A Very Fangirl Avengers Contest!

Attention Fangirls!!!

We're holding a very special, contest here at All Things Fangirl. In honor of a certain movie opening this Friday, Disney/Marvel has offered to send a surprise item to five dedicated fangirls. The exclusive item is not available in stores or anywhere else for that matter. It was created specifically for our Fangirl community, which is why the limited number remaining are going to go to you!

We wanted to come up with a contest that was more than just the usual "post in the comments" deal, so we thought we would take this opportunity to honor our beloved Loki. He *almost* won Best Villain in this year's Fangirl Awards (hard to beat the Lannisters after the shit they pulled last year) and is about to probably get his ass kicked by six superheroes on thousands of screens across the country, so it's only right that we throw him some love before Friday, when we all collectively become obsessed with The Hulk because ZOMG I AM SO OBSESSED WITH THE HULK NOW. While the prize doesn't have anything specifically to do with Loki, whatever, WE DO WHAT WE WANT, THOR.

To enter, do the following:

-Create or re-blog a macro or photo with either a Team Loki theme, a Loki's Fangirl Army theme, or an an "I do what I want" Loki theme (original comic panel here, that we referenced ourselves about two sentences ago - http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsoh667oeS1qzizmho1_500.jpg) and post on tumblr with a link to the contest. If you're reblogging someone else's, just make sure to add a personalized touch in the text. If you create your own photo/macro, your entry will be counted twice!
-tweet the tumblr link with the hashtag #teamloki and a link to the contest
-shoot me the tumblr and twitter link at allthingsfangirl at gmail dot com with your mailing address and the subject I'M AN AVENGERS FANGIRL


Teehee, I just found this on tumblr and reblogged it cause it's making me giggle and is totally an example of something that would count as an entry - The Hulk has nothing on my army.

The contest closes when Avengers opens Thursday night at midnight! Happy Loki-ing, ladies!

Tumble this contest!

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CinemaCon '12: Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee Talk 3D & The Future of Cinema

Perhaps my favorite part of CinemaCon 2012 was the Filmmaker's Luncheon, which featured an in depth talk with Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee about the art of 3D filmmaking. I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was my first event at my first CinemaCon, but what followed was a wonderful, enlightening discussion, the kind I rarely get to be exposed to with the extent of my coverage usually being on geek specific gatherings. I thought I'd put together a summary of the biggest things I took away from the luncheon, and I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. 


 1. 3D companies realize what a major issue the dulling of the image is and are working on eliminating that as an issue. A scene from Hugo they screened for us was at double the brightness as normal, and I did notice a decidedly smaller difference between the image brightness when I lifted my glasses up. But also discussed was mportance of the theaters and projectionists to make sure they are up to date and know how to use the product so that their screens are showing the images in the best possible light, literally. Scorsese himself pleaded to the theater owners in the audience, "We all have to work together on this. Please show the films in the best possible light" It's a two way street, but ultimately it begins with the 3D companies, so here's hoping this isn't an issue we're still talking about in a couple of years. 

2. Ang Lee has been interested in making the Life of Pi into a film for so long, but felt he needed another dimension of filmmaking to make it work, so decided to look to 3D. He finds it to be incredibly intense and its purpose is to make the story more immersive. He sees 2D as easier to watch, which is necessary for some films, while 3D forces the audience to be more attentive and active in the story, a quality necessary for a very different kind of film. So ultimately, Lee doesn't think 3D and 2D should be compared, because 3D is its own art. Even if it's not quite there yet, it's where it is headed. 

3. 3D acting requires a different application of an actor's skill set.  Lee talked about loving a scene on the 2D monitor, then hopping back to the 3D monitor and realizing the actors (specifically first time actor, 17 year old Suraj Sharma, headed to NYU next year!) needed to bring the performance down. Scorsese chuckled in response to this, as he had the same issue on Hugo, working primarily with children. Lee is  also are nervous for the day that  actors see themselves on monitor and demand that the I O be turned down, because they don't like how they look. All of this leads to the question - how long until we see acting classes designed specifically for work in 3D? Lee already predicts that film schools will be teaching it as a technique to its students sooner rather than later.


More after the jump!

4. Scorsese is the grand master. I mean, yes, we knew this before Ang Lee said "it's a huge honor to sit next to the grand master" on Wednesday afternoon, but the luncheon with the two filmmakers really showed off Scorsese's incredible knowledge of film history, throwing around quotes like "imagine a film by Eisenstein in 3D", talking about showing his daughter David Selsnick's 1948 black and white picture, Portrait of Jenny in a movie theater to show his daughter what the theater experience was like then, with the switch to magnoscope in the middle, ending in technicolor, effects only on the theater print, and explaining how the jump from nitrate to acetate or black and white to color was just as jarring as the jump to 48 or 120 fps might be, but assured us, we will get used to it. In talking 120 fps, Scorsese said while we gasped, he said "let's shoot." He let us know that when films began, audiences wanted three things - color, sound and depth, to "recreate life.". First came sound, then came color, and now we're finally innovating with depth - it's a natural progression. He even notes how when he did Mean Streets in color, "that was a big big move." and how when he was told that in the future all movies would be in color, no one could believe it. He also noted that not even 10 years ago, he and George Lucas were up at the Skywalker Ranch talking about digital projection. He notes that how this upcoming shift goes comes down to how *we* accept an image. Man. On the fence about new technology in filmmaking? Just listen to Scorsese talk about it for forty five minutes, I'm telling you. 

5. Scorsese is a 3D nut. While he admits it "takes half a day of shooting to realize you're crazy", he had been wanting to make a film in 3D for forever and can't see why his films would ever *not* be in 3D. He was so excited for Hugo, he brought his crew to see House of Wax at Film Forum, then later Dial M for Murder, which was revelatory for them, to see 3D applied that way. He also feels very fortunate that his first 3D film was on one giant set with a giant crane to handle the 3D equipment. 

6. Over 1000 computers were involved with the first shot of Hugo, which actually wasn't finished until right before opening - it didn't even screen with the film at the first academy screening.

7. When Sacha Baron Cohen leans in to talk to Asa Butterfield in one particular scene in Hugo, the effect of his truly popping off the screen was actually an accident, but this, plus the makeup and costume 3D tests for the film, have led to Scorsese describing actors in 3D movies as "moving sculptures", a combination of theater and film noting that it creates more of an immersive experience and takes audiences in, making them care more. 

8. Ang Lee had a difficult time with 3D. Whereas Scorsese approaches 3D like a kid in a candy shop, Lee was extremely intimidated by the 3D camera and is still in an incredibly nervous place about the gamble he took. "I'm dealing with kids, tigers, water, and big visual effects, all in 3D…it's a huge learning curve." He noted that it was a tremendous undertaking from conceptualization to post, and how often on set, both he and the crew would forget they were shooting in 3D, "The biggest learning curve is that sometimes I forgot it was 3D. We are used to shooting in 2D. Our training in lighting and creating depth is in 2D," and how there was a bit of a struggle at times with his cinematographer, who had shot Tron: Legacy, because he would "walk around like he knows" and sometimes counter what was ultimately the "filmmaker's vision", especially because Lee is so used to trusting his eyes and can no longer do that when using 3D. Although, based on the breathtaking footage screened the next day from Life of Pie, something tells me it's all gonna work out just fine, Ang Lee :)

9. Why was Hugo in 3D? Scorsese explained that 3D takes you into another land more fully, which was important for this film. Plus - what was the film talking about? Technology to tell stories. So by using 3D, it's automatically doing a better job of communicating that. On how it works without that extra dimension? "In 2D, it's all right. It plays…"

10. If Scorsese and Lee could go back in time, Scorsese would have made anything after Raging Bull in 3D, and thinks Bergman's The Passion of Anna would look great in 3D, as would a smaller film he just saw called Mud. Ang Lee thinks 3D could have been cool for his Hulk movie.

11. Ang Lee changed the frame rate many many times in Life of Pi. "Fox doesn't know yet…"

12. Life of Pi features the first 3D camera with a box for underwater shooting and the film was shot in a giant tank in Tawian. Lee noted that he cherishes the amount of budget he got and can't waste it by shooting in the actual sea. 

13. We need to pay more attention to preservation and officially introduce Migration as the standard. Scorsese is passionate about film preservation and talked to us about how digital means no negative. There is nothing there. So the only way to preserve our films is to migrate original technologies to new technologies or else it will literally disappear. The key is to set a standard for good, often updated copies, and make them available in more ways than just digital.

14. Scorsese and Lee very much value the physical movie going experience. Lee noted "there is nothing like sitting with a group of people in a black box and watching something larger than life," while Scorsese added "there will always be the need to see films with an audience," whether it's Titanic reissued in 3D or a new form of filmmaking involving holograms. Scorsese even mentioned how he saw Lucas in New York last week for an hour, and part of that time was spent watching a video of cat sneezing on the internet, and how even that proves the importance of the communal experience of watching film with someone else. Both Scorsese and Lee emphasized that movies have the most meaning when shared and that experience is not replaceable. 

15. Lee's childhood dream was to make a film combining Chinese melodrama and martial arts, which he accomplished with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Scorsese's first real dream was to put what he was experiencing in life, on screen, which seemed impossible in the days of censorship, but that he later got to accomplish with Mean Streets and Raging Bull. He also has long had a dream of making a roman epic in 75mm, with an Emperor, betrayals, and lots of gladiatorial combat. Um. Yes please? 

How do you feel about 3D? Do you think, like Scorsese, that it is part of a natural progression and will be the new standard, or are you more on the side of Lee, that it's a specific art form to be used only for specific pieces that require a higher level of immersion and intensity?

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A Whole New World: A Look Inside My Vegas Convention Experience

Battleship lobby display, [Photo from Collider.com]

In its second year as CinemaCon (formally ShoWest), the Las Vegas trade show owned by the National Association of Theater Owners showed off tons of footage from upcoming movies, featured a variety of products on the floor for theater owners to consider (and for me to eat), provided seminars on things like social networking, 3D, and texting in theaters, and got thousands of people drunk. It was my first time making the trek to Vegas to see what all the fuss has been about so I thought I’d sum up the best parts of my two days in Caesar’s Palace.

A Peek Into A Different Demographic

One of the hands down most interesting parts of my entire CinemaCon experience was taking a look inside a demographic that I have never been privy to before. I am mostly all geeks all the time or all hipster artists all the time. In my universe, the big winners of the convention would have been Prometheus, The Amazing Spiderman and 47 Ronin. SO not what happened here. Case in point: the unexpected winner of the Universal presentation and possibly the whole weekend?  Ted, the first feature length film from Family Guy mastermind Seth McFarlane, the clips from which got the loudest, most enthusiastic response of any film at CinemaCon. 

Also, in chatting with folks after the Sony presentation, pretty much everyone, but especially women, came away most excited personally for Hope Springs, the film where Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones go to a marriage counseling retreat to get some spice back into their lives. I’ll see it, sure, but I think I can safely say I have never been in a room before with this many people who dismissed genre films as noise and explosions, but simply can’t wait for a middle aged romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep. Although, to be fair, a lot of these folks happen to be excited for Looper as well, as it seemed smart and liked that there was more in there than just noise and explosions. Yay!

Here's the kicker: after killing it at Wondercon with fantastic footage complete with silly intro and hilarious panel with Seth Grahame-Smith and Benjamin Walker, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter seemed to utterly stump the CinemaCon crowd. When chatting with attendees, I discovered just how true this was. This movie is not for this crowd. Thankfully, anyone I personally spoke to got to hear that it was based on a great book, that the writer is extremely clever, that Benjamin Walker starred on Broadway, that it was extremely well received at Wondercon and the geek crowd is super excited for it, but it was definitely eye opening to encounter a bunch of people that aren’t automatically excited at the thought of Abe Lincoln chopping up vamps on top of a train. 

Oh, peeks inside other demographics, how interesting and rare you are!

More after the jump

Learning about the controversy that is frame rate

Something we *all* learned this week, whether we physically attended CinemaCon or not. The Hobbit screened ten minutes in 48 fps for the first time during the Warner’s Presentation, to mixed results. Most of the attendees I talked to were actually rather positive about the whole thing, as were a couple members of the press who echoed the sentiment Scorsese touched on Wednesday – that innovation in cinema always takes some getting used to, but most of that was drowned out by some loud and immediate gut reactions. But considering these loud and immediate gut reactions were from people whose opinions I trust and respect beyond description, it had me worried. The day after, I saw some 120fps 3D test footage and found myself very much on the fence about the whole thing. Only time will tell how this all shakes out, but it cannot be denied that frame rate has become a very hot button issue.

I'm Katniss!

The Lionsgate party had a photo area where you could get green screened in as Katniss on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. I did this. It was awesome. Party win!

Junk Food Overload

So it turns out there is such a thing as eating too much candy. I know this because I did it. I mean, the trade show floor had samples of every candy ever from every company ever, not to mention like eight brands of popcorn, three brands of hot dog, plus frozen yogurt, slushies, pretzels, nachos, oh and a bar that makes its own drinks. If you want to know the quickest way to make yourself sick, I truly think I’ve stumbled upon the secret – just go to the trade show floor at CinemaCon! BRB gotta go eat one of my five packs of peanut butter M&Ms I brought home from the event.

The MOST drinking

I was astounded with how much alcohol I was being plied with almost constantly at CinemaCon. Starting at lunch (or breakfast if you go to Mimosa route), there were drinks upon drinks upon drinks, and because you can consume alcohol pretty much everywhere, there was never any hurry to finish up. They just give you a to go plastic cup at the exit! This was great for day one, but at the ripe old age of 26, I was dead by day two when my body just decided to stop functioning.  If Comic-Con fed me alcohol all day, I wouldn’t make it past Friday afternoon. WHY AM I AN OLD PERSON.

Sony Swag

Various types of swag were handed out over the weekend, and Universal’s variety of soft shirts featuring classic film logos came close to taking the cake, but generally, track jackets/hoodies > shirts/hats. So it should be no surprise that Sony’s track jackets, one forThe Amazing Spiderman, and one for Men in Black 3 win Best Swag. Of course instead of a size small Amazing Spiderman jacket, I randomly ended up with an XL Men in Black 3 one, but… first world problems.

Judd Apatow and Charlize Theron's Acceptance Speeches

The two best speeches during the CinemaCon Awards Thursday night came from these two, laced with a similar type of humor. I can’t help but think that Theron would thrive in Apatow’s hands, the way she did when she worked with Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, even in a smaller supporting role. Who can make this happen?

Total Recall may not suck

Guys, the three boobed alien from Total Recall looks pretty awesome. I mean, it looks like a woman with three actual boobs. Well done! Plus, even though the clips shown gave away way too much, the film actually seems kind of cool and fairly engaging. Is that so wrong to think?!

Discovering Jack Black is still funny

It’s easy to forget considering the projects he has chosen over the past several years, but when Jack Black MCed the Pioneer of the Year award presentation to Jeffrey Katzenberg, he had me in a fit of giggles. There’s hope for you yet to get back on track, Jack Black, I know there is!

Getting excited for Fox in 2013

Yes we have Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Prometheus and Taken 2 this year, but 2013 will bring us A New Day To Die Hard (fifth in the Die Hard franchise,) Spielberg’sRobopocalypse, the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and for the none of us that care, but the bajillion tweens who do (but maybe you should change your tune cause Nathan Fillion is in it!) the next installment in the Percy Jackson series.

Life Of Pi (Which will win ALL of the awards)

Despite Ang Lee’s multiple protestations that the footage was unfinished, spoken with a deep seated fear in his eyes, the CinemaCon audience absolutely ate up the screened clips from Life of Pi. This ambitious undertaking looks phenomenal, and as long as newcomer Suraj Sharma in the lead role can hold his own, I would be surprised to see this film ignored come Oscar time. At the very least, expect it to make a strong showing, if not a complete sweep, in the technical categories, the way Hugo did. For more on this, see my article on Lee and Scorsese talking 3D and the future of cinema.

Les Miserables (which will fin all of the OTHER awards)

40-60 seconds screened against the live-on-set track of Anne Hathaway singing I Dreamed a Dream and I 100% lost my shit. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia factor at play, but hell, if the film can successfully capitalize on that, mission accomplished. I can already anticipate crying from start to finish and I may even forgive Tom Hooper for ruining the 2010 awards season for me if he can pull Les Mis off the way the short clip suggested he could.

Learning That CinemaCon is nothing like Comic-Con

Never having attended CinemaCon and only knowing vaguely that it had something to do with theater owners, I had no clue quite how different it was from any other convention. In San Diego, everything is for the fans, and although some (who don't know any better) dismiss it as a giant marketing tool and trade show, it is truly neither. Comic-Con is where smaller filmmakers and actors can bring genre projects that perhaps won’t make any money, but are solid work that deserve some attention and to find its audience. Comic-Con allows the fans to connect to those projects, as well as the large scale ones – no matter what, the focus is *always* establishing that connection between fan and creator. CinemaCon, actually is a trade show, where companies display their wares to theater owners, and the point of the presentations, moderated by executives who understand the business side of things as opposed to like, a Patton Oswalt, is to get theater owners excited for the potential box office and learn about which demographic is going to be drawn in by which huge film. Only the most giant of movies are previewed, and franchises are spoken of as if they are gold, the monetary value of the films clearly taking center stage. But rather than feeling gross, it all makes sense, it all feels right. These are people doing their jobs. It’s a completely different experience than anything I’ve ever attended and I kind of felt like I walked into a corporate office and witnessed a day on the job in that world that is normally supposed to be kept concealed from nerdy bloggers like me. Truly, CinemaCon and Comic-Con shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath, as the two have nothing in common and there is no reason why anyone should think they do. One is a fan convention. One is an industry trade show. Yes, both are fun and informative and show clips of upcoming movies, but that's it. The end. Oh and you know what else makes CinemaCon vastly different from Comic-Con? It’s an R rated room. The cursing, sex and violence on screen and the cursing that continued in the room made it clear, in case you forgot, which city were in. Which was fucking awesome.

Favorite Footage:

Looper, Skyfall, Prometheus, Life of Pie, The Bourne Legacy, Snow White & The Huntsman, Les Mis, This is 40, 47 Ronin

(Note: I only saw Sony, Fox and Universal. Was not at CinemaCon for WB or Disney)

Find photos from my trip to CinemaCon here

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Morrison Hotel Gallery's Rolling Stones tribute

The Morrison Hotel Gallery, in association with GrandLife Hotels, will be exhibiting an expansive collection of portraits of The Rolling Stones, tributing their 50 years as a band. The exhibit and sale will feature photos of the iconic band as captured by a slew of talented photographers.
If you've never visited The Morrison Hotel, this show will be your perfect introduction to this awesome New York gallery dedicated to music photography.

Rolling Stones: Celebrating 50 Years in Photography
May 4th-May 31st
For more information, visit the gallery's website here.

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Review: Cabin in the Woods Visual Companion

SPOILER ALERT - If You Haven't Seen Cabin in the Woods, Click Away!


Cross-posted on Film.com

Remember that moment in Cabin in the Woods when you finally realize what the office pool is all about as the film cuts to a white board filled with a long list of creatures and various departments next to each one? Remember how much you wanted to pause the screen and take in all in? But then remember how you realized t's a movie in a movie theater and you wouldn't get to do this until DVD/Blu-Ray release? FEAR NOT YA'LL. Luckily, the Cabin in the Woods Visual Companion hits bookstores today and not only does it have a screencap of the board, but shots of the basement, specific creature designs, discussions about the creatures, and the script itself, which contains creature details. All that's missing to answer all of your creature questions is a detailed diagram of board to basement to creature. Which *will* be on the DVD/Blu-Ray, right Drew? RIGHT, DREW?!?! In fact, Badass Digest posted the photo and there's a pretty fun comment chain going on in response as people break down the creatures - have a looksie! 

Frankly, that alone would be enough to get me to buy this book, but the Visual Companion is so much more than that. Aside from the massive creature education/explanation, the book offers tons of behind the scenes stills, production photos, storyboards, concept art, models, interviews with actors, production designer, creature designer and more, the entire original script and best of all a THIRTY FOUR page interview with, plus forewords and afterwards from, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. Sure, plenty of this stuff you could maybe find in various interviews around the interwebs, but this extensive chat was done right after the film was picked up and goes into incredible detail from pre production through the shoot itself and where they were in post.

Moar after the jump!

This is sort of the film where it ends and you immediately want to see it again. At least, that's what happened to me (so I did, as soon as I possibly could - twice) and everyone I know, but even the second and third times I saw the film, I kept forgetting what it was I meant to look out for, as I got so wrapped up in simply enjoying the movie. A nice perk of the book is getting to come home and think "Okay, wait, *what* was the deal with Marty's weed?" and get the answer, or wonder, "wait, where did that sacrificial blood come from?" then come home and turn to a giant page with a photo of the vat of blood and an explanation on how it works. Oh, and now I know who Kevin is on the board, that the cabin was described in the script as "sparse and antlery" , that Joss Whedon *might* have been slightly inspired by a shirt Drew Goddard bought at Comic-Con, that Goddard's biggest influence growing up was Douglas Adams, and that the Truth or Dare scene was originally the Truth, Dare, or Lecture scene. The book essentially arms you with any information on the film you could possibly need, so when you are involved in casual conversation with movie loving friends who have questions about Cabin, you may be able to answer anything they are wondering about, thanks to one book. 

CABIN IN THE WOODS: THE VISUAL COMPANION IS GEEK HEAVEN

This actually marks the first time I've received a book for review that I feel compelled to lend to my friends, because (advance apologies for quoting High School Musical), we're all in this together. Cabin in the Woods is special to the ones who love it, to the point that many of us are getting more defensive of this film than we have of any movie in a loooong time. I got into fights with teenagers over Twitter who didn't get it, readers are clamoring for the resignation of Rex Reed, and Film School Rejects just wrote a Boiling Point about how we need to calm down and stop calling people stupid who are calling Cabin in the Woods stupid. But Cabin has quickly become the litmus test for so many of us, as Shaun of the Dead was for me at age 19, as Inception was to a certain extent a couple summers ago. This defense becomes multiplied when our beloved movie doesn't open as well as we hoped it would. So to any of you that are finding this sounding familiar - TRUST ME when I say this book is for you. There is no reason to not buy this. It will make you so happy. 

The only answer I still don't have after reading this book and the script within is what Marty's Super 8 film was supposed to conjure. So if anyone has theories, I encourage you to post below! Which baddie on the board could it possibly be?!

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