Archive for the 'New York City' Category

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Tribeca, Sony, Fandom, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to land a spot on the black carpet for one of the most exciting premieres to hit New York City in a long time. Only, this bad boy wasn’t in the heart of Manhattan — nope, they decided to take the premiere to Peter Parker’s hometown, Queens. Not only was the black carpet a mile long, but there were fans screaming everywhere; I guess it could be compared to being on the field during a football game … except, tack on about 700 screaming teenage girls. Though there was a lot of space for the stars to cover, Cinematical did manage to snag a few shots of the man himself, Tobey Maguire. Also included in the video is Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi, and I ask him what the chances are of him returning to direct a Spider-Man 4.

These events are pretty draining; although this video is roughly four minutes long, I was actually on the red carpet for about four hours. Yes, four hours. Tack on another two and a half hours for the actual movie, and I’ve spent an entire work day with this damn superhero. But it was a cool event, an exciting film and it was all worth it to see a ton of little kids lined up, excited to catch a glimpse of the guy they dress up as for Halloween each year. My favorite part of this video, however, is when I ask director Ang Lee whether he would be interested in taking on another comic book character. By the look on his face, you can tell how excited he was to answer that question. All in all it was a fun time; Spider-Man 3 officially arrives in theaters tomorrow, and you can check out my review of the film here.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Tribeca, Sony, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

It’s official: Spider-Man 3 will be taking over New York City for one full week of movie marketing, before premiering — as we expected — at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Spider-Man Week in NYC” will run from April 30 through May 6, and will feature all kinds of different Spidey-related activities. From — I kid you not — Spider-Man inspired raps at the Apollo Theater in Harlem (I wonder how many of those raps will include a number of different definitions for the word ‘Mary Jane’) to Spidey Chats at the Central Park and Bronx Zoos — The Big Apple will turn, well, webbed later this month.

The actual Spider-Man 3 premiere will most likely take place mid-week and, according to reports, will take place in Queens — home to Peter Parker. Now, I could be wrong (and correct me if I am), but isn’t Peter Parker from Forest Hills? Or did they just shoot scenes in Forest Hills? Either way, I live in Forest Hills — and so it would be a real fun treat to be able to catch the flick in Spidey’s hometown, and not have to spend two hours on a train commuting back home. If you’re not able to catch the premiere in Queens, apparently there will be several different screenings taking place throughout the city. Some other stuff taking place that week: You’ve got a street festival and cast appearance at Rockefeller Center on April 30, original Spidey comic books will be on display at the New York Public Library, and there will be some Green Goblin mask-making at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, as well as lots more. So put in for time off now folks, cause Spidey is coming to town.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Sony, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Cinematical was invited to Sony Pictures on Saturday for a top-secret screening of several scenes from Spider-Man 3. Needless to say, they didn’t have to ask me twice. I would have spent several days after I’d gotten the invitation building web-shooters if I needed to. Although Peter now uses organic webbing in the movies, so I’d have to try and genetically splice spider-DNA onto my own, which would have been too time-consuming. Thankfully, they weren’t that demanding. Okay, before we proceed any further, I should wave the giant spoiler alert flag. If you don’t want to know anything about the plot of Spider-Man 3, then you should read no further. You especially don’t want to find out from me that Aunt May is actually Galactus. Whoops. Sorry, but you’ve been warned. Just wait until you see a 300-foot tall May stomping on New York. It’s not pretty. Although imagine the size of the cookies she could bake.

Anyhow, onto the screening and into the swanky Cary Grant theater. Sony, if you’re not using that theater all the time, mind if we use it for movie watching and playing video games? Okay — here’s what happened. Sam Raimi himself (dressed in his ever-present suit) came out and introduced the footage to us and called it a “super … sneak …. preview … scenelet.” He told us the footage was brand-new, hadn’t been seen outside of Sony, had a temporary score, and that some things had been shortened a bit for this preview. He then had to run off to do some audio recording with Stan Lee, who was next door, so we begrudgingly let him go. I mean, no one makes Stan “The Man” Lee wait, even if he does have yet another scene in this Spidey flick.

Continue reading A Sneak Peek At Spider-Man 3!

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As if New York (the city not the skank) couldn't get any better, Mayor Bloomberg recently swooped in with a proposal to make shopping in the Big Apple even better. Bloomberg's idea to rid the city of the 4% apparel tax is just part of his $1 billion-dollar tax-cut proposal. He's gathered support for his proposal, but won't go into effect until an approval from the state Legislature and Gov. Eliot Spitzer is achieved. The break on clothing and footwear would save consumers around $110 million dollars a year.

Unlike neighboring New Jersey, which boasts tax-free apparel shopping, New York will still be subject to the state and MTA tax, which combine for a total 4.375% sales tax. However, something is better than nothing when comparing to the current total sales tax of nearly 8.5% to Bloomberg's proposal. The initiative is aimed at boosting the city's retail appeal and encourage shopping. The Executive Vice President of Stores for Barneys New York was appreciative, but maintains a realist attitude, saying...

Find Out What VP of Barneys Had to Say After the Jump.

"In the long term, it will be beneficial, but it's still not a situation where there's no tax like New Jersey. There's still that 4 percent tax. There's no ceiling, which could clearly benefit us because in the past when they've done tax-free weeks on apparel and footwear under $110, it's had little effect on us because of our price points. It will be an advantage, but it's not going to be sweeping like gangbusters."

It may not make a huge difference when purchasing items like a $65 tie from Louis Vuitton, but if one were to purchase a $10,000 handbag from Hermes, the savings could be significant--perhaps enough to fill a modestly-sized kiddie pool into which one could conceivably swim around in the style of Scrooge McDuck. But only if one were so inclined, of course.

Bloomberg Seeks to Eliminate NYC Apparel Tax [WWD]

(Image source)

I may be toying with a lot of New Years resolutions with this, but if you live in the NYC area you can take all of your old, electronic garbage down to Union Square on Sunday from 8 AM to 4 PM to have it recycled the proper way. I know one of my resolutions this year was to get organized, and this would be the best way to start. Sure you may cherish that old 15-inch CRT monitor that weighs 60 pounds, but honestly, it isn't worth a dime and just tossing it in the garbage isn't good for the environment.

"But Travis, I don't live in NYC!"

Well, Timmy, that is okay too. You can click this link right here to get the breakdown on electronics recycling state-by-state. Now get recycling! – Travis Hudson

New Yorkers: Recycle Used Electronics This Sunday [Gearlog]