Sew Beastly + The Oscars + Friends + A Special Discount = Awesomeness!!

Howdy friends!  Oh my, what a beautiful day it is over here...blue skies, and a bit cooler than the past couple of days, but a gal couldn't ask for better weather.
So you have been hearing about the connection between the Oscars and my products.  I broke the news to you, and it is finally here.
Here's the low-down:
I am part of The Artisan Group, a fun and super supportive group full of talented people.  I have met some awesome and talented fellow artists there, and have developed some sweet friendships with some inspiring ladies.....Christine, Maureen, Jessicca:  I am grateful for your awesomeness!!  These talented ladies are gifting the celebrities, and I couldn't be happier for them!  Congrats ladies!!  {I get to meet Maureen on Saturday at the Dallas Shine event, and I can hardly wait!}

And on we go...okay guys, long story short...I have my new design in swag bags for the industry mixer, which takes place before the actual Academy Awards.  The industry mixer as the name indicates will be full of people in the industry, no celebrities.
I sent my new design in two different colors, nude pink and mauve with shiny linen.

And so I am doing a little celebration here at the blog, and guess what?   We are going to have a little movie themed post going on today.
I gathered some awesome ladies and asked a few questions about their all time favorite movie.  It was fun reading through the responses, and I have learned much more about these gals....Ready for some goodness?  Here we go....

First up is CB from The City Birds Nest.  I love this gal, she's so fun, and her favorite movie definitely reflects her personality!

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What is your favorite movie and why?  Beetlejuice hands down! it just is the perfect combination of campy, amaziness, alec baldwin and fantasy. tim burton's finest movie EVER! if you haven't seen you must and you will not regret it!

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name?  So many amazing scenes in that film, it is kinda hard to just choose one but here goes. my favorite scene is the dinner scene when they all dance around the table to "Day O" and the shrimp grab their faces at the end. that is just one of the MANY amazing scenes in this film! for some odd reason the scene where they are eating chinese food always gets me. scenes where people are eating are always my favorite!

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  Watching it with my family and thinking that i was a bit too young for the movie but loving it anyways. it was always on at our house so watching it reminds me of family <3

What is your favorite movie category?  Comedy & fantasy are my favorite that is why this movie is one of my favorites because it satisfies both for me!

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Next is Amanda from Flex Family Arts....Super fun choices!!

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What is your favorite movie and why?  I really have two favorite movies (Urban Cowboy and Harold and Maude).  I love Urban Cowboy because its just such a great depiction of the late 1970's.  I love the tight tees and tiny tanks and of course the boots and the hats.  I also totally dig the soundtrack...I mean late 1970's cowboy dance hall faves?  Where do I sign up?  I love everything about Harold and Maude...the sweet story, the message to be brave and totally immerse yourself in life...the soundtrack and I adore Ruth Gordon and had a crush on Bud Cort!

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name?  The first scene I think of when I think of Urban Cowboy is unkempt John Travolta driving into Houston in his pick up.  Its one of the first scenes of the movie.  In Harold and Maude its the scene where they steal the tree from town because Maude says it is suffocating and they escape with it in the back of an el camino (or a similar car). 

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  I don't really have any particular memories that come back to me when I watch these...but there are lots of things that happen on a daily basis that lead me to think about them or quote them! "Some cowboys got smarts real good like me!"

What is your favorite movie category?  My favorite movie category has to be independent.  I  used to love picking out the most random movies no one else rented (when we all used to go to an actual store to rent movies) and finding a gem.  There were always some duds too...anyone else seen The Reflecting Skin? 

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Now we go to Maureen from Release Me Creations.  I love her choice, it's one of my many favorite movies as well.

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What is your favorite movie and why?  Legends of the Fall, not only is is visually beautiful, but the soundtrack is absolutely incredible as well.  And Brad Pitt is in it, so that helps.  It's a heartwrenching drama, but very good.  The storyline is just so in-depth and you feel like you are a part of the family in the film.

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name?  Towards the end, when the family is basically getting ready to go up against the government and they're all preparing their ambushes.  The Native American in the family, One Stab, is sitting with Brad Pitt's little boy, putting war paint on him.  It sounds strange, but trust me, the movie is amazing (sad, but amazing)

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  My Dad.  He always used to take me to see the movies that had a bit of historical meaning to them, even if I wasn't supposed to at the time due to being younger.  But he knew I was mature enough to handle it.  He was such an amazing Dad.

What is your favorite movie category?  Best Picture...it's like the big one out of all of them.  Also, if I haven't seen it yet, I always have a movie to add to my list of movies to see.

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Next up is Megan from And Here's To You Mrs. Robinson.  Such a classic!!

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What is your favorite movie and why?   This one is so hard for my to narrow down! I love too many, haha. I guess I will just go with the classic "Singing in the Rain." I have loved this movie every since I was little! My cousin and I used to act out the song and dance scenes. I had a major crush on Gene Kelly too. Swoon.... :)

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name? The first scene that pops in my head is when they are singing "Good Morning." I love that song and when I was younger I tried to hard to memorize it and would go around dancing to it. 

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  My favorite memories of this movie are watching it with my parents especially singing along with my dad. And also acting it out with my cousin. I feel like this movie represents a huge part of my childhood!

What is your favorite movie category?  My favorite movie category would definitely be comedy/family/uplifting movies. I mean, I like other movies too of course but I'm almost always in the mood for a good uplifting movie that just makes me feel good and happy afterwards. Sometimes I get serious anxiety after watching something that's too intense so I like to focus on the positive. :) 

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Now we have Erika from Rouge & Whimsy.  Hers is my favorite Disney movie ever!!  I used to dream of being a mermaid and changing my name to Ariel...seriously!

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What is your favorite movie and why? I have so many favorite movies, among them Baby Mama, When Harry Met Sally and An Affair to Remember, but I'm going to go with one of my classics: The Little Mermaid. 

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name? I love the music of the opening credits-- it just brings me back to my childhood instantly. It's a very nostalgic feeling. 

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  I went through a bad breakup and one of my best friends sat with me and watched The Little Mermaid on repeat. 

On the flip side, my boyfriend (now husband) once set up a cute date night in his college bedroom with candles, dessert and a private screening of The Little Mermaid for me!

What is your favorite movie category?  Good movies? haha-- basically anything besides horror or too much sad/drama. :)

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Now time for Christine from SariBlue.  Her choices are definitely timeless, and some of my and my dad's favorite ones!!

What is your favorite movie and why?   It is a hard decision for me to pick only one of these films as my “favorite”. Considering they are based on the same book, released only two years apart and in my opinion one would really be incomplete without the other, it is not as though I am wimping out taking them both.  Without any question both films are my all-time favorites:  The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather II (1974) based on the book by Mario Puzo. He and Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay for both movies and of course Mr. Coppola directed the films.The “why are they my favorites” is a very long long answer.  In fact with Citlalli’s awesome idea to think about movies during the week of The Oscars it has driven me to really look back at my childhood and my lifelong obsession with film and music.  I have written a lengthy post about the start of my journey with film and its influence on my little universe.  Super cool right? I plan to get that post up on my bloggish blog site soon.  So the condensed version of “why” I am madly in love, yes “in love” with The Godfather both I & II goes something like this:

• The film is the first gangster movie to depict the gangster as having true depth of character.  A real person, you can empathize with and understand.  The Godfather is a story of the bad guy brought to life and you actually want to be on the “other side”, you want to be that bad guy, you get why and how things can turn in that direction.  This movie is not simply an excuse to love the “bad-boy” it is a true cultural transition in film.  The film is the first of its kind to allow the viewer insight to the bad guy and shift sides, an addition of a genre in film, the allowance siding with the guy in the black hat rather than the white.  Amounting to a massive contribution to the art form.  Do I sound too serious? LOL!!
• The overall film crafting is beyond compare and is what I base my film opinion. Everyone has different criteria for assessing film, some of mine includes:  
• of course a story that you can relate to, grabs you and is not simple or obvious;
• cinematography that is breath taking; 
• depth of characters; 
• something that ties to either history or an event that will intertwine with the real story of the film; 
• the score must make a mark on the film almost as another character, not a distraction but an integral part of the film.
• The Godfather hits all of my criteria at the highest level.  I will just make a comment on one of the criteria.  The score is by far still the most recognizable music of almost any American film I know.  I can hear maybe one or two notes of the main theme and instantly know what it is.  This is so crucial to consider a film an epic or classic film.  The music also stirs deep nostalgia for me. 
• I guess the biggest piece (and please read the whole bullet) it reminds me of my family and childhood.  I know a lot of Italians hate pictures which are primarily about the mafia.  I am not implying that my family is mafia.  However, the film perfectly portrays down to the last detail the Italian American experience through the decades, not the mafia part.  The part about family, loyalty, weddings, religion, food, coming off the boat from Italy, living in the city, then moving out to the other parts of the country and the struggle to maintain cultural identity.  It is such sheer perfection that it is almost hard to explain.  But down to hand gestures, facial expressions, clothing, food, glasses on the table for wine, handing out candied almonds at weddings.  Truly a masterpiece of cultural memories. Yes, I know I am romanticing a gangster movie that is violent, I know, but that is another conversation, so let me be romantic.

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name?  There are a few scenes that come to mind immediately.

Early in The Godfather Don Corleone’s (Marlon Brando) only Daughter Connie (Talia Shari) marries a low level bookie.  The Don spends most of the wedding meeting the male guests in his office granting favors.  These dark scenes and dialog, just fantastic. The incongruous happy beautiful wedding affair outside is just as intriguing, and again for me looks like pictures of family weddings of those times.  It could be of any number of events in our family.  Huge wedding party, people’s cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, old folks all lined up in the right colours for the perfect image, everyone must be in the family picture.  How it appears on the outside is not what is happening on the inside with the business deals, Sonny (James Caan), just meet his mistress upstairs during the wedding. Man what a good start to a story!! 

The other scene that I just love and I think of in such detail is when Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) after being draw into the business reluctantly and making a huge move to protect the family goes to Sicily to hide out.  Michael marries a gorgeous local girl.  Although he has a girlfriend at home in NYC, he is clearly more in love with the Sicilian girl and the scenes from Italy and the traditional wedding is so sweet and lovely and the old world fit into the life that Michael left in America is an important image to the story.

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  I have tons of memories from this movie.  Mostly it reminds me of how young I was the first time I saw it.  They actually showed uncut movies on the normal TV when I was young.  Full versions, sometimes without interruptions.  My parents would go out, all dressed up on date night.  My younger sister and I would be home alone.  I would have figured out what was on the movie channel and be ready for a great grown up movie even though I was way too young for whatever the movie was.  This was how I watch The Godfather the first time.  I was so enchanted with the entire vision of the movie and The Corleone Family it really set me on a path of film and music obsession.  I became a very picky movie watcher and could not understand when a movie was subpar or had lapse in a cohesive finished production.  I know, weird for a less than teenagers to care about a fluid film but that is what happens when your parents leave you alone with Francis Ford Coppola.

Christine as a kiddo!  Adorable!!

What is your favorite movie category?  Good.  Is that a category for the Oscars?  LOL!  These days I generally prefer films that are intriguing or dramatic.  I love independent films, films with a twist and super quirky films.

I really love movies and enjoy a ton of different styles and cannot even count how many movies I have seen, I love to think of the work and creative process that goes into making a movie and really have such appreciation for them.

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And now I get to answer my own questions....

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What is your favorite movie and why? It was a tough decision between The Big Lebowski {which I quote almost on a daily basis} and Indiana Jones' Temple Of Doom.   I decided on Temple of Doom since I can still watch it and get excited, just like I did when I was a child.  Also, Harrison Ford is such a hunk!!  i had the biggest crush on him as a child....okay, I'll admit: I still have a huge crush on him ;].

What is the first scene that pops in your mind when you hear this movie's name?  The first is definitely the scene where the poor guy is getting his heart ripped out.   Also, the scene where they are having dinner and they get all this funky food served....priceless!!

Do you have any memories that come back when you watch this movie?  My childhood.  You can ask my parents how I used to sit at the edge of my seat {literally}  with my {sweaty} hands together as I watched the scene where the heart- ripping goes on.  I really got into it!

What is your favorite movie category?  Drama, based on real- life based movies, and a bit of comedy.  

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That was fun!!  Did you guys enjoy this as much as I did? 

Thank you ladies for sharing with us!  It has been a great trip down memory lane!   

Now join in!!  What is your favorite movie?  Share with us in the comments section below!  

And I have a special discount to celebrate.  Go to the shoppe, enter coupon code: ILUVMOVIES and get 20% off your purchase until Sunday at midnight.