San Antonio goes all out for premiere of 'The Alamo'

Yellow-carpet affair caps weeks of celebrating

Billy Bob Thornton, left, is blocked from fans by Jason Patric, center, following the premiere of "The Alamo" at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Saturday, March 27, 2004. Eric Gay/AP Dennis Quaid waves to fans following the premiere of "The Alamo" in San Antonio, Saturday, March 27, 2004 Eric Gay/AP

SAN ANTONIO -- Thousands of fans jammed downtown streets Saturday, jockeying for a glimpse of the stars of the much-hyped, long-delayed Disney version of Texas' greatest history lesson.

They got an eyeful. While helicopters whirled overhead, Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton and other stars of "The Alamo" strolled a yellow carpet to the premiere at the Majestic Theatre.

The gala premiere of the $95 million production, filmed largely at Reimer's Ranch near Dripping Springs and featuring hundreds of extras from the Austin area, capped several frenzied weeks of preparation.

In the past month, Fess Parker, 79, who played Davy Crockett in the 1950s television series, visited the city, presenting Alamo officials with an antique rifle. Last week, the band Asleep at the Wheel performed a concert of Alamo-themed music, donating proceeds toward the renovation of the Long Barracks at the Alamo. And on Thursday, the mayor declared Saturday to be "The Alamo World Premiere Day."

Who can blame the city for unleashing a party of Texas-size proportions? The celebration has been on ice since Disney scrapped plans to release the movie at Christmas to do more editing work.

The film, starring Thornton as Davy Crockett and Quaid as Sam Houston, and directed by Texan John Lee Hancock (whose "The Rookie" also was filmed in the Austin area), opens nationally April 9.

Crews started transforming Alamo Plaza into party central on Tuesday, stringing lights, putting up tents, and hanging red and white streamers, Mexican ironwork lanterns and torches. Then they hauled in replicas of the Alamo and chandeliers made of deer antlers to serve as centerpieces.

On Saturday, they closed streets surrounding the mission and unfurled a 1,500-foot yellow carpet (a nod to the Yellow Rose of Texas in song and lore) that stretched four blocks from the Majestic Theatre to Alamo Plaza. Disney footed the bill for it all, even paying the staffers who had to prop up tree limbs to accommodate the party tents, said Cris Young, downtown operations manager for the city.

David Stewart, director of the real Alamo, suspects that the bash was the biggest ever staged at the historic site.

"There's so much going on, you can't help but be excited," Stewart said.

The John Wayne version of "The Alamo" also premiered here. Wayne attended the four-day event, highlighted by the debut screening at the Woodlawn Theater on Oct. 24, 1960.

This time around, even a pug dog dressed in a buckskin vest and coonskin cap joined in the fun, but the stars were the focus.

Quaid joked about the intense stare he adopted for the movie ("I must have been thinking about lunch.") Thornton, sleeves rolled up and tattoos showing, gushed about being in the real Alamo city.

Gov. Rick Perry reveled in all the attention the state has been getting lately, from the Super Bowl to the college basketball tournament.

"The world is being exposed to Texas in a way it never has before," Perry said.

Patrick Wilson, who plays William Travis, said he felt blessed that "for not being a Texan, I get it. . . . I just want to pay my respects."

Also in attendance were Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti, who said "any movie about the Alamo is great in my eye," and director Hancock, who said his movie keeps the "emotional spirit of the Alamo intact." As the film rolled in front of the all-star audience at the Majestic, it was Thornton's character who got the most cheers.

At the Alamo itself after the premiere, where an average 14,000 people a day -- 3 million a year -- walk through the big front doors, an estimated 1,500 invitation-only guests, many of them dressed in cowboy boots and tuxedos, dined on mesquite-grilled beef tenderloin and stuffed breast of quail, and sipped prickly pear margaritas.

Those lucky enough to be invited went all out dressing for it.

"I went all the way to Smithville, where the rodeo queens get their outfits made, to have a white leather dress with fringe made. We've got our rhinestone-studded boots, too," said Kathleen Carter, a member of the Daughters of Republic of Texas, which has had custodianship of the Alamo for almost 100 years.

The premiere and gala drew the attention of an estimated 300 to 400 members of the national and international media.

"For us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime destination marketing opportunity," said Dee Dee Poteete, public relations director for the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau. "They're here to cover the stars, but the real star is going to be the Alamo itself. . . . All it's going to do is raise our profile."

It also probably will mean bigger crowds at the Alamo in coming days. Not that they're needed. In less than a week, the city hosts the NCAA Final Four men's basketball tournament.

Saturday's festivities closed with more stars, this time in the form of a fireworks show over Hemisfair Plaza.

"For an Alamo guy like me, this has been a really cool experience," said Frank Thompson, who wrote "The Alamo: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film" about the making of the movie, along with four other books about the Alamo.

pleblanc@statesman.com; 445-3994