It was a fun premiere last night for Sony’s “Caught Stealing.” I learned a lot.

Coming off the red carpet before the cast (Austin Butler, Zoe Kravitz, Bad Bunny, et al) and crew arrived, there was an army of young people. I mean, mid 20s. They were dressed up to the hilt, maybe more “Rocky Horror” than formal wear, and nearly all tattooed. The women wore low cut dresses and stiletto heels. The guys had a lot of rings on their fingers and in their ears.

This very odd gang caught my attention. Who were they? What were they doing at a big Hollywood premiere?

My friend and fellow film critic/journalist Joanna Langfield pondered this question until a light bulb went off over our heads.

“Influencers,” we said snidely, the way Seinfeld acknowledges Newman. “Let’s talk to them.”

And so we did, since we — old and experienced, over the hill — were not invited to the premiere, but they were, so why not find out their secret?

A bunch of these people revealed to us that the studios underwrite their trips to premieres, fly them in, put them up and so on. One couple was imported from Madrid. They each had about a million followers. Wow. Rock stars. Another couple, two men who live locally, also claim to millions of followers. Wow again.

All these people, and more, turned up later photographed on the red carpet as if they were celebrities. You can see their pictures on wireimage.com. It’s quite extraordinary. (See below.)

I really liked all of them. Gianna Christine from Florida, once labeled “SnapChat’s It Girl,” a petite sexy blonde who knows to flaunt it, told us she had a business degree. We asked if she felt indebted to Sony for bringing her to the premiere? “No,” she said, “I make up my own mind. I don’t like most movies anyway.” She listed some she’d seen thanks to a studio’s largesse. I’ll leave out those titles.

Alaire, a cheerful dynamo who attracted a crowd on our corner from her own fans, told me I should be posting videos. She does it all the time, on her phone, with just a tripod and one of those round lights. While we were talking, a young couple from Paris approached her and her beautiful fiancee, Jordan, like they were rock stars. (They’re on their way to Paris for fashion shows next.)

I asked them all, including an 18 year old and her friends, also fans of Alaire, a question. 

“Do any of you have cable TV?” They looked at me blankly. “I mean like HBO?”

The 18 year old said, “I have HBO Max.” On your TV, I asked? “No, streaming.”

None of them watch regular TV or cable TV. They’re getting all their information from social media and streaming. 

Finally one of them asked us, What do you do?

Joanna replied, dryly, “We’re film critics,” as if this might mean something (like when we were in awe of Andrew Sarris or in the presence of Rex Reed).

They looked at us like we were a pair of triceratops. I said, jumping in, “Like Rotten Tomatoes?”

“Oh,” said someone, and then everyone drifted away.

PS All kidding aside, I liked them all a lot. I did feel like a hundred years old. But this is the new world. The studios only want them now, and they’ll happily pay for it. The critics? We did get free popcorn and drinks. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

Pictures c2025 Showbiz411

Sony Pictures aka Columbia is having a very bad year, as you may have surmised.

Nothing has worked because none of it was good including “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Karate Kid: Legends.” So far they have a measly 5% of the market since January 1st.

And so they wait for “Spider Man” again.

In the meantime, Friday brings a bit of a bright light: Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing” starring the magnetic Austin Butler in a total breakout role.

Will this be the film that gives Sony some hope?

Aronofsky hasn’t had a film this good in a long time. “Caught Stealing” is part “Anora,” part “Romper Stomper.” It’s a violent punk comedy full of visual splendor. If you’re not too sensitive, this film is kind of a late summer relief.

It’s also got a big, eclectic cast. But other than Regina King and Matt Smith (in a hilarious turn), don’t get too attached to any of the characters. They come and go, but you’ll never forget them as played by Zoe Kravitz, Griffin Dunne, and Action Bronson.

Butler is who the movie is all about, and he carries it right til the end with aplomb. His Hank Thompson is a Lower East Side transplant from San Francisco, where he hoped to play for the baseball giants. But an unforeseen tragedy cuts that idea short, so now he’s in New York scraping by for a living.

Hank’s Cockney accented neighbor, Russ, sports a Mohawk and chains but also has a secret. He’s stashed away money that isn’t his — isn’t that always the case? He leaves Hank literally holding the bag, as well as a hissing cat who will soon exhibit nine lives. (Kravitz is Hank’s friend with benefits.)

Who’s comes looking for the money? Russian mobsters from Brooklyn and a pair of hilariously violent Hasidic criminals played by Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio. As good as Butler is, Schreiber and D’Onofrio attempt to steal the movie out from underneath him with a lot of inside jokes as they speak Yiddish with their “bubbe” played by the miraculous Carol Kane.

Yes, there are a few surprise killings, but “Caught Stealing” is more than fun when it finally settles down. Aronofsky really captures the quirky East Village from before the advent of $5 million condos and insufferable yuppies. His send up of burgeoning techies via a neighbor who’s “designing websites” is very amusing.

But again, it’s all on Butler, who’s now back to speaking like himself and not Elvis Presley. The ladies love him, and guys can identify with a boozing loser who’s savvy enough to dig himself out of trouble. What more do you want?