I had seen on the news that the Autobot vehicles being on display outside the Arclight in Hollywood, so I decided to check it out yesterday. Assuming that the Dome theater was going to be played on a domed screen ala-Imax, I decided to overlook the $11 ticket and watch it there. After finding out the next screening at the Dome, and wrongly thinking that the 1st 4 hours of parking would be free with movie ticket purchase, I initially wanted to time my arrival to avoid paying for parking. However, I decided I would get there as early as possible in case the tickets got sold out quickly.

As I approached the box office, the cashier assumed that I wanted tickets for the very next showing, but I found out it would be played in a different theater instead. I thus debated minimizing parking costs or maximizing my enjoyment, and so inquired about the significance of the Dome. I was told that because the screen was so wide, in the old days there would be 3 projectors screening the same movie side-by-side, and it would be screen in digital to boot. It had a capacity of 800+ but the best [assigned] seat I could get was all the way in Y; I thought, what the heck, digital FTW!

I had viewed some online galleries of the vehicles display, and knew there would also be a large banner hanging off the side of a nearby building, so I decided to check it out as well. Apparently, the building was under construction, and the banners were draped on 3 sides, with Megatron on the left, Optimus Prime on the right, and a "Transformers 7.4.7" in the middle. I then proceeded to the Coffee Bean just 2 blocks away to get a refreshing drink and chilled inside amidst the outside heat. With still some time to kill, I went to the top level of the parking structure to see if I could get a closeup . [More pics]

As it turns out, the banner was indeed visible, and I thought that it would make a good backdrop for a photoshoot of The Phantom Matrix, and hopefully be afforded some sunset hues. I had considered moving it up so that I could do the photoshoot immediately after the movie, but even with adequate time I thought I'd might as well get a seat in the Dome - to my detriment. I tried to make my way to the upper levels, even trying to go downwards first, but security had blocked off the ramp access to only vehicles newly entering the structure, so I had no choice but to leave and return another day.

I met up with Thien at the Montebello mall, where he was checking out the several toy and hobby stores there looking for his usual laundry list of cartoon memorabilia. By the time he was done, the food court had already closed, so I suggested we grabbed dinner at Applebee's, which was just a stone's throw away. There was a long line outside the cinema next door, presumably for Transformers, so finding parking was a bit of a hassle. I found a corner spot that a Tercel had parked irritatingly close to, and because it was shaped \_| I had no choice but to park at an angle to the inconsiderate hack.