‘Extract’ Tweetup with Mike Judge

A tweetup is a meeting amongst people who met or generally converse on Twitter. Miramax Films is working on perfecting the art of the tweetup. They held their first one in March to promote Adventureland, which is still one of my favorite films of the year. I wrote a recap of it a day later that you can read HERE. On Thursday, Miramax held their second tweetup. They sent me an invite (through Twitter) and I, of course, said yes. I loved explaining to my boss why I needed to switch my hours.

Me – “Miramax invited me to a party to promote Mike Judge’s new film ‘Extract’. They are showing the film and then afterwards there’s a reception where we can get a drink and actually get to talk with Mike Judge. It’s an awesome opportunity.”

My Boss– “Who is Mike Judge?”

My boss doesn’t exactly have her finger on the pulse but she gave me the hours I needed off anyway. Since we already posted a review of ‘Extract’, I won’t go into much detail about the film itself. It is funny, with some really great moments. It’s definitely akin to ‘Office Space’ but with a bit less satire/commentary. In my opinion, the standout performance of the film was Ben Affleck as the best friend with terrible advice. That advice mainly being to take drugs.

After the film, Mike Judge was waiting in the reception area to greet people as they exited. Already in a conversation by the time I left, I grabbed a beer and started talking with someone about how weird it is to start conversations at these things. He initiated the conversation but I will steal that opener for the next time. You can find him on Twitter @Agent_M or @Marvel, which is the official account for Marvel. No, I don’t have any Disney acquisition exclusives for you. I also talked quite a bit with @StitchKingdom, who you should follow for tons of Disney news. Again, no I don’t have any Disney-Marvel acquisition exclusives for you. I also met the awesome @ScarletScribe who writes for Latino Review and spent some time chatting with @MiramaxFilms in person.

When Mike Judge finally came over, somehow the topic of surfing quickly came up. Mike told us how he got really into it in the summer of 1997 and he’s a lot more fit because of it. He also told us of this place in Texas that has good surf after bad weather but the water looks like chocolate milk. Then the conversation moved to Liquid Television before talking a little about his appearances on Howard Stern and then briefly about the film’s release. I told him how well Miramax has been pushing it on Twitter and that ads are everywhere. He agreed, saying that Miramax has been great and that if the film does bad this time, it definitely won’t be from a lack of trying. (He was referring to Fox screwing him over with his last two movies)

No we didn’t talk ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’. Or ‘Idiocracy’, which is still my favorite film of his although no one else seems to think so. We barely even talked ‘Extract’. I think that is sort of the great thing about these tweetups. They are a chance to just hang out with talent and talk about random stuff in a laid back environment. With Greg Mottola in March, a lot of the conversation was about Twitter itself since he was new to it. I’ve often said that I hate interviewing celebrities but I love talking to them. I do wish we had a little more time to talk but it was still a very cool experience. Plus, what makes it a slightly cooler story for me is that since I turned 21 on Monday, I can say that I had my first legal beer talking with Mike Judge. I hate beer and barely ever drink but it’s still cool to say.

I hope Miramax does another one soon and I really hope some other studios start picking up in this trend. If you’re going to the movies this weekend, definitely check out Extract. And if you aren’t already, follow these awesome people on Twitter: @MiramaxFilms, @Agent_M/@Marvel, @StitchKingdom and @ScarletScribe. Plus you can always follow me @GetStuck.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com