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![Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) and Tabby (Halsey) in Maxxxine](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/maxxxine_gmz0n3.jpg)
The Big Picture
- MaXXXine ‘s Los Angeles premiere had clever marketing stunts, immersing guests in the film’s world.
- The star-studded premiere featured glitz, glamor, and Hollywood icons dressing on theme.
- MaXXXine is best experienced in theaters for its big-screen glory and ties to real Hollywood.
Please, she’s a star! And the MaXXXine premiere at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, June 24th, certainly proved that. The final film in Ti West’s campy, scary, and enormously fun trilogy poetically showed in the city the film acts as a love letter to.
Taking place in 1985, sixty-some years after Pearl and six years after X, MaXXXine follows Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), an adult film actor with dreams of mainstream stardom as she makes her move to the City of Angels — too bad it’s her demons that try and catch up to her, including those she acquired back in rural Texas during that fateful, bloody porn shoot. To make matters worse, a terrifying serial killer called the Night Stalker begins picking off the young, glamorous starlets of Hollywood, with their sights seemingly set on Maxine. But who is the ruthless murderer under the mask and thick leather gloves, and will Maxine be able to outrun and outsmart them so she can enjoy her big break in The Puritan II and live the life she’s always deserved?
![MaXXXine Film Poster](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/maxxxine-film-poster.jpg)
MaXXXine
‘MaXXXine’s Premiere Included Clever Marketing Stunts
As soon as guests arrived at the premiere, they were immediately immersed in the world and period of the film via some of A24’s signature marketing strategies. MaXXXine tackles themes of the Satanic panic and includes scenes of protestors boycotting The Puritan II for being sacrilegious. MaXXXine played into this in a creative and hilariously meta way by having staged protestors outside the theater holding signs that said things like “Horror = Porn,” “Hollywood is Satan’s Playground,” and “Honor God End Smut.”
And who was among said protestors but Pearl herself — the elderly X version, that is. Pearl’s red carpet fashion was questionable, as she donned a blood-soaked nightgown and seemingly did not have time to get her hair and makeup done. Instead of posing in front of the step-and-repeat, she mostly wandered around ominously, pointing at people and giving them a creepy stare.
‘MaXXXine’s Premiere Was a Star-Studded Occasion
But between all of the Evangelical extremists and unwelcome ghostly guests, there was glitz and glamor galore. Mia Goth arrived in a vintage stretch limo, also paying homage to a crucial scene from the movie. She walked the red carpet alongside Ti West, producer Jacob Jaffke, and her castmates, including Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Simon Prast, Sophie Thatcher, and Toby Huss.
Other Hollywood icons also made an appearance, such as Angelyne, Kyra Sedgwick, Sosie Bacon, Eli Roth, Barbara Crampton, Zoe Lister-Jones, Tallulah Willis, Kim Petras, Ashnikko, Alison Wonderland, Yung Gravy, Kaytranada, Kiwi Smith, Cole Sprouse, Erika Henningsen, Kerrice Brooks, Malia Pyles, Logan Miller, Harvey Guillén, Jane Adams, River Gallo, Ryan Simpkins, and Kathryn Newton.
The cast delightfully dressed on theme for the occasion, with Debicki and Halsey choosing sparkly looks to pay tribute to the shiny allure of Hollywood. Meanwhile, Lily Collins, Kevin Bacon, and Giancarlo Esposito threw it back to the 80s, with Collins wearing an oversized powder blue blazer, Bacon choosing a retro salmon suit, and Esposito in a similarly pastel green getup. Mia Goth and Moses Sumney went the horror route with sleek black looks. Goth’s was a fairly simple yet undeniably stunning dress with a leather corset vibe at the top, while Sumney went all in with a silky, low-cut silk ensemble complete with a dramatic fur jacket and collar. Everyone was there to figuratively slay and watch people be literally slayed.
And the fashion feast didn’t stop there. In the theater lobby, guests were treated to a display of costumes from all three movies, from Maxine’s X overalls to Pearl’s legendary bright-red dress.
Before the screening, West took to the front of the theater to introduce the film. “Well…” he started, overwhelmed. “This is crazy. I’ve always wanted to have a movie premiere here.” West reflected on the fact it’s been five years — almost to the day — since he sent A24 the script for X on a whim, giving credit to A24 for believing in him to make not only one movie but three. West also shouted out the fans, telling them they are the “driving force” behind this trilogy.
West then brought out his cast. “I’m so fortunate to have written this movie and sent it to people I was huge fans of, and then they just said yes…they were a joy to be around.” West saved Goth for last, allowing her to have the last word, noting that “there would be no movies without her.” The moment was clearly a special one for her, too. After walking out to wild applause, Goth took the microphone and admitted, “It makes me emotional. It’s hard to speak.” Goth also recognized her co-stars, telling them there would be no movie without them. She and West embraced before the opening credits started to roll.
‘MaXXXine’s Premiere Couldn’t Have Happened Anywhere But Hollywood
![Bates Motel as seen in Maxxxine.](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/maxxxine-bates-motel.jpg)
During the introduction, West noted that MaXXXine is a movie that’s supposed to be seen in a theater in all its big, loud glory. It quickly became apparent that he was absolutely right — MaXXXine is made for the big screen, and it’s made for Hollywood. The audience reactions enhanced the experience, from bursts of laughter at some of the campier bits and Hollywood references (ridiculous amounts of cocaine and Esposito’s role as Maxine’s agent got some of the biggest chuckles, the latter of which likely because of how many industry guests were in attendance) to gasps and screams at the gore and brutal kills.
It’s obvious West and his crew did their homework to recreate Hollywood in the ’80s. This was especially apparent from a true-crime angle, with the fictional Night Stalker and its media coverage inspired by Richard Ramirez and other famous cases at the time, including the Manson Murders and Black Dahlia.
The most fun aspect, however, might be the real local locations West used. There’s nothing quite like seeing characters going to the TCL Chinese Theatre on screen while actually sitting inside of it. I’d wager a guess that the majority of people in the theater had been on the Universal backlot for one reason or another, whether it be for work or a studio tour, so seeing Maxine whip around it in a golf cart and visit the Bates Motel set felt pretty surreal. The devil is in the details (literally if you believe what those protestors had to say), and the amount of tie-ins to real Hollywood history sets MaXXXine apart both plot-wise and aesthetically.
Summer technically only started about a week ago, but I’m pretty confident in saying MaXXXine will likely be the most fun I’ll have at the movies all season. The mystery kept me guessing, the jokes kept me laughing, and the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat — when I wasn’t jumping out of it, that is. A highly satisfying end to West’s trilogy and a great standalone flick in its own right, MaXXXine is a must-see.
MaXXXine hits theaters July 5th.