The old west and Las Vegas collide during lavish premiere event for Yellowstone prequel, 1883

This weekend the stars of the upcoming Yellowstone prequel, 1883, traded in the rugged look of the pioneer days for more snazzy attire as the premiere for the highly-anticipated series was held this Saturday night at a lavish unveiling at the Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to attend the event which included the stars walking the red carpet and a special screening of the first two episodes. 101 Studios and Paramount+ truly have high hopes for 1883 and it was made clear by presenting the series and its stars during a weekend that showed that these in-person events can be handled safely and with class during the pandemic.

The weekend couldn’t have been more fitting for 1883 to make its presence known. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo also took place over the weekend in Vegas so the city was immersed in the western vibe that happens to be in the DNA of the show, which follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains. The Wynn managed to find a proper balance in using their location to promote the first view of the series. 1883 key art and stand-ups were set up in various locations showing the series’ signature stars prominently in their time-period garbs.

When I arrived on Friday, I checked into my room at the Wynn and was so greeted by 1883 amenities that included a nice little bottle of a drink called “The Midas Touch”, which is the signature Old Fashioned of the SW Steakhouse, located in the Wynn. The Whistlepig Rye Whiskey, chai spices, and gold were also accompanied by an SW Mini Gold Bar, which is a Guanaja Valrhona 70% chocolate, Whistlepig Whiskey infused caramel praline. The selection was a nice choice and on-brand for what the rest of the weekend would have to offer which was a mix of throwing it back to the old west and Hollywood becoming one with Las Vegas for a stylish premiere.

There was a planned dinner for Friday but we found out early on that the dinner was taken out of the schedule because it was necessary to scale back some of the events due to COVID. The dinner cancellation was the only time that the pandemic seemed to cross with the event in a negative way and I’m using the word negative VERY loosely. Heading into the weekend, we were all well aware that we would have to show proof of vaccination to attend anything associated with the premiere and we needed to get a rapid COVID test to show that we were negative. Since we were all told to do this early Saturday, I took advantage of getting there promptly at 9:00 AM and the whole process was very quick. I got to talk to a few press people in line about how this was my first time working a red carpet and they were all so very welcoming and supportive as they offered words of advice and made it clear that the most important thing is to have fun. I would find out later that someone close to the series was also in line when I was discussing this and that came together in a very nice full-circle moment that I’ll talk about later.

After completing testing I attended the press brunch at Casa Playa and it was truly an hour and a half of good food and good company. More so than anything I just took the opportunity to network and learn from people who have been doing this longer than me. There was nothing elitist about their behavior and once again I was impressed by their willingness to help in any way they could to make my experience the best that it could be. We’re all there for the same thing and maybe there are some press people that are 100% out for themselves but I never felt that. If anything, it seemed like I was being given a rapid-fire session of using the right tools to get the shots I needed and to potentially get some great moments on the red carpet. I was told that everything won’t go completely as planned and sometimes the bigger-named celebrities will be ushered over to certain outlets but I just needed to stay present and get whatever I could.

The 1883 red carpet was held at the Encore Beach Club which proved to be a nice location. Having seen the club during a normal weekend setting in the past, the organizers really did a good job of outfitting it for the style of 1883 while maintaining a signature posh Las Vegas-style that would prove to be embodied by the stars of the show as they began to head to the red carpet.

My placement on the press line was towards the end but I was thankfully next to people I met at the brunch. This made it a little easier to squeeze in when I could, get the shots that I needed and hopefully snag some interviews. The one part about my placement that was a little interesting was that it was right next to a camera crew that was doing the official 1883 experience for the red carpet. They had a hostess in place whose camera presence and delivery was something to be truly impressed by and it was evident that they were going to get a lot of the priority to the stars, especially the leads. The upside was that if they did skip over me to go to them, they were close enough to get some great photos. I had the attitude of I will take whatever I can get and if I can get even more, that will be a beautiful added bonus.

The first person I got on camera was Eric Nelsen, who plays Ennis on the show. I fired off a few questions his way and he gave me some solid answers and since he was my first one, I was just happy to get through it. The funny thing is, remember that person close to the show that was in the COVID testing line as I discussed this being my first red carpet? As it turns out, that was Eric Nelsen and he remembered me from earlier in the day. He told me that I was doing a good job and honestly him taking a beat just to say that, when he didn’t even have to, meant a lot. It honestly made the rest of the time much more loose.

The other two stars of the show that I got on camera were Gratiela Brancusi (Noemi) and Anna Fiamora (Risa). Both were very lovely to talk to and I was impressed with how they handled coming over to use because, at the time they got to our end, it was getting closer to getting seating started for the screening and everything started to feel a bit more rush but both took the time to speak with me for a bit even though things were starting to get a bit more rushed.

While I didn’t get to interview stars Tim McGraw (James Dutton), Faith Hill (Margaret Dutton), and Sam Elliott (Shea Brennan) on the red carpet because they were being rushed through to get to the screening, I was close enough to get some nice pictures of them and was totally impressed with them doing what they could to get to everyone on the press line. Even though it wasn’t possible for them to do so, they were all very gracias. Faith Hill in particular seemed a little bummed she couldn’t get to everyone and that would be the same generosity she would show during the roundtable interviews the next day.

Billy Bob Thornton, who is taking on the cameo role of Jim Courtright as a favor to his friend Taylor Sheridan, also worked the carpet and he gave a lot of time to various outlets even as he was being asked to move along to get to the screening because he was one of the last people to make his way down. 1883 proves to be a reunion of sorts since Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw shared the big screen together in Friday Night Lights and while he was chatting it up with different people, he said this was an easy thing to say yes to because when Taylor calls, you just do it.

The screening of the first two episodes was held at the Encore Theater with 101 Studios CEO David C. Glasser and 1883 creator Taylor Sheridan introducing the showing. Other than the first two episodes, I was most impressed by the five-piece orchestra that played the score from the series that was created by composer Brian Tyler. It really set the tone as everything was coming to an end and created a more immersive experience between the screening and the event itself.

My final day in Las Vegas would all by from my hotel room at the Wynn as we were set up for roundtable interviews with Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Isabel May (Elsa Dutton). The morning started with a bit of a snag due to an inconsistent internet connection in the room. I noticed this the day before when using the wifi on my phone but it wasn’t an issue on my laptop…until this morning. Thankfully eventually everything came together with the internet and I was able to get into the roundtable and first up was Tim McGraw. The roundtable was essentially a group of press, all virtual, and a moderator who all allowed us to ask a question. When I was up, I wanted to know what the collaboration was like between himself and his wife Faith Hill on the show. They’ve worked together in the music world before and I wanted to know if this process was any different and his answer spoke volumes of his connection to her. When he said he couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else, you felt it and you believed it.

Paired together for their roundtable interviews were Faith Hill and Isabel May, the latter of which plays the daughter of McGraw and Hill’s characters. Since I thought it was unique that a real-life husband and wife were cast as the two leads who also happen to be together, I was curious if they were approached together to do the project or did Tim come on and then Faith was asked. She seemed to remember that Tim was approached first and then he put the idea out to her to join. Since they have been asked to do acting projects together that just didn’t seem right, Faith Hill wanted to read it first which she admits felt silly since this is a project from Taylor Sheridan so of course, it was going to be great. At the end of the time, this became the perfect project for the pair to work on together. I also want to say, while I didn’t get a direct question to Isabel, she gave some great answers to questions thrown her way and she also proved to be a great interviewing with Faith Hill because they frequently bounced responses off of each other. By the end of their roundtable, Faith Hill wanted to make sure that everyone got a turn to ask a question and I was once again reminded of her sincere generosity from the night before as she walked the red carpet. Class act.

I have to say that this weekend was so unexpected because this wasn’t a planned assignment for me but I’m happy that this allowed me to get my feet wet. From start to finish, everything was handled so professionally and the whole process was made easier by the fact that everyone I encountered made this experience feel like more than work. I think I truly learned that I’m in a very unique position to be able to do things that others can’t and that’s something that should be cherished. You dream about getting to these points and suddenly you have to pinch yourself because you’re convinced it’s not real life. Well, guess what? It is real life and it’s only really the beginning.