did not diminish the star power of past Team Penske Indy 500 winners. Rick Mears, four time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991), and Gil de Ferran, the 2003 winner showed their support for Helio and Ryan Briscoe. Ryan is in his second year of racing for Penske Racing and drives the No. 6 Dallara/Honda car.

The dinner menu consisted of musclun green and romaine salad with julienne of pear, Roquefort cheese and candied walnuts with a dried cherry and walnut vinaigrette, roasted tenderloin of beef with rosemary demi-glaze, poached fillet of fresh Norwegian salmon filled with puree of wild mushrooms, hazelnut hollandaise Vermont white cheddar mashed potatoes, and fresh asparagus spears. Dessert was a cinnamon phyllo basket filled with honey ricotta, fresh berries, a balsamic drizzle and a champagne zabaglione. We made sure we left room for dessert.

Roger Penske was a gracious host and a good time was had by all.

Roger Penske and guests

I am glad that I brought along the KODAK EASYSHARE Z8612 IS Digital Camera to take my photos as this camera automatically selects the ISO mode based on lighting conditions. The lighting in the cathedral was very poor.

In my more than 25 years at Kodak I've had many memorable moments, but this is the best Kodak Moment yet!

For more information on Kodak's involvement in motorsports visit www.kodak.com/go/racing