" title="Andrea James Lui"> Andrea James Lui

The whirlwind for the Toronto red carpet premiere of Bounty Hunters (aka Bail Enforcers) is finally settling down and I’ve caught my breath. It was a night of firsts that began with dressing up fancy, then meeting Trish Stratus and her entourage in the green room at AMC Yonge & Dundas. We eagerly started catching up and snapping some pics when publicist, Chris, wanted to usher me away. The conversation went something like this…

Chris: You’ll go first—
Me: Go where?
Chris: Go walk the red carpet! ET is first, then ETalk—
Me: Wait, I have to talk to people??

At this point, thankfully, Trish swept in to save me with some quick tips and then it was onto the red carpet. There was a myriad of cameras and flashes while Chris led me from microphone to microphone, answering questions about fighting Trish, my martial arts training, and my upcoming projects… all the while paranoid that I had lipstick on my teeth, mascaraed-raccoon-eyes, or god-forbid: a bat in the cave – cause that’d be just my luck.

After the interviews, came more photos and it’s then that I first felt sympathy for Angelina Jolie with her leg-bombing Oscar appearance because had I practiced my poses in front of a mirror like she does, I would have been infinitely more comfortable.

Next on the red carpet was Trish and then Director, Patrick McBrearty, freeing me up to take pictures with my mom, my dad, my aunt, my brother, his girlfriend, and members of my sketch comedy troupe, Asiansploitation. While the rest of the boys from the cast had their go on the red carpet, I followed Trish back to the green room to meet and greet several contest winners. I hung back to watch and learn as Trish worked the room, taking her time to chat with each winner and again posing for photos with them.


Then it was time to take a seat in the cinema, which would have been simpler had it not been a full house, but luckily I got to sit next to Frank J Zupancic (aka Ridley), who is the most encouraging and supportive person to calm the nerves when one is trying to prove to one’s family that all of the time and money spent training in theatre, film, stage combat, and dance really could lead to a legitimate career.

This was only the second time I had seen the film, the first time being almost a year ago at our ActionFest World Premiere, and throughout both screenings, by far the most satisfying moment was when the audience cheered *spoiler alert* for my death. And even if they were cheering to “Put that bitch out of her misery!”, I will interpret it as a successful curtain call.

The film ended with applause and the cast & crew sat down for a Q&A with the audience. My favorite question was whether or not I was married.

Trish & I finished off the night with a long line of autographs and photos with fans, during which I got to meet several of Trish’s loyal WWE fans, supportive wrestler friends – including Jaime Dauncey, Stratusphere yogis – including a couple of Toronto Argos, media personalities – including z103.5 FM’s Tony Monaco, and a sasquatch.

All in all, I’d consider the event: a success.

Professional Wrestler, Jaime Dauncey, warns me never to hurt Trish again! Photo by Bob Mulrenin	Me & Trish: signing autographs …courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment Photo by Bob Mulrenin