Sylvester Stallone and the Rocky Steps

Last night we completed a Rolling Roadshow that we've been wanting to execute for a long time. We screened Rocky I, II and III on the famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The steps themselves play a huge role in all three of the films and are practically hallowed ground for most residents of Philadelphia. The steps mark the emotional turning point in all three films serving as a metaphor for both Rocky's personal challenges and accomplishments. Watching the films back to back to back while seated on those very steps was a nearly spiritual experience for Rocky Fans.

4000+ Rocky fans showed up for the experience last night, and before the film director and star Sylvester Stallone had a pre-recorded message for the city of Philadelphia. Ain't It Cool News head honcho Harry Knowles is friends with Stallone and asked him to film a special message for the fans about the steps, their origin in the script and what this hallowed spot means to him.



Above you will find this special message. You can also check out the Rolling Roadshow flickr page for photos from the event including highlights from the on-site meat punching. That's right, not only could Rocky fans run up the steps and pump their arms in victory before watching Rocky I, II and III, but once you made it to the top of the steps, we had sparring gloves and a side of beef straight from an authentic Philadelphia Italian market butcher hanging on a chain from an engine hoist. Fans young and old were lined up at the beef all night long for some punching time with Rocky's unique fleshy sparring partner.

For more information on the 2010 "We Are All Workers" Rolling Roadshow Tour, check out the official website.

Photos from the First Three Stops

Check out a photos from the first three stops of the 2010 "We Are All Workers" Rolling Roadshow Tour: Jackie Brown at LAX; Dirty Harry at Washington Square Park, San Francisco; and There Will Be Blood at the Oil Experience in Bakersfield.

The crew is en route to Chicago for The Blues Brothers at Old Joliet Prison on Friday and then on to the rest of the tour. Highlights so far have been a personal appearance by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Forster at Jackie Brown and the winner of the "I drink your milkshake" contest walking home with the actual wooden bowling pin prop from the film.

If you live anywhere near Joliet, Detroit, Philadelphia, Hoboken or NYC, please join us on our last 5 stops!

Location Change: Jackie Brown screening

We have made a location switch for the Rolling Roadshow screening of JACKIE BROWN on Friday, August 6 at 8:00 PM. Due to noise ordinance restrictions The City of Torrance would not allow the screening to take place at the Del Amo Fashion Mall. The Rolling Roadshow made every effort to make this happen within the limits set forth, but in the end our goal is to provide the optimal presentation experience.

But the show will go on! And fortunately Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece offers a wealth of location options in southern Los Angeles. The Rolling Roadshow screening of JACKIE BROWN will take place in the shadow of LAX, where Pam Grier's flight attendant gets busted by the ATF, kick-starting the high stakes game of double-cross and intrigue.

Join us in the grassy rear lawn on the grounds of THE PROUD BIRD overlooking LAX airport. Flanked by vintage airplanes and with a view of the landing strip, this new location is the perfect spot for Tarantino's airline-centric pot-boiler. Seating is not provided, so please bring your blankets or camping chairs to this event. Winners will also be drawn at random from the crowd to join us at the Doolittle Room of THE PROUD BIRD for a VIP after-party.

ROLLING ROADSHOW - Jackie Brown
Friday, August 6 @ 8:00 PM

THE PROUD BIRD
11022 Aviation Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045

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Hit the Road with Levi’s, Alamo Drafthouse and Gowalla!

(From gowalla.com)
We’re happy to announce that we’ve teamed up with Levi’s and Alamo Drafthouse for some summertime movie fun: the 2010 Rolling Roadshow! The Rolling Roadshow is a nationwide tour of free outdoor 35mm movie screenings, which pair renowned films with the famous locations where they were shot or set. Gowalla worked together with Levi’s and Alamo Drafthouse to create Gowalla Trips highlighting scenes from the films for nine of the Rolling Roadhouse tour cities. For instance, in New York, in conjunction with the screening of The Godfather II, we’re offering a Gowalla Trip you can’t refuse: Trace the path of Vito Corleone from Ellis Island through his boyhood home and stomping grounds in Little Italy, grab some cannolis at Caffe Reggio, visit the site of Luca Brasi’s death, Vito’s narrow escape from the hospital and more.

We’ve created Trips for the following movies/cities:

• Jackie Brown in Los Angeles
• Dirty Harry in San Francisco
• There Will Be Blood in Bakersfield, CA
• The Blues Brothers in Joliet, IL
• Rocky in Philadelphia
• On the Waterfront in Hoboken, NJ
• RoboCop in Detroit
• Red Dawn in Las Vegas
• The Godfather II in New York

You can access the Trips by following Levi’s on Gowalla. The first 50 people to complete the respective Trip in each city will receive a VIP package to attend the corresponding Rolling Roadshow screening, so get out there and start experiencing the movie magic!

All Rolling Roadshow screenings are free and open to the public. Some screenings may feature surprise celebrity guests, and each location will feature fun events. For more details on the Gowalla Trips for the 2010 Rolling Roadshow, head to http://gowalla.com/levis, or for more information on the Rolling Roadshow itself, simply point your browser to http://rollingroadshow.com.

Alamo/Levi's Rolling Roadshow US Tour 2010 ANNOUNCED!

GARGANTUAN NEWS!

Just announced: The Alamo Drafthouse and Levi's have partnered to champion stories of our most celebrated celluloid workers. Throughout August's hazy summer nights, the Alamo and Levi’s will be taking the Rolling Roadshow to the people under the unified banner of ‘We Are All Workers.’

Rooted by one of the nation’s founding principles, We Are All Workers hits the road with nine seminal screenings proving that everybody’s work is equally important. True to form, each screening will be in the location where the film was shot or set.

Inspired by the spirit of the American worker, the Alamo and Levi’s have curated an eclectic line up that ranges from the the birth of the oil nation in Paul Thomas Anderson’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD to the futuristic corporate nightmare of Paul Verhoeven’s ROBOCOP. Championship contenders are crowned and humbled as Sylvester Stallone embarks on an an epic ROCKY-THON on the Liberty Steps, while Marlon Brando is washed-up ON THE WATERFRONT of the New Jersey docks. Law breakers are saluted as DIRTY HARRY takes to San Francisco’s Washington Square Park, Quentin Tarantino with JACKIE BROWN (schedule permitting), and Chicago’s finest, THE BLUES BROTHERS tear their musical mission from God across the country. Closing out the Roadshow is the the defining immigrant worker story of THE GODFATHER PART II which will screen from the rooftops and chimney stacks of New York’s Little Italy.

All Rolling Roadshow ‘We Are All Workers’ screenings are free, open to the public and will be accompanied by related events at each location. For more information and updates on individual shows and their related events, check back on the Alamo's Rolling Roadshow page or the Levi's Facebook group!

In the meantime, here's the line-up:

Aug. 6 - JACKIE BROWN at Los Angeles’ Del Amo Fashion Mall

Aug. 7 - DIRTY HARRY at San Francisco’s Washington Square Park

Aug. 8 - THERE WILL BE BLOOD at California’s Kern County Museum

Aug. 8 - CONVOY & RED DAWN Double Feature at the Ft. Union Drive-In in Las Vegas, NM

Aug. 13 - THE BLUES BROTHERS at Chicago’s Joliet Prison

Aug. 14 - ROBOCOP at Detroit’s Russell Industrial Center

Aug. 19 - ROCKYTHON! (ROCKY I-III) at the Philadelphia Art Museum

Aug. 20 - ON THE WATERFRONT at Hoboken’s Pier A Park

Aug. 27 - THE GODFATHER Part II on a Manhattan rooftop near Little Italy

As you've guessed, these shows will be epic, incredible and 100% unforgettable.

See you there!

Rolling Roadshow: BRIGHT LEAF Smoker's Theater

Rolling Roadshow presents:
Smoker's Theater: BRIGHT LEAF
Sat, April 24th :: Tim & Karrie League's House
Tickets available soon HERE!

Smoker's Theater returns! If you got to join us for THE MALTESE FALCON last year, you understand how great of an event this will be. The air was smokey and sweet, Tim's lawn was plush and cozy, and the Rolling Roadshow screen made the neighborhood go, "What is going on?!" Join us again! Or for the first time...

Even though we all know smoking is bad for you, lots of us still do it. We can't help it, they just taste so damn good. Plus, it makes us look cool. There's nothing inherently cool about the little paper cylinders, but sometimes it seems like every interesting person on earth has been a smoker. Even President Obama sneaks out on the Rose Garden veranda to burn one every now and again. It's like a little torch of rebellion. However, in recent years, we smokers have been relegated to the margins, kicked into the alley or corralled into pins like cattle. Well, no longer must we endure the sarcastic hacking nor death-ray leers from our intolerant-if-better-smelling brethren. Smoker’s UNITE! For this dramatic installment of Smoker's Theater, we turn back the clock to the Smokingest Age of Hollywood.

Loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and George McElwee, BRIGHT LEAF follows tenant farmer Brant Royle (Gary Cooper), who returns home after his family is driven from its farm by tobacco baron Major Singleton and becomes a rich and ruthless tyrant himself. Royle and Singleton battle for their respective empires while Royle becomes obsessed with the Major's beautiful but devious daughter, Margaret (Lauren Bacall). Whether you enjoy a pack a day or just the occasional fine cigar, this is where you want to be on April 24, and we're not just blowing smoke.

Reel Distraction reviews the 2008 Shining Halloween Party at the Timberline Lodge outside of Portland. Check out the full report plus photos.