New York, July 6 – The premiere of "Fantastic Four" on Liberty Island was to play out like this: celebrities on the red carpet, followed by a barbecue dinner, then an open-air screening of the film, with a fireworks display over the Statue of Liberty capping the evening. Lavish, fun, expensive.

The reality: After disembarking at Liberty Island, a few hundred journalists stood on the covered dock for 45 minutes to escape torrential downpours. Next, we were herded into a building, where we lined up at a cafeteria with staff serving fried foods. No explanation was offered, although apparently this took the place of the barbecue. Jessica Alba and the other stars must have been starving, since they didn’t get to the island until about 9 pm, missing the cafeteria entirely, and then talking to reporters for the next hour.

It was then announced that the fireworks display would take place before the movie screening, in case it rains again. We decided to skip the movie, and were among the last to board the first boat back to the mainland. Only the boat didn’t go anywhere, and about 15 minutes later, the rest of the guests came streaming toward the dock: the projector had conked out.

Back in Manhattan at 11:30 pm, a few intrepid souls trooped to a movie theater where a last minute, post midnight screening had been arranged.

Not so lavish. Funny, if not exactly fun. Expensive.