Fans Mob D.C. Premiere of ‘White House Down’

A very fitting white carpet was rolled out June 21 for the D.C. premiere of Roland Emmerich’s new action flick, “White House Down.” After all, it is the White House and other locales shown in the film, such as the Capitol building. The White House earlier played host to a screening of “White House Down.”

But on Friday night, June 21, the AMC Loews Georgetown theater welcomed stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joey King for the first stop on the “White House Down” press tour. And it was a mob scene on K Street near Wisconsin Avenue.

Fans screamed requests of marriage and “I love you” from the sidewalk as star after star stepped onto the white carpet. Others were quick to call out to favorites like Tatum and Foxx, holding out their smart phones to take “selfie” pictures, still screaming in shock and joy after each star then continued down the carpet. An open-top, double-decker bus passed by just in time and got stuck in traffic long enough for each passenger to snap pictures and get the best view of the action.

The stars were welcomed by screaming fans–and also by the likes of federal officials, including Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who said she hasn’t seen any of Tatum’s previous films but added at Friday’s D.C. premiere, “I will now.”

Tatum was the first to be cast by Emmerich, who also directed “Independence Day” and “The Patriot,” as U.S. Capitol Police officer, followed by Foxx, who was thought to be the perfect fit for the role of the African American president.

Joining Tatum and Foxx on the big screen is Gyllenhaal, playing a secret service agent, and Joey King, playing Tatum’s movie daughter.

Gyllenhaal spent her Friday afternoon before the premiere catching up with a friend in D.C. and exploring the National Mall. “I didn’t realize how patriotic I am,” she said. “My high school American history was all coming back to me.”

Emmerich brings an all-star cast and classic location to the big screen, with the challenge of setting his film apart from others surrounding D.C. and terrorism.

Writer James Vanderbilt wanted, “to just make [‘White House Down’] a big, summer, thrill-riding type movie and that’s, I think, what probably differentiates us from some of the other films.” Recent Washington, D.C., action flicks that center on the president and the White House include “Olympus Has Fallen.”

The film is loaded with action scenes, but Joey King insists it’s much more than just another all-action, all-violence movie. “There are so many great scenes,” King said. “There are so many action-packed scenes. There’s so many nice, sweet scenes. It’s hard to say. There are so many funny scenes, too.”

“We had a great time,” said producer Brad Fischer. “And we hope that people have as much fun watching it as we did making it.”