The Legendary Robin Williams was Missed and Reminisced at the New York City Premiere for Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

The Legendary Robin Williams was Missed and Reminisced at the New York City Premiere for Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

“The film was made with a lot of love and care. I like to say that it was handcrafted and I hope you enjoy it!” director Marina Zenovich said during her heartwarming intro at last night’s premiere for her film, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind. Hosted by HBO and SAG-AFTRA, the screening fittingly took place at the Robin Williams Center, where there was a comedic air of celebration. Actor Jon Voight, who was the first to arrive, turned the tables on photographers by spontaneously bringing one by one out on the red carpet for a photo of their own. Next up, stand-up comedian Lewis Black (in Lewis Black fashion) playfully flipped the bird to the flashing bulbs. Black had done three USO tours with Williams for the troops in the late 2000s among many other gigs together. “He was a remarkable man in many fashions, and he wasn’t just odd.”

The idea behind the film was first born from a conversation with Williams’ manager, David Steinberg, HBO, and Alex Gibney—one of two producers for the film along with Shirel Kozak. Gibney was interested from the get-go. “From the very beginning I was always interested in the idea of the lonely young boy who didn’t have anyone to play with so he had to make up his own playmates. If you think about Robin’s career, you think whoa, that says a lot.”

Told mainly in Williams’s own voice and aided with the likes of Billy Crystal, David Letterman, and others close to him, the film begins with his life raised as an only child in Chicago and ends with his untimely death in 2014. It was not lost on director Zenovich to be tender with how Williams’ lost his life. “It was the elephant in the room, but we never wanted to make the film about that.” With the recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, Zenovich acknowledged how much suicide is on the forefront of everyone’s minds. “If [the film] can start everyone talking about suicide then great...the thing is, who could ever really know. I wasn’t there. My feeling is he didn’t know what he was doing. He was in a really dark place.” Williams was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia toward the end of his life.

There were a few tearful moments, but overall, the feeling in the theatre was wonderstruck. Zenovich's own favorite moments were Williams’s "Live at Met" stage performances. “My favorite thing about him is the energy and watching him throw himself on stage. It’s like he’s Baryshnikov or something! I love watching it.”

After the film, crowds went next door to the sultry supper club 54 Below, where golden tickets were presented by guests to check-in. It seemed every person had a personal story of how Williams illuminated their life. He was missed and reminisced. In the low glow of the room, laughs lasted well into the night.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind debuts on Monday July 16th on HBO.