Contest Tagged Articles at Cinematical

And no, I'm not kidding. If you read Cinematical enough (and you should!), you're probably already aware of Joe Carnahan's plans to make a direct-to-video Smokin' Aces prequel. While he won't be directing, Carnahan is involved in some capacity, and has been talking up the project quite a bit on his own blog. I was fairly entertained by the original -- I think it succeeded in what it set out to do (with fantastic performances from Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven), but I absolutely despised the ending. I won't ruin it for those folks who haven't seen it yet, but let's just say it felt like I was coming down from a high ... real hard. Anyway, Carnahan (and his crew) have come up with an interesting way to start promoting the new DTV prequel. That's right, he's asking YOU to name it.

Yup, you can head over to Carnahan's blog right now and participate in the little contest. First up, the director offers up a small plot description that reads: "'A low level government analyst, with forty plus years working an FBI information post, is slated to be assassinated, for reasons unknown at an exact date and time within the next three days. A federal 'Grab Team' or close protection detail has been tasked with saving this man's life...' ...chaos ensues.' The action takes place in D.C. and in New Orleans. Some familiar faces return. Some very surprising. I won't say any more." Carnahan then goes on to stress that, if your title is chosen, you will not be compensated with money. Instead, you'll probably get a whole bunch of movie swag and a free DVD. Oh, and tons and tons of bragging rights. So if you think you can come up with something better than Smokin' Aces 2: The Sh*t Hits the Fan -- by all means, take a stab at it. The contest began yesterday, and Carnahan will run it for exactly two weeks. Good luck!

In a ridiculous attempt to drum up more interest in SiCKO, Michael Moore is running a contest this weekend where, when it's all said and done, the writer-director will show up to a Republican's house and do their laundry. I kid you not. The actual application (which you can find via this link) begins with: "Can you imagine someone from the government coming to your home to help you with laundry? Well, they do it in France and if you enter the contest this weekend you will have the chance to win the same treatment for a Republican friend of yours from Michael Moore himself!" Unfortunately, I'm not a Republican -- but even so, who in their right mind would want Michael Moore showing up to do laundry? Then again, maybe there are some warped people out there. Hang on, let me ask my wife if she wants that guy handling her underwear ... with a camera crew behind him. Because you know Moore ain't doing this without being able to post the video on his site.

But in case you're interested in this fantastic opportunity and/or feel like abusing a Republican friend of yours, here's what you need to do. First up, you need to go see SiCKO this weekend (specifically Friday, July 27 - Sunday, July 29) with a Republican friend of yours. Then you need to mail your ticket stub, a sworn statement (that you attended a screening of SiCKO with a Republican) and said Republican's contact information to the address stated on the application form. I assume after that a winner will be "randomly" chosen, and Michael Moore will show up to their house to do their laundry. I couldn't find any rules on Moore's site, but I wouldn't be surprised if the winner has to sign all kinds of documents allowing Moore to plaster their face all over the web. Hey, but if there are any Republicans out there who would love to debate Moore over a bottle of laundry detergent and some dirty underwear -- by all means, have a ball.

Have you always wanted to meet Bruce Willis? Is he your hero? Do you want to ask him why he's never thrown Ashton Kutcher off a moving train? Well, today is your lucky day -- actually, strike that, you have through May 24 to get lucky. That's because eight die hard (pun intended) fans will be chosen to enter a live chat with Hudson Hawk himself on June 1st in Second Life. For those still clueless about Second Life (and don't worry, up until a few months ago, I had no idea what this thing was), it's kind of like the real world, only virtual. Yeah, that's the best I can do; go here if you want to learn more.

Anyway, you don't need to be part of the Second Life community in order to enter into this contest. Should you be chosen by the powers that be to attend this fabulous meet and greet with one of the greatest actors ever, everything will be taken care of for you. All you'll need to do is write down a bunch of questions ... and be ready. Sign me up, you say? Well first you need to head on over to the official Live Free or Die Hard website. Once there, they'll give you a fairly easy Die Hard trivia quiz consisting of four questions (if you've seen all three movies more than once, then you shouldn't have any trouble answering correctly), and then you'll have to write a "Why Do I Want to Meet Bruce Willis" essay in 500 words or less. I'm not sure what you have to do after that (that's as far as I took it), but I imagine they'll ask for your name, phone, email address, etc ... Why are you still reading this? Go meet Bruce Willis! Then make sure to come back here and tell us everything that happened -- just consider us your girly best friend who loves to gossip.

Okay, you folks were out of control with your submissions this go-round, and I think I'm officially sick of reading the words 'motherf**kin' snakes' in the same sentence. No more, I say! No more. Last month, we asked you to come up with the best caption for the above picture, and 82 of you stepped up to the plate with some -- shall I say -- "creative" stuff. It was definitely tough choosing the winners, but after a slew of late-night Taco Bell contest meetings, we here at Cinematical finally managed to select our top five captions. Once again, here's what all five winners will receive:

1 Copy of the brand spanking new Snakes on a Plane DVD (full screen version).

1 Copy of the official Snakes on a Plane movie soundtrack.

1 Snakes on a Plane shirt.

1 Snakes on a Plane hat.

1 Set of Iron On Images (which you can use to design your very own nifty SOAP shirt).

Check out the winning caption and the runners-up after the jump (keep in mind everyone wins the same package) ...

Are you obsessed with trying to figure out the manic mind of David Lynch? If you win this contest hosted by ThisNext, then the prizes will take you a long way down the road and hopefully help to unravel some of the pieces. A word of warning though, once you set foot on this trail you'll go insane trying, or you'll reach a whole other plane of existence. Or something. The key is just not to blame Cinematical in the process, because you're not supposed to shoot the messenger. Although, if the messenger was just pure evil, I guess that would be okay.

While Inland Empire itself is just now being rolled out in theaters (check here to see where it is near you), Lynch has been confounding minds and expanding horizons ever since Eraserhead back in 1977. You've probably seen Blue Velvet at some point, or heard people talk about Twin Peaks around the water cooler, back before TV shows like Lost filled the current need for enigma in our entertainment. So at the very least, you probably know he's one weird guy. If you want to know here's what you can win:

This week's prize, assembled by the dancing dwarf from Twin Peaks, contains:

• The first Inland Empire poster ever made available to the public
• A signed Eraserhead deluxe DVD.
• A Dumbland deluxe DVD: You've never seen cartoons quite like these.
• A David Lynch T-shirt.
• The Short Films of David Lynch: This DVD = weird x 6.

Sound good? Head over to ThisNext and follow these instructions.

How to Enter:
1. Go to ThisNext.com (comments left on this blog don't count as entries. You must recommend an item someone else can buy)!
2. Recommend things that help you express your creativity.
3. Tag your recommendations "creativity"
4. Multiple entries increase your chances of winning.

That's it. Get cracking and let us know what sort of maddening or enlightening information you're able to glean.

You're a budding short film maker, that is to say a maker of film shorts, and not a height-challenged director, but you have a problem ... where do you submit your films for consideration? Besides the Sundance Film Festival and a slew of other places to put your films (YouTube, iFilm, your own blog, etc), none of them really takes much advantage of the short film format and puts it somewhere that allows you take the film with you.

Enter The Flux and their 2007 iPod Film Festival. They're looking for a few good films under ten minutes in length, and you can win prizes that include iPods (of course) and a Mac Mini. Plus, there will be the glitz and glamor that comes along with your newfound celebrity status to deal with. It's free to enter, they have several different categories and they want you.

With so many cameras available on the cheap, (your cell phone might even have a built in video feature, check it out Spielberg) it's high time you unleashed your creativity and made 2007 the year that you finally start making your own movies. After all, Time Magazine named You the person of the year, so you have a lot to live up to. Get rolling and make some magic.

Everyone's favorite buzzed-about Snake-tastic film is getting set to arrive on DVD this January 2, and Cinematical is here to give five lucky winners one helluva DVD prize package. You know the drill: The five people who come up with the best caption for the above picture will be sent some wicked gifts -- all SOAP-related -- and all of which are sure to put a smile on your face. When those crummy Christmas gifts leave you depressed and desperately in need of a pick-me-up, Cinematical will be there (as always) to save the day.

In order to qualify for the prizes listed below, you must submit your caption by 8PM EST on January 8, 2007, as that is when the contest ends. Also, you must provide Cinematical with a valid email address when you activate your comment so that we're able to contact you when (and if) you win. Wanna know what you'll be getting? Check it out:

The best five captions will receive:

1 Copy of the brand spanking new Snakes on a Plane DVD (full screen version).

1 Copy of the official Snakes on a Plane movie soundtrack.

1 Snakes on a Plane shirt.

1 Snakes on a Plane hat.

1 Set of Iron On Images (which you can use to design your very own nifty SOAP shirt).

Okay, now it's your turn. Provide us with the best caption you can think of, but remember to do so by 8PM EST on January 8, 2007. Comment. Email Address. Activate. It's that simple. Good luck!

Note: Contest now closed -- thanks for all your wonderful submissions. The winners will be announced soon ...

Wow. Either we have some really funny readers, or you guys were hitting the keg before you submitted your entries to our Caption This! Beerfest Unrated DVD Giveaway. We had a hard time narrowing down our winner and runners-up, but we finally managed to make a decision. Our winner will receive our fabulous Beerfest Unrated DVD Prize Package, which includes:

1 Completely, Totally Unrated Beerfest DVD

1 Navy Blue Bottle Opener Hat (Everyone who has seen this wants it!)

1 Black "Schnitzengiggle Tavern" Tee

1 Beer Mug Glasses (The kind you wear!)

1 Beautiful Beer Stein with Domed Lid

1 Alcohawk ™ Personal Breathalyzer (This is real and high-end.)

Our four runners-up will each receive a copy of the Beerfest Unrated DVD.

Winner and runners-up after the jump ...

Wow, how the time flies. You only have until midnight PST tomorrow -- that's Tuesday, December 5 -- to get your funniest caption entry in for our beertastic Beerfest Unrated DVD Giveaway. I'm sure you've slept since then, so go back to the contest page and reread the rules, and then enter your entry in the comments. Do NOT enter your caption in this post, or it will not be considered. Enter the contest here. Right HERE.

Give it your best shot -- we have a fantastic prize package for you:


1 Completely, Totally Unrated Beerfest DVD

1 Navy Blue Bottle Opener Hat (Everyone who has seen this wants it!)

1 Black "Schnitzengiggle Tavern" Tee

1 Beer Mug Glasses (The kind you wear!)

1 Beautiful Beer Stein with Domed Lid

1 Alcohawk ™ Personal Breathalyzer (This is real and high-end.)

Four runners-up will win Beerfest Unrated DVDs. Pretty cool prize package, eh? So go enter the contest now for your chance to win!

Were you lucky enough to catch The Fountain over the weekend? It seems like everyone else was shuffling their Happy Feet or playing at the Casino Royale, but I slipped into a half empty (what a shame) theater and caught this beautiful film. I was pretty glad I missed Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, because I was in the mood for something a little more somber. But don't worry, later this week after a couple of beers, I'll be getting my fill of Jack Black and Kyle Gass.

Darren Aronofsky's 1998 film Pi was one of those movies that hit me in the stomach and made me actually think about the world, and stayed with me for years afterwards. Movies like that are extremely rare these days, and when one comes along you want to latch onto it and encourage everyone to go see it. Unfortunately, when I told my friends that I was going to see The Fountain this weekend, they all responded with a collective: "Huh?" Most of them hadn't heard about the film, and after I mentioned that Hugh Jackman was in it, others said, "Oh right, is that the movie about magic?"

This is what happens when advertising for quality films are choked out of the public eye by zillions of previews for Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj and posters reminding you that American Idol will be back on the airwaves soon. Chances are that you never saw the poster for The Fountain as a result. Thanks to FirstShowing.net, you can actually own one to frame and hang on your wall. They are giving away 15 copies of the poster, and all you have to do is answer three very simple questions about the film. Enter now, and then rush off to see this movie before it vanishes from the theaters forever. This one needs to be seen on a big screen with a great sound system.