As it should be crystal clear by now, we at Extra Butter loveeee the movies! Not neccessarily movie-buffs, film-geeks, etc., but we have our own unique passion for the cinema and love to share it with you (some movie night’s will be announced shortly by the way)!

One aspect of movie culture that is gaining some much deserved and long overdue exposure is the special effects artistry that takes place behind the scenes. The SyFy channel’s new show “Face Off”, is only 2 shows in and generating lots of buzz with it’s reality-tv format show where special effects make up artists take on various challenges to showcase their craft.

I know our loyal following here have been exposed to it a bit. Remember when we created our own lookbook for Mishka’s Fall 2010 delivery? Our friend Jacqueline Valega used her skills to zombie us up and featured her hand-crafted, “Thriller”-inspired Were-cat mask. Well now she’s graduated from the Douglas Education Center’s “Special Effects Make Up” Program (click here to see a short commercial for the program), and I had the pleasure of attending the event and snapping some pics of the work.

One of Jacquie’s main works took some more inspiration from our friends at Mishka, as she created an actual sculpture of the “Irreversible Binomial” that L’amour Supreme designed for Mishka. The t-shirt ranks amongst our favorites of all-time, and you can only imagine the paramount excitement I had in seeing the design basically come to life…BRAVO!!

I also had the honor of listening to the program’s president and special-effects legend, Tom Savini speak to the students on advancing their careers to the next level. I then had the pleasure of seeing the other graduating students’ works and portfolio’s up close in a room full of amazing sights. Hard-work and creativity personified, lucky for you I had my camera to share some of the views. Congrats to everyone on their success! I don’t know everyone to have linked and give proper credit, but if anyone is interested or would like to make notes please feel free to use the comments section. Also be sure to click the “read more” at the bottom of the post to see more of the work…

Click here to see the rest of the pictures —-> Read more

Unfortunately, this is not additional footage of the event…but this should make you laugh. One thing about me, is that I’m terribly late to the game as far as hysterical things seen on YouTube. I don’t watch much on TV aside from sports and Dexter, let alone the computer. But lately, I’m realizing I’m missing out on a lot.

With more videos on the blog as of late, I figured I’d share a few that were shared with me that I haven’t been able to stop laughing at. So not sure if I’ll ever do another post like this again, but regardless…here’s 5 recent, highly entertaining, and possibly stuff you’ve already seen because I’m late, videos…

The first is this…you’ve probably seen the original by now, I’m assuming it’s a classic. But we recently found this “aftermath” video, and have been speaking to each other in similar fashion around the shop.

This one was e-mailed to me. Had to watch this a few times as well…as the :25 second mark, is she saying “butter”??

Then there’s this, which at first I just thought was a little odd, and a bit sad. But, overall I was perplexed at this type of reaction. Just never seen something like it…

But then I saw this version of the video above. Nearly died watching this over and over.

And finally we have Maru. This fat cat with so many quirks and so much personality, I could honestly say I’d like to have Maru or something similar for myself. My friends know me as someone who’s notorious for despising cats. I say awful things like “they’re the devils pets” and all this stuff, but Maru changed my mind. Enjoy!

From the YouTube late bus…

-Cinematic

Here’s the last of the footage…the majority of the photos are of the “Make Something” experience, which was probably the best thing I saw the entire trip. It is located on Bowery and Houston, and I don’t think it’s open to the public, but if you can weasel your way in there, I highly suggest doing so.

Nike, Air Jordan, and Converse teamed up with artists Aaron Rose, Eric Elms, Carrie Mundane (Cassette Playa), Todd Selby, DJ A-trak, and others on creating this space that gave teenagers from the NY area a truly unique experience. The artists conducted workshops, teaching the kids a variety of creative acitivities such as music editing, sign painting, poster drawing, plus clothing and sneaker design!

The space was littered with all the artwork and some actual products were sampled and produced as well, such as the Nike Destroyer Varsity Jackets, Converse All-stars, and Nike Hyperdunks.

The kids worked on a unique hybrid shoe that fused sneaker elements from the Nike, Jordan, and Converse brand…truly one of a kind.

Click here for more photos of the “Make Something” gallery, and a couple other random pictures from the week —> Read more

Here are some other things I had the pleasure of doing during my NYC stay for the WBF…

The hardcore NBA fans are familiar with my man Kevin Durant right here. I have to admit, it was hard to like the guy at first considering I’m a Blazers fan (we picked Oden instead). But, this truly one of the brightest young stars in the NBA today and has a nice young nucleus in Oklahoma City that looks to be making noise for many upcoming seasons.

Check this short video clip where I asked him about his favorite kicks…

Kevin Durant Interview from Extra Butter on Vimeo.

Rucker Park was just incredible – this was after halftime of the Brazil vs. Puerto Rico exhibition game.

After the Team USA inter-squad exhibition game….HOVAAAA!

“Shoot at you actors like movie directors…”

Jay-Z Radio City Music Hall from Extra Butter on Vimeo.

Click here to see the rest of this entry —> Read more

So I’m back from a dream week in NYC for my coverage of the World Basketball Festival. From those following the Extra Butter tweets, you would have seen that I was quite busy. Over the next few days I will release some more flicks and footage in a 3-part series for you to get a more in depth look.

I have to thank my friends at Sneaker Freaker for this opportunity – please check the wrap-up I did for their site here.

In this post I will highlight some of the features in Harlem. Uptown was bubbling with all sorts of things to get your basketball juices flowing, so have a look.

Inside “The Ballroom” was a historic look at the evolution of jerseys, game balls, and of course sneakers. There were also interactive flat screen monitors to give a closer look at not just sneakers, but players and their signature moves – which the video will show you below.

World Basketball Festival Ballroom from Extra Butter on Vimeo.

Jordan Brand was fully present of course well with superstars Chris Paul and D. Wade appearing at House of Hoops, and a full Jordan Brand “For the Love of the Game” installation, down the street at Atmos.

On Friday night we had the pleasure of attending the world premier of the  “Air Force 1: Anatomy of an Urban Legend” documentary. A truly incredible film and star-studded affair, the evening was surreal to say the least.

Click here for the rest of the photos —-> Read more

Or just buy it…if you’re the type to creep yourself out over and over. Either way it is 1First Quality1…

The movie is “House of the Devil” (2009) by Ti West. I don’t enjoy writing a brief synopsis of the movies I watch. I would rather (perhaps selfishly) share some basic, and sometimes not so basic, feelings I get from the viewings. Plus, you can find info on what a movie is about everywhere else. I doubt this will be the format I stick to in sharing my support or distaste for films I see, but just wanted to advocate for this quick and simple.

Likes: The 70′s-ish style in which this film was shot, the entire suspenseful pace, the use of sounds to make me tense, and the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Ulman, whom I found completely unnerving.

Dislikes: Walking around my own house after the movie in paranoia. Not having chosen this film for a prior EB movie night.

So check it out or check in and let us know what you think if you do see it or have seen it.

-Cinematic

a.k.a. 1First Quality1

Enjoy your weekend everyone! Come through and see the goodies…

-Cinematic

The other day you saw new Ek5obition tees came in right? The capsule collection speaks a language many people connect to and identify with. This one right HERE, cannot be mistaken…am I right?

And remember THIS? Has it sunk in yet, have you gone back and watched Beat Street? B-boy Saewl is about to save me some writing, press play on the video below and see what’s up!

*Note: Saewl is the one to the right of your screen, might want to pay attention to his t-shirt after the 1st round…that and the serious flavor he spills all over the floor!*

-Cinematic

We went to see Lupe Fiasco a few weeks back…a night to remember would be an understatement as Lu’s messages continues to resonate deeply with the EB famalam… Love Always Shines Everytime Remember to Smile.

Now if only this album would drop already…

Thank you to Jacquie for the photos!!

-Cinematic

Thanks to the new ability to stream my netflix instant queue from my Wii to my TV, I was able to spend the weekend watching some flicks… (in no particular order)

1. The Cable Guy: If I watch a comedy these days, there’s about 99% chance it wasn’t made past the year 2000. Probably earlier. But, I do miss the days when I did, and they were good. Always liked the darkness of this…mixed with Jim Carrey’s absurdity as well. AND before Jack Black was super annoying.

2. Antichrist – I’m a big fan of “Dogville” and “Dancer in the Dark”, but I didn’t enjoy this one too much. Visually stunning…and I cringed more than a couple of times. Dafoe and Gainsbourg performed strong. Just didn’t get too into Lars Von Trier’s dark world on this one.

3. Planet B-boy: I’ve seen this a handful of times…it’s not really a favorite or anything, just something I wanted to put on to remind myself that I should be more active and get back to the goodness of dancing.

4. Dead Snow: Now this was absurd. You can explore for yourselves if you want. It was entertaining at times, and some decent special efx/make-up.

5. Slap Shot: Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve watched this film. It was fun to see hockey in it’s most degenerate, goon-ish state…especially with my Islanders lacking any sort of physical game this year. I can see why this is a classic, and it definitely got me psyched for the playoff hockey coming in a few weeks!

These 5 films really don’t go together at all do they…I’m not sure what that says about my movie mood as of late, but hopefully I’m back with a few more later in the week. Feel free to use the comment section – always welcome and look forward to hearing the good word out there if anyone has stuff to share regarding the above.

ALSO – some interesting things planned for April, starting with a movie night this Friday! Hint: “You trying to say Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball?”.  Stay tuned….

-Cinematic