IT has become standard procedure these days to announce that Meryl Streep will be at your event. I wonder does la belle Streep realise that if someone opens an envelope, the town's publicity and media pundits begin to speculate that she will be there.
Thursday night's premiere of I Went Down in the Savoy was no exception; there were plenty of stars alright, but nary a sign of Meryl. Still, she was hardly missed once the boisterous gang behind the film arrived. There was director Paddy Breathnach, producer Rob Walpole and scriptwriter Conor McPherson, all looking very sharp in black suits.
The next surge of people through the doors brought the Minister for Arts etc, Sile de Valera, and Presidential candidate and MEP Mary Banotti. Mary attended with her daughter Tanya, over from Palestine to join her mother's campaign. Of course it's anyone's guess who'll vote for who, but producer Rob whispered something in Mary's ear that made her grin stretch even wider.
Most of the cast were there. Star Brendan Gleeson came along with his wife and his mother and posed for endless snaps with Peter Caffrey and Tony Doyle. Newcomer Peter McDonald, who plays the other lead role, could not be there himself to accept the praise that was coming his way as he is filming in London with Bob Hoskins. Not to worry - Rob Walpole got busy with a mobile phone and called him up to listen in as the clapping went on and on.
Outside the cinema, after the show, looked like a convention of who's who in Irish media and stage. Johnny Murphy, Donal O'Kelly and Antoine Byrne were in the film and the foyer; Sean McGinley, star of the new RTE series Making The Cut was chatting to Johnny ; writer Roddy Doyle was keeping a low profile, and Eamon de Buitlear came along because his son Cian de Buitlear was director of photography.
Steven Gately of Boyzone slipped in with his sister Michelle Carr just before the show started and maintained a low profile even after the party moved up to Ultralounge and Strictly a Go-Go, Martin Thomas's clubs in the POD. There I managed to collar the trio, who have already scooped so many awards and ask them about what's next?
Paddy and Rob, who together make up Treasure Films, are already at work adapting Joseph O'Connor's book Cowboys And Indians for the screen as well as working on a new script of Conor McPherson's. Conor himself has another film script on the go as well as another play for the stage. I asked him if the premiere and party was the best bit and, as yet another well wisher congratulated him, he grinned: "Not really, it's exhausting."