The stars came out Saturday night when EW hosted its annual Comic-Con bash at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Before hitting the party, celebrities walked the red carpet and waxed nostalgic about their earliest moviegoing memories. Read about the stars’ first big-screen viewings, ahead.
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“Pinocchio. I was really young, and I just loved it.”
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“Maybe E.T. I think that was the first one I saw in theaters. It was magical.”
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“My sister worked at a theater for the summer when I was a kid, she was older than me, and the only movie they played all summer was The Goonies. And it was 50 cents to get in, and I would go and watch it all day long. It was incredible. That’s what summer is to me, watching The Goonies in theaters.”
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“I think the first movie I ever saw was Pretty in Pink. That’s the first one I remembered, because it really registered with me, because I wanted to be her, I wanted to live in that universe, especially because you’re so young, you’re like,’Oh my god, I want to grow up and be this wonderful woman.’”
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“The first movie I remember seeing in the theater is Return of the Jedi. I saw it three times in the theater, and the second time I went to see it, my dad was with me. At some point after Darth Vader had been struck down by Luke’s lightsaber and you thought he was dead, I turned to my dad and said, ‘You think he’s dead, right? He’s not.’ And then he gets back up and he picks the emperor up and throws him down the shaft. I basically ruined it for my dad, but I was having a nice time.”
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“Oh my gosh, the first movie I remember seeing in theaters has to be Beauty and the Beast. I watch it, like, once a year at least. I binge-watch that!”
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“It might have been Hook or Willow, which were both very influential in my life.”
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“I have no idea. I remember the first DVD movie I watched on a computer — it was A Bug’s Life. It was the first time computers were actually able to play, like, movie discs. It was amazing. I sat at my monitor and had a comforter over my head, eating a bowl of popcorn. It was great.”
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“Jurassic Park. I freaked out. I think I was like 6. My parents are immigrants; they were still figuring out what you should and shouldn’t take kids to. My mom loved reading Michael Crichton back in the day, so she was excited. We went there, and I freaked out. I don’t think we had to leave or anything, but definitely I remember it.”
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“Star Wars. I was 4 or 5 when the first one came out. I went with my brother.”
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“I think it’s E.T.! When I saw E.T., I remember I went with a neighborhood girl, and we lied to our parents because my mom didn’t necessarily want me seeing it yet. I went back three times. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, and there were like two movies playing at a time, and so I just absolutely adored that movie. To this day, it stands up. I love it.”
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“Harry Potter, because it was just iconic; I’m such a big Harry Potter nerd, that that was just a mind-blowing experience. I’d read all the books. I was so into it. I think I remember it more so because it was so cathartic for me, not really that it was my first movie ever.”
The stars came out Saturday night when EW hosted its annual Comic-Con bash at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Before hitting the party, celebrities walked the red carpet and waxed nostalgic about their earliest moviegoing memories. Read about the stars’ first big-screen viewings, ahead.
Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor)
“Maybe E.T. I think that was the first one I saw in theaters. It was magical.”
Amber Nash (Archer)
“My sister worked at a theater for the summer when I was a kid, she was older than me, and the only movie they played all summer was The Goonies. And it was 50 cents to get in, and I would go and watch it all day long. It was incredible. That’s what summer is to me, watching The Goonies in theaters.”
Natalie Alyn Lind (The Gifted)
“I think the first movie I ever saw was Pretty in Pink. That’s the first one I remembered, because it really registered with me, because I wanted to be her, I wanted to live in that universe, especially because you’re so young, you’re like,’Oh my god, I want to grow up and be this wonderful woman.’”
Brendan Hines (The Tick)
“The first movie I remember seeing in the theater is Return of the Jedi. I saw it three times in the theater, and the second time I went to see it, my dad was with me. At some point after Darth Vader had been struck down by Luke’s lightsaber and you thought he was dead, I turned to my dad and said, ‘You think he’s dead, right? He’s not.’ And then he gets back up and he picks the emperor up and throws him down the shaft. I basically ruined it for my dad, but I was having a nice time.”
Masiela Lusha (Sharknado 5: Global Swarming)
“Oh my gosh, the first movie I remember seeing in theaters has to be Beauty and the Beast. I watch it, like, once a year at least. I binge-watch that!”
Blair Redford (The Gifted)
“It might have been Hook or Willow, which were both very influential in my life.”
Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale)
“I have no idea. I remember the first DVD movie I watched on a computer — it was A Bug’s Life. It was the first time computers were actually able to play, like, movie discs. It was amazing. I sat at my monitor and had a comforter over my head, eating a bowl of popcorn. It was great.”
Arjun Gupta (The Magicians)
“Jurassic Park. I freaked out. I think I was like 6. My parents are immigrants; they were still figuring out what you should and shouldn’t take kids to. My mom loved reading Michael Crichton back in the day, so she was excited. We went there, and I freaked out. I don’t think we had to leave or anything, but definitely I remember it.”
Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
“I think it’s E.T.! When I saw E.T., I remember I went with a neighborhood girl, and we lied to our parents because my mom didn’t necessarily want me seeing it yet. I went back three times. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, and there were like two movies playing at a time, and so I just absolutely adored that movie. To this day, it stands up. I love it.”
Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale)
“Harry Potter, because it was just iconic; I’m such a big Harry Potter nerd, that that was just a mind-blowing experience. I’d read all the books. I was so into it. I think I remember it more so because it was so cathartic for me, not really that it was my first movie ever.”
