Tweeting My Way To ‘Adventureland’

Many of you know that most of us here at WAMG are big fans of Twitter(@moviegeeks, @wearemoviegeeks, @cinetrav, @kirk13). For those of you who don’t tweet, you don’t understand how addicting the site is. I started my account (@GetStuck) a little over a month ago just to promote Stuck Like Chuck. I’m now tweeting several times a day talking about a variety of different things. It is a fun way to stay connected and also to meet/socialize with new people. A lot of people have discovered Stuck Like Chuck through Twitter and I’m sure Scott will tell you that a lot of readers discovered WAMG through Twitter as well. Even better, there are a lot of celebrities and movie studios that have embraced Twitter, although it is sometimes hard to tell if the account is real or not. Recently something happened that I am currently labeling My Greatest Twitter Moment.

No, @Jon_Favreau did not respond to my sending him a link to my ‘I Love You, Man’ review…yet. This is better than that anyway. Yesterday, @MiramaxFilms held a Twitter-only screening of Adventureland in NYC. Last week they posted the idea on their official Twitter account and film bloggers who responded to the tweet were sent the full event details. In addition to the screening, there was a very informal reception afterwards with director Greg Mottola (@GregMottola) and actress Margarita Levieva (LISA P). To my knowledge, this is the first time this has ever been done and hopefully more studios follow suit.

I was asked to hold my review of the film till the release but I will tell you that I absolutely loved it. Don’t expect Superbad 2 and you will enjoy the film a lot more. Read my full review on April 3rd to understand why. And while you wait for the release, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the awesome 80’s soundtrack. I plan to do so very soon. If purchasing on itunes, also download the free exclusive Adventureland Orientation Video starring Martin Starr (@MartinStarr).

So I can’t really tell you much more about the film but I can tell you that the overall experience was incredible. After seeing the movie, we moved into the next room where there was beer, wine, cheese and fruit set up. There were only about 15 bloggers and we all grabbed some refreshments and then sat at one of three tables. A few minutes later, Greg and Margarita were brought in and they moved from table to table “wedding style† spending about 15 minutes with each table. It was completely informal; no tape recorders, cameras or note pads were present. In fact, we barely even talked about the film. Not surprisingly, one of the big topics of conversation was   Twitter. However, here are some of the movie related tidbits I picked up…

• Margarita helped craft the look of Lisa P. with the cut up Rides t-shirt
• She also contributed to some of the suggestive dance moves, which she learned from a really bad dance instructor a few years ago at a gym.
• Greg’s next project, Paul, which stars Nick Frost and Simon Peg, officially got the greenlight this past Friday.
• Paul will shoot in New Mexico, in June I believe.
• The alien in Paul will be a mix of CGI and animatronics.
• It will be amazing!

Ok, so the last tidbit is more of an opinion but a valid one at that. I’m not sure if it was because of the completely informal atmosphere or the fact that I really love Mottola’s work but I was nervous the whole time he sat next to me at the table. I kept telling myself not to say Superbad quotes and not to geek out too much. I didn’t want to steer the conversation in a different direction but I definitely wanted to speak to him about independent film.

When the event was winding down, he was being walked out and I decided I could not blow this opportunity. I popped up and asked if I could talk to him one on one for a minute. Unfortunately when I went to shake his hand someone leaving bumped into me and I accidentally punched his chest. Just kidding. Actually he agreed and we talked for a few minutes. I nervously told him about Stuck Like Chuck, how it was recently accepted into the SINY Film Festival and asked if he had any advice. He basically told me everyone has different career paths and not to pass up good opportunities. Sorry that terrible generalization does not do his advice justice. He also offered a quote from Steven Soderbergh, which is “Talent plus tenacity equals luck.” Then we talked a little more about Stuck Like Chuck and he agreed when I said we should set up an interview sometime soon. He was truly a scholar and a gentleman and it was an honor to get to meet him.

To tie in with this whole Twitter theme, when I got home I sent out a bunch of tweets. I tweeted some of the other bloggers I met (@EDouglasWW, @Da7e), thanked Miramax (@MiramaxFilms) for holding the event and thanked Greg Mottola (@GregMottola) for speaking with me. This morning I checked my Twitter to see this†¦

Greg Mottola tweeted to me. Now, I’ve spoken on the phone, through texts, in email correspondences and face to face with many celebrities but this is my first celebrity tweet. Suck on that  @Jon_Favreau and @jimmyfallon. Just kidding guys.

So in summation of this overly long and fairly pointless blog that probably no one is still reading, I believe  @MiramaxFilms has a great idea and hopefully more studios do Twitter events like this. Or at least start serving food and alcohol before, during or after the movie screening. Oh, and go see Adventureland April 3rd. You won’t be disappointed†¦unless you don’t like good movies.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com