You know something’s up when one of Los Angeles’s busiest tourist traps gets shut down on a weekday. By Wednesday afternoon, everything at the Grove was closed — Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom, Wetzel’s Pretzels, the Farmer’s Market. Who else but Taylor Swift, who had decided to use all 14 of the mall’s AMC theaters to premiere her Eras Tour film, had the power to pull this off?
The Grove had been transformed into Swift City — Taylor and Eras Tour insignia everywhere, concrete flooring replaced with a sprawling red carpet, temporary walls erected to keep out the riff raff. There was presidential-level security — after all, this was a presidential-level event. Swift would be there, as would a gaggle of Swift friendlies: Molly Sims, Maren Morris, Fortune Feimster. Beyoncé stopped by too, something most of us in attendance wouldn’t realize until after the premiere ended (she must have entered via janitor cart).
I had arrived three hours before doors opened because this is what happens when Swift shows her face in public in 2023; I didn’t want to claw my way through a crowd. I parked next to a car with the decal “I Love Taylor Swift” before making my way toward the theater with several other early-bird Swifties. Most were wearing formal outfits with thematic glitter, fringe, or star embellishment. Some had literal tears in their eyes. Isabella Darling, a 21-year-old fan from Santa Clarita, arrived with her mom in the hopes of — what else? — catching a glimpse of Taylor in the flesh. Darling had been invited through Spotify because she was “a top listener” of Swift’s. “This is my first year using it,” she said of the streaming service. “Taylor literally has the first 50 spots on my most-listened-to songs.” Kaelani Roudabush, an 18-year-old Swiftie wearing a sparkly red ball gown and “Kelce 87” bracelet — a reference to Swift’s rumored NFL-melting romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — had been invited by both Spotify and Taylor Nation, Swift’s official fan network. “I was so excited to see her attend the games — my family has always been Chiefs fans,” she said, adding that she planned to see the film three times opening weekend.
On my way in, I spotted some big-name guests: actor Simu Liu, Queer Eye host Karamo Brown. Chief Swift wrangler Tree Paine was there, greeting her own collection of fans, as was failed L.A. mayoral candidate and Grove owner Rick Caruso, greeting no one. Inside the theater, I spotted Flavor Flav grabbing girl dinner (five boxes of free candy). “All I’m trying to do is be swift like Taylor,” he said while obliging selfie requests from fans. This wasn’t Flav’s first Taylor rodeo — he had gone to several Eras Tour shows earlier in the year and had even considered hiring fans to make custom bracelets: “We all go through our eras and I’m excited to relive Taylor’s tonight.” So was TikToker @Mrs.Frazzled. Wearing a “Karma” fringe jacket, she told me she was invited to the premiere by AMC rival Cinemark. “They just want me to tell everyone that they’re showing the Eras Tour. It’s not just AMC.”
Speaking of, the theater chain had brought in reinforcements to staff the event. Erica Aviles and Alondra Canchola were employees at the Porter Ranch AMC — “the Nicole Kidman one” — and were prepared for whatever potential insanity was waiting for them. They had initially been told that they would be working a secret event. “I was pretty sure it was the premiere, but no one would confirm it,” said Aviles. Despite reports of theater employees annoyed at the possibility of rowdy fans, Aviles and Conchola were genuinely excited to be there. “We’re decorating our theater; we’re doing a friendship bracelet-making party with our crew,” Aviles said. Conchola added that she was bringing home “goodies” for her Swiftie co-workers and showed me a plastic bag filled with souvenirs. They even had a brief interaction with Swift herself. “She thanked us for working and doing such a good job!” said Aviles. Elsewhere, Helen Burris, a security guard, was graced with her own Swiftian moment. “Who of her caliber comes into every theater? I don’t think Beyoncé would do that,” she said, seemingly unaware that Beyoncé would, in fact, be hosting her own AMC-sponsored concert film this December.
Yes, Taylor greeted fans in every theater before the movie started. She entered the IMAX auditorium I was sitting in, microphone in hand, and began addressing the crowd, which included Mariska Hargitay and Marco DeGeorge, the owner of Alo Yoga. “This theater has been hand-selected and handpicked to be invited to this night because you’ve shown some sort of extra type of support for this tour, and I appreciate that more than you could possibly know,” she said cheekily — after all, she was mostly surrounded by her personal friends and colleagues. Then, in a possible nod to her mid-tour breakup with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, added, “What you guys were doing in the audience, the amount of care and preparation and passion and intensity that you put into coming to these shows, you pulled us out of anything rough that might have been going on in our lives. You let us forget about it for 3.5 hours every night on that stage. So thank you so much for doing that for us … The fans, and the dancers, you’ll all see how much you are the main characters in this film and I love you so much.”
Then the film began. I had come to this place for magic but also controlled chaos, expecting the same level of screaming I witnessed during my three in-person Eras Tour concerts this year. To my surprise, I didn’t even need the earplugs I brought; it was less a screaming crowd than an enthusiastic one, no different than seeing Barbie earlier this summer, but with a different kind of girlhood being celebrated. I felt a sense of relief. I didn’t have to compete in the “Swiftlympics,” and I was able to enjoy the concert in the way that I wanted to, lounging in a reclining chair and quietly singing along to my favorite songs. Most people respectfully danced and sang in their seats as well, while the Eras Tour dancers who were in my theater cheered loudly when one of them had a spotlight moment in the movie. The transitions in between each era felt as seamless as they did in person. Swift looked like she was floating during “august,” her dress sleeves levitating back and forth as she moved across the stage. And the “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” felt as vulnerable on a movie screen as on stage, with Swift playing her guitar by herself.
After almost three hours, the screening ended and credits ran with a studio version of “Long Live” — one of the five songs cut from the show, including “The Archer,” “cardigan,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “no body no crime.” Non-famous fans were still in shock that Miss Americana herself had entered their theater, but they were upset about the missing tracks — and felt the need to share it publicly (Swift City is a democracy, after all).
“When I noticed ‘cardigan’ was cut, I was a little mad, to be honest,” said Anthony Vasquez. “I could’ve seen ‘Wildest Dreams’ in HD, but now I have to watch the videos from my concert on my phone.” But he was happy for other reasons, like bringing his friend Thalia, who was now a converted Swiftie: “I’m not a huge Swiftie, but after this, just know that I’m going to stream this!”
