Franzese makes an appearance at TAMUK
Pink shirts flooded the entrance of Jones Auditorium as students made their way inside for the Mean Girls movie night event hosted by Campus Activities Board (CAB) and UNITY.
Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK) students are no strangers to movie night events hosted by CAB. However, this one came with a twist. Not only did students get to watch the movie, but they also got to hear from one of the actors themselves. Actor Daniel Franzese, who plays a character named Damian in the movie, made an appearance.
The event was held on April 20 and the first 100 students to arrive received a free shirt along with a snack pack. Once everyone was seated, Jacqueline McClendon, our newest Miss TAMUK introduced the event, making this her first royal appearance. Shortly after, Franzese made his way to the stage and the movie began.
Throughout the movie, the audience got to hear commentary from Franzese. He would comment on what it was like to work alongside actors like Lindsey Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Jonathan Bennet. He also talked about his experiences while filming and how the creators managed to pull scenes off.
After the movie was over, fans got to stick around for a Q&A with Franzese. Everything from what he does now, to the organizations he works for, what McAdams smells like and other questions were asked.
“[It makes me feel] awesome,” Franzese said of his appearance and student support. “What’s better than this? The thing I love the most is that it brings people so much joy. It is such a blessing; I am so grateful I get to be a part of it.”
When the Q&A finished, Franzese held a meet and greet at which students got the opportunity to buy his merchandise, get an autograph or take a selfie with him.
Isn’t that so fetch?
“Mean Girls is one of my favorite movies, I grew up watching it with my sister,” freshman Lindsey Jaime said. “I really enjoyed hearing his input on the movie and being able to hear him answer questions. This event was really nice.”
The idea of bringing Franzese came up when the organization was away for a conference. Erial Hawkins mentioned that CAB had originally agreed to preview Mean Girls this semester and it just so happened that Franzese was one of the acts that performed at the conference. A few arrangements later, and Franzese made his way to Javelina Nation.
“That is our plan. We do have a meeting where we talk about these events and if we continue with these Javelina movie nights, that could be something we do in the future if that is what the students want on campus,” Hawkins said.