On the Town: Film director Neil Jordan and actor Brenda Fricker were overlooked by the young students of the St Vincent de Paul homework club on Dublin's Pearse Street.
There was a bit of a scrum in the foyer of the Savoy Cinema at the special screening of War of the Worlds this week when the 12-year-olds, including Christine McDonagh, Yasmin Hollywood, Glen McGarry, Ricky Lane, Brendan McCluskey, Jamie Brady and Glen Kiernan, forgot about scary aliens, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg and spotted Alan Hughes, of TV3's Ireland AM and panto fame.
In an instant, he was surrounded by young people from the inner city who were taken to the film as an end-of-school-year treat by their teacher supervisors: Neassa O'Sullivan, Maria Craven, Olivia Walsh and Niamh McNamara.
Also in attendance at the screening was actor Laurence Kinlan, who is in the upcoming Jordan film, Breakfast on Pluto, and his girlfriend, Charlene Soave; Paddy and Betty Kelly from Beaumont and their friends Paddy and Pauline Canny and Jimmy Murray.
Afterwards, Paddy Kelly, who works for film distributors UIP, said War of the Worlds was "absolutely stunning". Was he frightened? "A few times, I'd say," he admitted.
It was "all the red blood and guts" that was the scariest part for Dublin-based life coach Ursula de Brún. It was "in the cellar when the alien just appears out of nowhere" that frightened Kate Bowe, of Kate Bowe PR.
As viewers left the auditorium they heard a mysterious pounding in the distance. The noise seemed to be growing in intensity! Had the aliens landed in O'Connell Street? Were we doomed? No, it was just a crew of warrior road diggers pummelling the concrete outside. Phew!