Yesterday's premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was a interesting ride, not only for the thousands who actually attended, but also for the tens of thousands more who followed the event on the internet.

In watching the event progress through the reports at the message board, I think it became a learning experience for us all. While the day started with excitement and anticipation, it ended in disappointment, bitterness, and in the heat of high emotions, even calls to boycott the film when it is released in theatres.

From a fan's perspective, it certainly would be disappointing to travel a long way, spend a lot of money, stand in line from the early hours of the morning, and get nothing more in return than a glimpse of the person you came to see get rushed past you in a swarm of security people. But as fans, I think we all realize (especially in the calmer light of day) that it would be impossible for one person to meet and talk to each and every fan who shows up at events like this. Inevitably, someone is going to be disappointed, and that's really no one's fault.

Unfortunately, a few of the people disappointed in this particular instance were being followed by many thousands more on the internet, and their tale and perspective gave the event a bit of a black eye. It was the luck of the draw, obviously, and it could well have worked out the other way -- they could have been one of the lucky ones who did get their moment, and the mood for the rest of us watching from afar would have been dramatically different.

For fans, I think the lesson is that showing up at a public appearance doesn't guarantee anything. Hopes for autographs or a few moments of a star's time need to be tempered with the reality that it just doesn't always happen. It's wonderful when it does, it sucks when it doesn't, and it's really just luck either way.

At the same time, though, I think it's also a learning experience for the movie studios who host these big events. Up to about 10 years ago, maybe even as recently as 5, premieres were designed for media coverage. Fans still showed up, but these events were primarily intended to spread the word about a film through the glitz and glamour of the stars on the red carpet along with the first public screening.

The times may not be a-changin', but the definition of "media coverage" definitely is. Instant communication, blogs, message boards, e-mail groups, organized fan sites -- all of these things have entered the media realm and are a powerful force. Many people look to these sources before or even instead of more traditional sources like newspapers and television. And since these outlets are much more difficult to control, perhaps the time has come for the studios to realize that the fans who attend these events are becoming equally important in the promotion of a film or a cause as the traditional news outlets who cover them.

There's a happy medium in there somewhere. Fans and promoters just need to be willing to meet each other halfway.