LAist Crashes the <em>Year of the Dog</em> Red Carpet Premiere - LAist: Los Angeles News, Food, Arts & Events

laura dern mike white molly shannon at year of the dog premiere

Year of the Dog's Laura Dern and Molly Shannon with writer/director Mike White

OK, so we were invited to the Paramount lot -- but wouldn't it be more dramatic if we crashed it? Could additional drama even be necessary at the premiere of a movie about relationships, work, death, and dogs, with a tagline begging the question: "Has the world left you a stray?" Year of the Dog hits theaters next Friday, the 13th.

We snapped several photos of the movie's stars as well as some notable fangirls (Drew Barrymore, Shondrella Avery [aka LaFonda], Tia Carrere) who confessed to the temptation to throw themselves at writer/director Mike White. Year of the Dog is White's directorial debut but he is already revered for his hilarious writing and his classic, jokester mug. His previous credits include Nacho Libre, School Of Rock, Orange County, and Chuck & Buck.
josh pais at year of the dog premiere
Josh Pais (who plays Molly Shannon's boss in the movie) told us why he (like everyone else) was so psyched to work on White's directorial debut.

Press "play" to listen or (download the .mp3):

An exclusive interview with the twins who play "Lissie," many more photos, and a clip from the movie after the jump.

interviews by Lindsay Watts; photos by Andy Sternberg

Twin sisters Amy and Zoe Schlagel are both credited as "Lissie." They'd like to thank their mom.

Press "play" to listen to our interview or (download the .mp3):

Drew Barrymore fears that she lost her date while schmoozing on the red carpet

Molly Shannon indicates where a kiss from one of the movie's dogs resulted in a rash

Tia Carrere would love to be cast in the next Mike White film. Meanwhile, look for her on the next season of Curb Your Enthusiasm

LA-born Shondrella Avery doesn't mind that people still think of her as LaFonda, "the love interest" of Napoleon Dynamite's brother Kip in Napoleon Dynamite.