Saturday, February 27, 2010

Bounty & Dragons & Shin OH MY!

Double the premieres! Double the fun!

Join us for dinner to celebrate

the opening of Gerard Butler’s two back to back films

The Bounty Hunter
In theaters March 19

&

How to Train Your Dragon
In theaters March 26

@ Shin BBQ


Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time: 7pm - Midnight
Raffle: Raffle drawing will be held after 10 pm

Where:
Shin BBQ
1600 N. Wilcox
Los Angeles, CA
323-464-4100


**Reservations recommended**
Ask for Simon and mention you are coming for the Bounty & Dragons Party


Raffle Tickets and Prizes:

A raffle will be held at the end of the evening. So after dinner relax, enjoy the music, have some dessert (the Shin Pancake is to die for!), and have a drink at the bar.

100% of the raffle profits will be given to Artists for Peace and Justice in honor of Gerard Butler who is very much involved in this charity.

Raffle tickets are available for $5 each or 5 for $20.


While we would love everyone to attend the party at Shin BBQ, we know some of you may not be able to make it. If you cannot attend and are interested in purchasing raffle tickets please contact email: joysomerville.blogspot@gmail.com.

Raffle prizes are being collected and will be added to the list.

Raffle Prizes:
1. Autographed & framed "Gerryhol" pictures


* If you would like to donate raffle prizes please contact Joy Somerville


Charity:


Artists for Peace and Justice
Artists for Peace and Justice
http://twitter.com/artistsforpeace
email:
info@artistsforpeaceandjustice.com


For additional information or questions please contact:
Joy Somerville
email:
joysomerville.blogspot@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/joysomerville

Friday, February 26, 2010

How to Train Your Dragon Pictures

Gerard and me after the screening.

The first picture was too dark taken with my Blackberry. Gerard didn't like how it turned out. He took off his hat, fixed his hair with his fingers, and then we took another picture. So sweet!

How to Train Your Dragon Screening

Last night I went to another pre screening of "How to Train Your Dragon". I was excited to see the film again since seeing an unfinished version at an early screening back in December 2009 with lots of story boards or unfinished animation though out the film, but I loved the storyline.

This screening was a finished copy of the film and it was wonderful. Visually it was great. One comment from an exit interview was that the water looked so real. I loved the movement of the characters and the lush colors, especially the textures of the forest. The 3D is great, I never got an headache.

The audience was mostly children. It looked like a few bus loads were dropped off from a school. A little girl next to us appeared to be loving the movie, while sitting on the edge of her seat laughing and squealing the entire time.

There were a few adult jokes that were very funny. The little girl turned, looked at us and then her mother, lost to the joke we were laughing so hard at. Hint: It was a concerning a helmet that is given to the main character, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), by his father Stoick (Gerard Butler).

We had a pleasant surprise, Gerard Butler came to the screening. After the movie we chatted with him.

In theaters March 26, 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Video of some of the Winners of the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2010

For a full list of the winners:
Film Awards Winners

More videos from the Red Carpet and the winners:
BAFTA Online

Mo'nique wins Best Supporting Actress
Director Lee Daniels collects the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA on behalf of Mo'nique for her performance in the feature Precious



Christoph Waltz wins Best Supporting Actor



Colin Firth Wins Leading Actor BAFTA for A Single Man
CONGRATULATIONS COLIN!! WELL DESERVED!!



'Fish Tank' wins the Outstanding British Film
Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold wins the BAFTA



The Hurt Locker wins Best Film and Director
Director Katherine Bigelow talks about The Hurt Locker's BAFTA wins for Best Film and Director at the Orange British Academy Film awards in 2010.

British Academy Film Awards in 2010 - On the Red Carpet

Colin Firth and Nicholas Hoult on the Red Carpet



Mathew Goode on the Red Carpet

The British Academy Film Awards 2010

A few more hours until The British Academy Film Awards 2010 in London!

For a complete list of nominees:
Film Award Nominees

Follow BAFTA on Twitter: baftaonline

Here are my picks (in yellow) for the winners. Good luck to all the nominees!

Best Film:
Avatar
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Precious
Up In The Air

Best Director:
James Cameron (Avatar)
Neill Blomkamp (District 9)
Lone Scherfig (An Education)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Leading Actor:
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up In The Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Andy Serkis (Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll)

Leading Actress:
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)
Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel)

Supporting Actor:
Alec Baldwin (It's Complicated)
Christian McKay (Me And Orson Welles)
Alfred Molina (An Education)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Supporting Actress:
Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy)
Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)
Mo'Nique (Precious)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Nowhere Boy)

Outstanding British film:
An Education
Fish Tank
In The Loop
Moon
Nowhere Boy

ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
Jesse Eisenberg
Nicholas Hoult
Carey Mulligan
Tahar Rahim
Kristen Stewart

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Old Speedskating Pictures

While watching the Olympics and cheering for the Speedskating, long track and short track, this past week, it has brought back memories of my children when they use to race in Short Track Speedskating. Here are some old photos.

Megan is #2 and Ryan is # 29


Ryan is left center and Megan is right center


Southern California Speedskating Association
I designed and made all the uniforms and warm up suits.

More Pictures from Colin Firth Day

Another view of Colin signing my Pride and Prejudice DVD cover.

The gang, Annette, me, and Isaac.


Annette, Isaac, and me still smiling at Mel's Diner having breakfast and reliving our wonderful evening.

Congratulations to Colin Firth!

Colin Firth has won best British actor at the 2010 London Film Critics' Circle Awards for Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man.

A bit of Colin at the 2010 London Film Critics' Circle Awards


Make sure you watch the 2010 British Academy Film Awards tomorrow night, Sunday February 21, on BBC America (in the US). Colin is nominated for Leading Actor for A Single Man.

For a full list of all the nominees: BAFTA Nominees

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Colin Firth on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

I had tickets to see Colin Firth on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, but decided to go straight to The Single Man screening so I wouldn't miss out on seeing Colin up close.

Just in case you missed Colin Firth on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson like I did, here it is!



Colin Firth Day!

My friends and I had the best time tonight! We went to a screening of "A Single Man" with a Q&A with Colin Firth at the Landmark Theaters. We had front row seats. It was very hard to watch the movie so close up, but it was so worth it when the theater staff placed directors chairs right in front of us for the Q&A!




Colin was so close to us that our feet could almost touch. I took a few pictures, but then managed to relax and soak in every detail: The hand stitching on the suit he wore, the color and texture of his skin, the wave of his hair on the top of his head, the cuff links, the polish on his shoes, and the gold wedding band on his left ring finger. It's not everyday you see Colin Firth this close to you! Just a gorgeous man.





I could listen to him speak for hours. He was funny and very detailed in answering the questions. He talked about how easy it was to work with Tom Ford the director. The movie was filmed mostly at night, on location in and around LA and Pasadena in 21 days.



My friends both took video, I took a very short one which I will include below. From the angle of the video and the picture, you can see how close we were!

Afterwards we were ready with our photographs so we stood up. Colin was right there to autograph my picture. (I'm sure he saw my 8X10 picture sitting on my lap as he was doing the Q&A.) I don't recall saying anything. I hope I said thank you. He took my pen and autographed Isaac's picture.

Colin was so aware of his surroundings because, I think, he noticed that Annette was getting her picture ready so he turned to sign some one's picture. Then turned back around just as Annette had her picture out and signed hers. I wanted a picture with him, but by then a crowd had swarmed in and we decided to get packed up and head to the next theater.

Yes, I found out Colin was going to be at another theater to do another Q&A at Sunset 5, not too far away.

When we arrived the movie had already started. Isaac scoped out the layout while we went to the restroom. He told us the front row was totally empty so we took seats near the back and made a plan to move to the front row when the movie ended.

As the credits went up we made our move. There we were, smack in the middle of the front row again! Colin looked at us as if to say, "Hey, weren't you all just at the other theater?" LOL!



Colin was a bit further away and the lighting was even dimmer. At first the man conducting the Q&A asked the same questions, but thankfully the questions took a different turn. Colin was just as funny, self deprecating. He doesn't appear to take himself too seriously.

After the Q&A was finished I asked him to sign my Pride and Prejudice DVD cover so he did. A man interrupted before I could ask for a picture with him. (you can see the man in the picture with me and Colin) The man said, "I love the movie Colin, I've seen it 6 times!" and then asked for an autograph. Colin actually signed a few things for him, a picture and a cover for Pride and Prejudice.



While he was signing them, I said, "I pale in comparison, I've only seen the movie 3 times." Then I managed to ask, "Colin may I have a picture with you?"

Just then a man announced that we had to clear the theater. Colin said, "Oh, we have to go, but we can take the picture in the lobby."

The crowd followed Colin up the aisle, I ended up in front of him and Isaac and Annette behind him. People got in between us, but I tried not to get in the way as they stopped him to say hello or get a picture. I stood just out the door of theater and waited as people talked to him. Eventually an usher said we had to clear the way and go into the lobby. He pulled one of those retractable belt like barricades. On the other side of the belt, I could still see Colin inside the door way. Everyone waited for him. Then he waved at me, he came out of the theater and said, "They want me to exit through here." He pointed back inside the theater and he motioned for me to come over to take the picture with him.

Isaac had disappeared so I yelled for him to come back. Isaac was quick, Colin put his arm around me, and then Isaac took the picture. I think I said thank you and then Colin turned and he was gone.



I had to sit down after that! OMG! Thank God there was a bench a few feet away!

I couldn't believe he remembered and found me to take a picture just as he had said he would. I had noticed he seemed to be aware of his surroundings. What a sweet heart! I've been a fan since I saw Bridget Jones Diary. I think I saw that before Pride and Prejudice. That's it, I'm a fan for life!

Annette, me, and Isaac


It was the best birthday ever! I met Mr. Darcy! Not a bad way to celebrate, Colin Firth Day.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Colin Firth Day

For Colin Firth Fans, Colin will be in Los Angeles making several appearances on Monday, February 15.

* The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

* Landmark in Los Angeles
Following the 5:05pm screening of A SINGLE MAN at the Landmark in Los Angeles Colin Firth will hold a Q&A session.
For tickets: Landmark Theaters

* Laemmele in Los Angeles
Following the 7:30pm screening of A SINGLE MAN at the Sunset 5 in Los Angeles Colin Firth will hold a Q&A session.
For tickets: Laemmle Theaters


In theaters now

The Bounty Hunter ~ New Poster

Sony released a new poster of The Bounty Hunter and during the broadcast of the Olympics opening ceremonies the trailer was aired.
Check out the offical site The Bounty Hunter for photos and downloads.



In theaters March 19, 2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Losers Screening

Last night I braved the pouring rain to attend an early screening of The Losers with my girlfriends. The movie wasn't 100% complete, some CGI needs to be improved/reworked and I hope they give a little more punch to the ending. (Not much time for an April 9th opening)

Great fight scenes, lots of nonstop action, and great one liners. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evens, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, and Oscar Jaenada worked well together as a modern A-Team.

Chris Evens is hysterical, with lots of one liners, everyone laughed out loud. The elevator scene really had the audience laughing and clapping. Which also leads to great song selection - Chris does a little singing. LOL!

There were lots of close ups on Jeffrey throughout the movie, you won't be disappointed, but I wanted to see more of him than Zoe Saldana in the sex scenes. Zoe is great in the fight scene against Jeffrey, literally HOT.

Our group was asked to stay for a focus group (funny, four women, I would have thought we were out of the demographic). Maybe Warner Brothers has finally realized women love action movies too! I look forward to seeing the finished movie.

In theaters April 9, 2010


Sunday, February 7, 2010

Megan's 21st Birthday

Megan flew home to celebrate her 21st birthday. On the top of her list of places she wanted to visit was Shin Korean BBQ. As always Simon Shin was a wonderful host!

For more information: SHIN

Megan having appetizers at the bar.


Megan with a yummy Shin pancake.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

My Students Making it Work!

Another quarter and already that time again!

The assignment: My students had one hour to design two garments in pairs. They could pick from the provided fabric, but they could not cut it up.

So with pins and fabric this what they came up with!
Top designs:

Same fabric, almost the same vision...








My pick for the top three designs:

#3
Front View


Back View

Side View


#2
Front View

Back View


#1
Top

Skirt

Hooded Tunic

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Haiti ~ More Ways to Help

My niece Brittany sent me this message:

A friend of a friend runs an orphanage, Danita's Children in Haiti, about 9 hours away from the epicenter of the earthquake. Danita's Children will be bringing in 150+ more children due to the earthquake. She will need financial resources to help and care for the children.


For more information:

Danita's Children
Help Danita

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Bounty Hunter Screening ~ Pictures

After the Bounty Hunter screening we chatted with Gerard Butler for a bit. We just wanted to say hello and tell him we loved the movie. After hugs and a "Hello Darling," he was the one who asked us if we wanted to take a picture! LOL! Always a sweetie!

Gerard & Maree


Annette, Gerard, & me