Showing posts with label Screening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Screening. Show all posts

Monday, July 29, 2013

When an @Audi A8 picks you up to take you to the #movies it's going to be EPIC! @WolverineMovie #HughMamarazzi

The Wolverine


As some of you may remember, many moons ago I worked as a film critic for a well known print publication (which shall remain nameless, to protect the innocent, namely ME). And I've done a lot of Press Screenings. In the beginning the Private Screening Rooms and Snacks were impressive (I started pretty young so often times I was the youngest journalist in the room), the Press Junkets and meeting the celebs were fun (I actually have a scrapbook with my clippings), but I think The Moms have finally finished creating a Movie Monster in me with their most recent Screening Experience!

Audi A8 2014 Automobile, Black, Vehicle, Cars, Ascending Butterfly
Check out Team Butterfly peeking out from behind the passenger side of the 2014 Audi A8!

When an Audi A8 and a driver show up at your door to take you into the city for a film screening you know it's going to be EPIC!  First of all I have to tell you that it was the smoothest ride I've ever experienced,  I love New York City, but anyone who has visited as well as locals know, there are A LOT of potholes, I mean A LOT, and while riding in the Audi A8 the very first thing I noticed was just how smooth the ride is. I know where most of the potholes are by heart and know when to brace myself (especially when I'm in a yellow cab) but this car ride was absolutely the smoothest I've ever experienced, and my driver was awesome too! I'm not sure I want to go any screening that doesn't come with Audi ride to and from my door after this!

Audi A8 2014 Automobile, Black, Vehicle, Cars, Ascending Butterfly
Team Butterfly outside AMC 25 Movie Theatre in New York City, check out the super hot 2014 Audi A8 Automobile and there is my super cool driver!

Seriously folks if you are considering a new vehicle, look no further, the 2014 Audi A8 is pure perfection! The Audi quattro all-wheel drive system is super smooth, it's LED lighting, Audi MMI touch technology, Audi MMI Navigation plus with voice control system, and absolutely gorgeous interior, make this vehicle pure perfection as far as I'm concerned! I will be dreaming of this car for quite awhile! I looked great as a passenger, but I'm thinking I'd look even better behind the wheel!

Hugh Jackman, The Wolverine, Audi A8 Automobile
Wouldn't it have been amazing if we were picked up by Hugh Jackman? (A girl can dream can't she?)

















But I digress! Despite how amazing the ride is, the true star of the show was the movie of course, The Wolverine!

Hugh Jackman, Logan, The Wolverine


Plot Summary/About:

Lured to a Japan he hasn't seen since World War II, century-old mutant Wolverine (Played by Hugh Jackman) finds himself in a shadowy realm of Yakuza and Samurai. Wolverine is pushed to his physical and emotional brink when he is forced to go on the run with a powerful industrialist's daughter (Played by Tao Okamoto) and is confronted - for the first time - with the prospect of his own death. As he struggles to re-discover the hero within himself, he must grapple with powerful foes and the ghosts of his own haunted past.

Rila Fukushima, Yukio, The Wolverine


In every movie there is a scene stealer, and for me, The Wolverine's scene stealer, is Rila Fukushima who plays Yukio who becomes a 'body guard' for Wolverine/Logan, it's an understated yet very well delivered performance!

I don't want include any spoilers, but I will tell you don't pop up when the credits start to roll, stay put and pay attention, something cool happens, but I won't tell you what, you'll just have to go check that out for yourself to find out what it is! All I can say is....the plot thickens my friends!

Hugh Jackman:

The best part of attending Screenings with The Moms is the opportunity to have a questions and answers session with stars of the movie, Hugh was very open and very down-to-earth, here is the video of his Q&A:





Here are some of my shots: (apologies butterflies they are a bit grainy, I think my camera has really had it, it died after me trying to take 4 hi-res shots which is NOT a good sign as the batteries were fully charged!)










Get Social:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow all things Wolverine on Twitter @WolverineMovie
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - "Like" The Wolverine Movie on Facebook




My Take:

This is definitely a summer must see! It's action-packed and has great visuals, there is something that has always fascinated me about Japanese culture and the scenes there are visually beautiful to watch and certainly make me want to go visit. Hugh couldn't have been nicer and the Audi A8 ride to and from the theatre was smooth and fantastic! As we were leaving we were treated to cupcakes by Baked By Melissa, they used 1,700 cupcakes and they spelled out the word 'The Wolverine' with the chocolate ones which I thought was pretty cool!

Even 'The Wolverine' can't resist cupcakes, NOM! NOM! NOM!


Butterflies, The Wolverine is a definite 'TICKET', once you've seen it, come back here and let us know what you thought!

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a Sponsored Post, no monetary compensation has been received in exchange for our event recap coverage. We were provided with Roundtrip Transportation to and from the Theatre compliments of Audi. We were provided with a private screening experience courtesy of The Moms. All opinions are 100% my own. See our full disclosure policy for any questions.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Find out what The Fitzgerald Family Christmas starring @Ed_Burns have to do with @themoms and @pagesix! #fitzmas #Mamarazzi

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Theatrical Poster for the movie 'Fitzgerald Family Christmas'

So Ascending Butterfly finally gets invited to a Page Six worthy event, and she couldn't attend! What's a Butterfly to do? Research Last Minute Cloning Options, Make a rally cry to the heavens? Never to fear, Mama Butterfly is always near and she stepped in for me and covered a very special Mamarazzi event for the movie screening of Ed Burns latest movie release The Fitzgerald Family Christmas which he also wrote the screenplay for AND directed! 

Synopsis/About Fitzgerald Family Christmas

With The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, Ed Burns returns to the working-class, Irish-American roots of The Brothers McMullen. Reuniting with McMullen co-stars Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), and Mike McGlone, along with Noah Emmerich (Little Children, Beautiful Girls) and Kerry Bishé (Newlyweds, Red State), Burns seamlessly weaves an ensemble story of adult siblings dealing with the desire of their estranged father (Ed Lauter, The Artist, The Longest Yard) to return home for Christmas for the first time since he walked out on his family 20 years ago. Family rifts emerge, and like with any family, Christmas brings a mixed bag of complicated emotions and dynamics. Alliances form, old wounds are reopened or glossed over, and the possibility for a new hope and forgiveness emerges.

Con la Navidad de la familia de Fitzgerald, quemaduras vuelve a las clase trabajadora, raices de irlandes-estadounidense de los hermanos McMullen. Reencuentro con co-estrellas McMullen Connie Britton (de Friday Night Lights) y Mike McGlone, junto con Noah Emmerich (ninos pequenos, las chicas guapas) y Kerry Bishe recien casados (rojo), quemaduras perfectamente teje una historia de conjunto de hermanos adultos relacionados con el deseo de su padre (Ed Lauter, el artista, The Longest Yard) para regresar a casa para la Navidad por primera vez desde que salio de su familia hace 20 anos. Surgen divisiones familiares, y como con cualquier familia, la Navidad trae un grup heterogeneo de emociones complejas y dinamicas. Formulario de alianzas, reabrio viejas heridas o alto, y surge la posibilidad de una nueva esperanza y perdon.

Pre Screening Excitement:

Tea from Ed Burns Mamarazzi Fitzgerald Family Christmas event WATERMARKED

Corn and Co Popcorn at Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas Screening WATERMARKED 

We got the chance to try out some awesome teas and got bags of very delicious popcorn! Cheese flavored, Salt and Vinegar Flavored and Wasabi!

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Left: Melissa Gerstein Right: Denise Albert

The Questions and Answers:

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Left: Melissa Gerstein, Center: Ed Burns, Right: Denise Albert

One of my favorite parts of Mamarazzi movie Screenings with The Moms is the opportunity the bloggers in attendance get to ask questions of one of the film's stars! It reminds me of my 'pro' film critic days on Press Junkets, but thankfully with much less travel because the screenings are much closer to home! It's definitely been a month of 'hollywood hunks' here at Ascending Butterfly this month, first getting to interview Gerard Butler regarding his new movie Playing for Keeps and now getting the chance to ask Ed Burns questions about The Fitzgerald Family Christmas!

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Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
Q. What did you draw upon in your own personal life that came out on film and in the writing of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas?
Ed Burns: "A lot of people think these films, especially “The Brothers McMullen” are autobiographical. It is in fact that the Fitzgerald family comes from the exact same place that I came from — working class, Long Island, Irish-Catholic from that neighborhood. So certainly, who I am, how I was raised and the people I was friends with are a big part of who these people are. That said, any of the major plot points I never pull from my family's experience for the simple reason that I don't want a Christmas like this one!"
There are some little things that I pulled from my family and extended family. For example, my wife's tradition, which I never heard of before, is to all wear matching pajamas on Christmas Eve. So I was like all right, I'm going to steal this for the film. And it's something we do now with our kids.

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Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
Q. Would you ever put Christy in your movies?
Ed Burns: Christy said on our very first date: 'Look, for the last 10 years I've been offered dozens of parts in movies. I don't want to be an actress so if you want a second date promise me you won't ever ask.' So I never have.

The Moms intro Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas Mamarazzi 05 WATERMARKED
Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
 
Q. Is it true that you're going to do a 20th reunion of “The Brothers McMullen?

Ed Burns: We're going to do a sequel, I just started writing the script. The plan is that the first movie came out in 1995 and ideally we'd like to get it out by 2015. It's going to be a good one.

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Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
Q. What inspires you to write your films?
Ed Burns: They come from different places. I acted in a movie last year with Tyler Perry called “Alex Cross” and he had just re-watched 'The Brothers McMullen.“ And he said your first two movies were so successful that had to do with these Irish-Catholic families and you haven't gone back there in 15 years. Take a look at what I'm doing, the empire I'm building. You have to super serve your niche. Your audience loved those two movies, give them another one. The minute he said it I knew he was right so I started writing the screenplay for “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas.“

The Moms intro Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas Mamarazzi 07 WATERMARKED
Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
Q. Do you think your focus has changed making movies, writing since having kids?
Ed Burns: To be quite honest, I've never sat down and thought about myself as a husband and a father when I was writing a screenplay. So now my oldest is 9 years old, so this will be the first script that I'm really looking at fatherhood, marriage, child-rearing. That said, there's no way that being a father and a husband hasn't changed the way I thought about my parents, my friends' parents and the challenges they must have experienced and what all parents must deal with. That definitely shaped the writing in this but it wasn't something that I consciously sat down to do.


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Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
Q. How do you balance it all?
Ed Burns: Both of our jobs require us to travel. And I made a decision at a certain point that if I want to be the dad I want to be that means I have to stay in New York. So that means I have to focus more on my filmmaking, which I can control and keeps me in town. But I sort of said, I won't go take an acting part that will take me to Australia for four months. And I'm lucky that I'm not just an actor because having to make those decisions would be difficult

The Moms intro Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas Mamarazzi 09 BOOSTED
Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
 
Q. When you're on the set and your kids have something and you're late, do you ever feel guilty as a working dad?
Ed Burns: All parents these days feel guilt. When you're the director, you call the shots, so if there is something that is very important that I need to be at, we schedule around it. I also think you have to have the healthy perspective that kids want to see their parents work, be engaged, happy and satisfied, even little kids. We don't need to be there as much as we think we need to. They're OK.

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Ed Burns being interviewed during a Questions and Answers Sessions post  film screening of The Fitzgerald Family Christmas in New York City
 
Q. Would you let your two children follow in your footsteps? 
Ed Burns: The rule is after 18 we'll help them do what they want to do. Get through high school, get into college. While you're in school, if you want to pursue acting or modeling or photography, we'll help you. But nothing until 18


Check Out The Video Here:





Fitzgerald Family Christmas is available on Video on Demand and in theaters starting December 7th!

If you want to get Social about The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, you can follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #fitzmas

Special Thanks to Mama Butterfly for covering for me! Here is a picture of my mom with Ed Burns (Cool right?) I think my fellow Beauty Mavens will understand when I post about exactly where I was instead! ;-)
 
The Moms intro Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas Mamarazzi 12 WATERMARKED
Left: Mama Butterfly! Right: Ed Burns!
 

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received by Ascending Butterfly to share our recap of the movie or our experience, we attended a private Press screening and had the opportunity to interview Ed Burns at that time.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Help - Whatever you do, do NOT miss this movie!




I usually tend to read the book BEFORE I see the movie, but this is the first instance where I've viewed a movie based on a book before reading the book. This is definitely a first for me, and I have to say SO worth it.

After a summer of mostly 3D and CGI, I was absolutely ready for something 'real' and 'raw', something that not only tugged at the heartstrings, but had real 'meat' to it, and The Help did not disappoint.




The Help is a movie with a simple yet very powerful tagline: Change Starts with a Whisper. And so it does. Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon,  “The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s,  who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, “The Help” is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change. It's not just the ability to create the change that's the story, it's the courage to create it both within and without!

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” is a provocative and inspiring look at what happens when a southern town’s unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship.

It's truly a powerful movie, and there was not one dry eye at the end, and yes that includes many of the men in attendance as well! (No easy feat for a New York Press Screening!) 



While the entire movie is expertly cast, look for Jessica Chastain (pictured above) she's a real scene stealer, she plays the character Celia Foote, and she gives the character tremendous depth, humor and spirit! and as a 'Truebie' I was also excited to spot Nelsan Ellis (who portrays Lafayette Renolds on True Blood) in another disney movie (he was also in Secretariat), Nelsan is a great chameleon who really throws himeself into his roles, and he is always fun to watch.



I know most people cite the 'leads' but this is a well rounded cast, and every single character brings this movie a tremendous amount of depth, feeling and emotion.

THE HELP opens in theatres everywhere on Aug 10th. Butterflies, what ever you do, do NOT miss this movie! I'm leaving this thread open, because I'd love everyone to come back here and comment when they've seen it!

“Like” THE HELP on Facebook

Order the book on Amazon using banner below:















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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. I attended the New York Press Screening of The Help movie. All opinions about the movie are my own and have not been influenced in any way! An Amazon Affiliate Link has been provided to the book.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Ascending Butterfly: Wordless Wednesday! - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides!

Check out Ascending Butterfly at last night's New York City Screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides!


Full Review Coming Soon!

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Disney Pictures Presents Gnomeo and Juliet!




I had the pleasure of attending a NYC 3D screening of Gnomeo and Juliet and it was a welcome break between the madness of pre Fashion Week events and events surrounding the NYC Toy Fair!

The greatest love story ever told, starring...garden gnomes? In the upcoming “Gnomeo & Juliet,” Shakespeare's revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover. Directed by Kelly Asbury (“Shrek 2”) and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, the film features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as Gnomeo and Juliet, who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. Two garden gnomes, Gnomeo (voice of James McAvoy) and Juliet (voice of Emily Blunt), try to avoid tragedy and find a happy ending to their star-crossed love affair when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors.

I had a fun time playing ‘who is that voice’ in my head, some were easier to recognize than others, like Patrick Stewart, Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton and Michael Caine!

And hopefully you like Elton John, because you will be hearing lots of Elton songs in this movie! There is a very energetic version of Crocodile Rock Performed by Nelly Furtado and Elton John. J

Here is the clip:





MY REVIEW:
While the movie is rated General Audiences, there are a few double entendres in there, and while they will course of make the adults laugh, you want to be aware they are there and decide based on your child’s maturity level, if you feel comfortable with that. I thought the 3D effects in Tangled was a bit more dynamic than in Gnomeo and Juliet, but all in all it is a fast paced, cheeky take on the Shakespeare Classic, With a Cameo by the man himself, well ….. at least his statue was there! J
I was excited to find some butterfly sightings! And when you visit the website gnomeoandjuliet.com you will find a blue butterfly there too! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
I have been enjoying playing spot the butterfly during Disney Animated Films and I’ve even got family and friends doing it now! J
I did want to let you know that Disney did offer us a giveaway, but I’m covering pre-fashion week events and fashion week itself as well as the NY Toy Fair for outlets that I write for, and with our Valentine’s Guide now in full swing I just couldn’t take anything else on. My apologies dear readers, I did however want you to know that Disney was very much thinking of you!
In fact, because of the insanity of my schedule, our Valentine’s Day Buying Guide, is running well past Valentine’s Day itself and it will run straight through February!

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FTC Disclosure: I was provided with Screening Passes for this film. There was no monetary compensation. I was not asked to write about my experience, and my opinions of this film are expressly my own.