adore_milla | Blood Into Wine movie has its world premiere in Scottsdale

Arizona based filmmakers Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke hosted the world premiere of Blood Into Wine, their new documentary about the lead singer of Tool and Puscifer turned winemaker Maynard James Keenan and his partner Eric Glomski, at the W Hotel in Scottsdale last night.

The sold-out event, billed as a “red carpet” premiere, displayed no rouge floor runners or picture taking of any kind and Keenan, the night’s main celebrity, was ushered in under a phalanx of secrecy one hotel worker likened to the security detail for President Barack Obama enjoyed when he came to Arizona last year. Ticket holders and VIP ticket holders alike were subjected to body pat downs, no cameras or wallets with chains were allowed inside the Hotel and at the will call window patrons were warned not to engage in crowd surfing and mosh pits.

For all that, the evening proceeded without any incident, although this writer did witness a bizarre shouting match on the waiting line where one guy, clearly at the end of his rope, berated a bunch of kids for playing Journey off their iPhone. Yes, I know, who needs to hear “Don’t Stop Believing” on demand… but still!

It was worth the agonizing wait to witness this unique open air movie viewing experience, with Blood Into Wine playing on dozens of screens, in the hotel bars, lounges and on the definitive large screen in the center of the hotel concourse.

Directors Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke briefly addressed the crowd before turning the public address feed over to Keenan and Glomski who briefly greeted the crowd Papal style, from an unlit balcony of the hotel.

Any film would be hard to follow in such large company but the crowd of Maynard fans remained transfixed to the screen which veered back and forth between the more technical aspects of winemaking and quickly back to Keenan and Glomski’s own interesting back stories (particularly how these tow came to decide to grow Jerome, Arizona to keep it from being too much vineyard shop talk.

As it turns out, the stone-faced rock icon has great comedic deadpan and throughout the movie he is subjected to a staged interview with Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim from the Adult Swim program Tim and Eric Awesome Show. The comedy duo parody the typical bored and uninformed interviewers Keenan no doubt suffers through daily in real life.

Other comedic star turns in the film include appearances by Patton Oswald and Bob Odenkirk. Also seen in the film are Primus and Puscifer drummer Tim Alexander and actress Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil, Zoolander) and Marshall Trimble, Arizona's charismatic Official State Historian.

Blood into Wine will have special screenings in Tempe February 26 through March 4 at the Harkins Valley Art Theater and at The Loft Cinema in Tucson April 28.

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