X-Men: First Class -- Poster and Spoof!

The first two character posters for X-Men: First Class were released this weekend. And despite misgivings about other aspects of the film, I have to say the posters look pretty cool!

In honor of this release, I'd like to share with you an X-Men spoof I wrote on the plane down to Florida last week. It's basically my thoughts of what would happen if the X-Men could see the films being made about them.

Please note two things. First of all, I used the characters from the current main team(s). That means there WILL be some favorite characters missing. Secondly, I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of all the films and I plan to enjoy the next one to some degree as well. This is my attempt to translate character thoughts, not necessarily my own opinions. ;) Also, this is humor, so keep that in mind when you get to the end...

Enjoy!

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The X-Men sit down to watch the trailer for X-Men: First Class. After it is over...

Silence.

Then... everyone starts talking at once.

Hank: Well, I must say the digital effects used to portray my transformation look quite excellent.

Peter: (shocked) The Professor had hair?

Emma: (stunned) A bra. They put me in a bra... do they have any idea how long it took me to design my costume? Weeks of analysis...

Bobby: Kurt, was that your mom in that one shot in the bedroom? Cuz she was hot--

Kurt: (hands over his ears) TMI! TMI!

Emma: (furious) Weeks! And all the fabric was specially ordered and then the fittings... and then they go and just pull off the first shiny thing they find on a Wal-Mart shelf and it's not even technically WHITE – I mean, hello. I am the “White Queen.”

Kitty: You know, Emma, if I were you I'd be more worried about how old they make you out to be. I mean, according to this you're at least 70 now.

Emma: I-- well –

Bobby: Wow. Emma's a cougar.

Emma: Robert Drake. Do you seriously want to spend the rest of your life drooling like a two-year-old?

Scott: (pats Emma's shoulder) It's okay, honey. I always knew you fudged the birthdate on your driver's license.

Magneto: (loudly, interupting) Well, I can't complain. It looks like they finally managed to cast a proper actor in my role this time.

Rogue: I don't know, Erik, seeing you without white hair is almost as weird as seeing the Professor WITH hair...

Bobby: What I want to know is why Scott's kid brother joins the team before I do. I mean, he's totally stealing my spot of coolest member on the team!

Jubilee: Humph. You're complaining! At least you got LINES in the first three films! I got a freakin' cameo.

Wolverine: Could be worse, darlin'. They made Scott even more of a prissy prep poster boy. Not that that's hard to do –

Scott: Watch it!

Rogue: And Ah was made over into a wimpy pushover.

Gambit: Oui. And dey made me twenty years older den ma cherie. Not ta mention what dey did ta my accent...

Kitty: You're telling me! They hooked me up with Bobby! No offense to you, Bobby, but how could they think I'd fall for anyone other than Peter?

Peter: Thank you, Katya.

Gambit: I t'ink dey just know our sizzlin' love stories would steal all da glory from Wolverine.

Kurt: Ja. They should have just called the films “the Adventures of the Amazing Wolverine.”

Wolverine: Thanks bub, but no thanks. I got enough women problems without Hugh Jackman getting the title role.

Kitty: Is there any way we could stop this?

Storm: Perhaps a peaceful supplication to the studio heads to stop production?

Beast: A targeted computer virus might destroy the footage.

Wolverine: I say we trash the place.

Magneto: Only if we save the footage of sexy me.

Jubilee: Please do not ever say “sexy me” again or I will suck your blood for breakfast.

Scott: Or... we could do what the Fantastic Four did. Let the movies create such a false picture of us that our enemies completely underestimate us.

Bobby: Wow, that's...

Emma: Actually quite brilliant darling.

Kitty: (from her computer) Uh, you might want to rethink that, Scott.

Scott: Why?

Kitty: Because I'm checking IMDB, and they say the next movie features Jubilee turning into a vampire and Robert Pattinson will be playing her love interest.

Silence.

Jubilee: Okay. We're totally trashing the place.

Ink and Fairydust - March 2011

Ready for an adventure? Then check out March's issue of Ink and Fairydust! In its pages we have articles covering world travel, stories from Ireland, Greece, England and more! Also included are recipes and role playing games for those who want to experience the international at home!

You can read it all and more here: http://issuu.com/inkandfairydust/docs/march2011

Open publication - Free publishing - More england

Pieces of Heaven

Florida always seems to me a little bit like heaven. At least, my particular Island during the ideal climate of February and March.

Before you get too jealous though, I'd like to remind you all that I've been sick for the past two months, and this whole trip is as much about recovering and getting strong as it is having a vacation. So it's a good thing.

Anyhow, a few photos to share...

Blue Tailcoat - Part 2

Coats are a particular kind of challenge. I've made two without patterns for different periods and I worked in men's alterations for over a year so I've got a solid background... but it's still really interesting to start the process from step one again.

Anyhow, I had to dig out some of my own fabric for the facing and that meant pulling out my bag of whites and creams. I found some sheer stuff I didn't know I had... now I need to make something with it!
A look at the extent of my collection.
The front facing.
My customer asked for a bit of the lining to show around the collar and cuffs. The best way to do this is to create piping. Thankfully I had some thick yarn that would be perfect for the core of the piping.
(I got a new camera. Hence my fascination with taking a lot of pictures, including the soundtrack I was listening to at the time)
Ah, now we get to the meat and potatoes of the operation. Cutting out all the pieces on the main fabric. That was a LOT of cutting!
Here's the piping! It turned out very well... it should look very elegant when inserted into the seams!
This particular seam baffled me for quite awhile. I was worried it wouldn't properly fit together...
But I staystiched and clipped and eased and stretched all according to the instructions and what do you know -- it worked!
Laying out the lining...
Lining is almost done! Just have to add the sleeves! (Which are cut and sewn already)
Stay tuned for part three, coming after I return home on the 11th!

THE OSCAR REPORT!

My complete play-by-play and thoughts on the big night... starting with the Red Carpet Coverage and leading up to BEST PICTURE.

Nice map to snow the layout of the red carpet and its relation to the theatre.

Hailee Steinfeld – lovely, 50's style dress, beautiful shiny and eyes. Elegent clean twist for her hair.

Amy Adams – WOW. What a looker! A million stars on a midnight blue dress... sequins? The cut is extremely flattering. Maybe a little showy but she can pull it off.

Jennifer Lawrence – well she can pull off the red and her hair looks great, but I think the dress is too simple... it looks lovely on her, but it's a little understated for the Oscars.

Cate Blanchett – lovely haircut – she looks younger than ever. But her dress... I like the cute and style but up close the bead and embellishment is kind of weird...

Lovely little montage with the mothers of many of the nominees. What a cute idea. :)

Scarlett Johansson goes with a daring but flattering shade of purple in a lovely lace design. Her hair, however... is a little bewildering. What's with the windblown?

Anne Hathaway! The Belle of the ball... red, as almost always. Simple on top, but a gorgeous train! Lovely necklace and elegant hair. Looking forwards to seeing more of her!

Reese Witherspoon, her dress... it looks more high school prom than oscars... but her earrings are gorgeous. And love her hair. Lovely hair.

Jennifer Hudson – love her hair, and the drape on her waist and torso... not so hot on the neckline!

Natalie Portman, looking beautiful! The purple is gorgeous and flattering, perfectly styled around her baby bump. Love the layers of chiffon and beading.

Red is tonight's color. Here is Sandra Bullock, in red. Again, fairly simple dress with some detail on the back.

Nicole Kidman... my first impulse? I liked her dress. Then I realized... it reminds me too much of Elvis. It's got sort of a Japanese influence, which is pretty cool though.

Gwennyth Paltrow – fake tan? She looks pretty orange. Her dress has some appeal, however. Sort of Greek Goddess-y.

Halle Berry – really lovely dress with beadwork and organza, I love it! I also appreciated about how she loves the Oscars for the fashion and how others choose to present themselves. Pretty cool stuff.

Teeheee... Tom Hanks sometimes seems to me a little overrated but he was pretty funny here.

Really awesome opening montage/countdown of the best picture nominees. Very nicely assembled!

And... Live from the Kodak Theatre...

OMG. What a brilliant start! James Franco and Anne Hathway get Inception tips from Leonardo DiCaprio!

“This might be more confusing than inception”

James Franco under a Bear Head. Oh my. This opening might outdo even Hugh Jackman's opening song and dance...

“Alec likes me to narrate his dreams.”

“I have good news from the future. Microphones get smaller.”

And then they go Back to the future... IN A DELOREAN!

And cue the announcers... Anne Hathaway in a gorgeous dress... beautiful Oscar music... I love it so much... and I want to watch the whole opening again...

Side jokes about how they are there to appeal to a younger crowd.

“Do I get money with it?” “No, you get prestige for the rest of your life.”

Gorgeous, gorgeous homages to some epics... “Gone with the Wind,” “Titanic...”

Art Direction goes to Alice in Wonderland. A little annoyed... I really wanted Harry Potter to get recognized.

Inception got Cinematography!!!!! Hurrah!

Kirk Douglas makes an appearance to present the best supporting actress award...

(Helena Bonham Carter actually doesn't look too weird tonight...actually quite normal for her.)

And the Oscar goes to... Melissa. For the Fighter. And while I'm sure she was great, it was not who I wanted. (goes off and weeps for Helena Bonham Carter). But wow, I can't begrudge her this, she's so refreshingly normally astonished and happy. Just adorable.

Best Animated Short goes to – “The Lost Thing”

Best Animated Film: No surprise here. Toy Story 3 carries the gold.

The Stage gets a lovely 20's era refit... absolutely gorgeous! It's setting the mood for the screenplay awards...

The Social Network gets the best adapted screenplay. I'm a little disappointed, but I've heard that it actually is a pretty fantastic script.

King's Speech takes home the best original screenplay! Absolutely delighted to see this! Really lovely acceptance speech there too.

Anne Hathaway now changes into a tuxedo... she mentions her turn as a a participant in the song and dance number two years ago --- then says she wanted to do a dueet again, but 'somebody' wouldn't help her. She then does a song about HUGH JACKMAN and how he broke her heart and deserted her! OMG. SO FUNNY! Hugh Jackman's face is hilarious...

oh dear. James Franco walks out in a dress. “You got to wear a tux so I get to wear this.”

Helen Mirren looking gorgeous as always, but with short hair! Wow! Cute!

Foreign Language Film “In a Better World” wins.

Best Supporting Actor goes to: Christain Bale. The Fighter is snatching up the acting awards... and the King's Speech appears to be getting snubbed there. No clear strong choice for Best Picture appearing... this could be interesting.

Anne Hathaway changes into a stunning black and white number with beautiful crystals and loveliness...

Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidnam come up to present the next award!

Then we get a full orchestra rendition of famous themes.... and it's time for Best original score --- which goes to – “The Social Network.” Which is a bit of a letdown because, though cool, it's not quite as awesome as some of the others...

Two lovely people, Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey come up to present the next award!

Sound Mixing -- INCEPTION! (Insert sound of Rose and I sending up cheers over our chat through which we're enjoying watching this together.)

Sound Editing – Matthew McConaughey gives a very unsurprised “mhmmm” and announces INCEPTION.

Now we get a LOTR backdrop.... it looks amazing. And music... and this is of course presented by Cate Blanchett.

Make-up goes to: The Wolf-man

COSTUME TIME! (now I get happy). Well I wanted the Tempest to get it, but I figured Alice in Wonderland would get it... and it did. The costumes do look pretty amazing.

And now we look at best song...

Mandy Moore and Zachari Levi perform their song from “Tangeled” SO ADORABLE. :)

James Franco introduces Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhall – and acts grumpy saying that Jake “Made out with my co-host... in a movie.”

Best Documentary Short - “Strangers no more.”

(apparently the envelopes are hard to open this year because several presenters seem to be having problems opening them)

Best Live Action Short Film: “God of Love.”

Anne Hathaway changes AGAIN into a gold dress...

Harry Potter music video? LOL... oh I get it. Making fun of movies. Toy Story is up... then Social Network...TWILIGHT? OMG. So funny.

Well I may not like Oprah but she has a kind of cool dress.

Documentary of the Year: Inside Job

AWWW, Billy Crystal just got introduced! :) (Longtime Oscar Host) Very, very funny.

Then some great archival footage of Bob Hope.

AND ROBERT DOWNEY JR! And... JUDE LAW. Oh this is too much... and they're hilarious. They play off each other great, just like in Sherlock Holmes.

Special Effects – (so many good films in this category – but) INCEPTION wins!

Achievement in film Editing: The Social Network. (I think maybe I need to actually see this film now? Possibly?)

Now Anne Hathaway changes into an absolutely stunning red gown... I'm in love.

More best songs... and awesome! We get to see Gwennyth Paltrow sing! She sounds fabulous.

Winner of Best Original Song: “We Belong Together” (Toy Story 3) So Rose and I feel that the other nominees were better and we're a little perplexed by this choice... anyone have any light to shed on this? (That said, it is nice to see an animated film getting more serious recognition)

I always love how they do a video tribute to those in the film field who passed this year. I think it's really touching and wonderful, though also quite sad.

Now Anne is in Blue... and it's a little too shiny for my taste.

Hilary Swank in a gorgeous silver dress! Metallic – extreme shine, seems to really be in this year.

Best Director – King's Speech! So happy to see this! And a really lovely tribute to his mother. :)

Oh my.... now some biggies... Francis Ford Coppola and Eli Wallach come out...

Jeff Bridges to present Best Actress... really great performances here...

And the winner is: NATALIE PORTMAN!!!!! (although, okay, is anyone actually surprised?) Very, very happy for her. Even though I'm not sure I want to see the Black Swan (at least for awhile), I really love Portman and I understand her work in this film was phenomenal.

Sandra Bullock out to present the best actor award... and again, so much talent, it's amazing...

And COLIN FIRTH WINS!!!!! Hear me cheer... :)

More metallic as Anne comes out in silver...

STEVEN SPIELBERG!

Best Picture goes to THE KING'S SPEECH! While I would have been happy to see Inception win, I am also very glad that The King's Speech pulled this award. :)

To cap it all off, we've got the adorable PS22 Chorus singing “Somewhere over the rainbow...” and now all the winners come walking out. :) The Emerald City appears in the background... it's very magical.

And the Winners here at Elenatintil.blogspot are...

After a month of voting (including some very close races and one tie!) it is time to announce the winners!

Best Picture – Inception

Best Actor – Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Best Actress – Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Supporting Actor – Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Supporting Actress – Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Animated Feature – How to Train your Dragon/Toy Story 3

Cinematography – Inception

Costume Design – Alice in Wonderland

Directing – The King's Speech (Tom Hooper)

Makeup – The Way Back

Music (Original Score) – How to Train Your Dragon

Music (Original Song) – Tangled “I See the Light”

Short Film (Animated) – Day and Night

Visual Effects – Inception

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – Toy Story 3

Writing (Original Screenplay) – Inception

Thank you so much for participating in the polls! I really enjoyed seeing what you all voted for and found worthy of winning.

Now to see what the Academy votes! Tune in later to see my reactions and chime in with your own opinions! Also -- fashion lovers, don't forget to watch the Red Carpet at 7:00 Eastern Time! I'll be offering opinions on the dresses and would love to hear your thoughts as well!

OSCAR NIGHT

We're getting so close! Remember, Oscar night starts at 7pm, Eastern Time, with the Red Carpet coverage!