Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Great Turkey Escape Giveaway Hop Giveaway ~ $50+ Mystery Grab Bag


Welcome to the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog. As part of the The Great Turkey Escape Giveaway Hop, hosted by Cheap Is The New Classy, we have a new giveaway for you. One winner will receive a holiday themed Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! If you win I will create some fun designs just for you (or we can do something non holiday related too if you so choose). Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. If you love fun and unique fashion this will definitely be a great prize. This event will end on November 15th. Our giveaway is open worldwide. Good Luck!

Falling Leaves Necklace - Style B  $19

After you enter our giveaway make sure to visit the other blogs, via the Linky List below, and enter to win lots of fabulous holiday themed giveaways. Follow the event on Twitter with the Official Event Hashtag #turkeyescape.

Falling Leaves Charm Bracelet   $50

Here is a peek at some of the Fall and Thanksgiving themed designs available from Laughing Vixen Lounge. Everything can be customized to make it your own.

Falling Leaves Cornucopia Earrings  $18

Laughing Vixen Lounge ~ Bangles, Baubles and Other Needful Things for the modern Vixen. Pop Culture, Retro, Horror and Custom Designed Jewelry and Accessories. Over 380 designs.

Falling Leaves Necklace - Style A  $19

Laughing Vixen Lounge offers Charm Bracelets, Necklaces, Compacts and Silver Pendants. Pop Culture designs with a flair for Retro, Horror and Custom Designs. This year we'll be adding lots more Pendants styles, Bracelets styles and new Ring and Locket styles. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or the Blog to keep up on the many giveaways we'll be having this year! Visit Laughing Vixen Lounge.

Autumn Leaves Charm Bracelet  $50

You will also have the chance to win a Tresanti Saffron Granite Top Kitchen Island in the grand prize giveaway at Cheap is the new Classy. Stop by and take a shot at winning a great prize!


How to enter the giveaway ~ It's easy!

1. Login in to the Rafflecopter widget below with either your email or Facebook.
2. You must do the first entry to qualify for this giveaway.
3. You can do as many of the extra entries as you like.
4. Please read each entry's directions carefully. If you do not do what is asked of you for each entry the entry will not count.
5. If you have any questions feel free to ask for help. You can leave your question as a comment below and I will answer as soon as I can.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Night 31 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween ~ Happy Halloween


Well my little ghouls and dolls we have come to the end of our 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. It is this Vixen's favorite time of year. I love to do this giveaway for all of you and, despite the late night cursing you may hear as I scramble to finish that night's post, I really do hate to see it come to an end. But it is Halloween so lets all go have a fiendishly good time tonight and raise a little scare! For tomorrow it will be time to pack up the cob webs, put the bats back in their cave, smash the pumpkins and, for heaven's sake, stop eating bags of miniature candies!

Have no fear, you still have until Midnight (EST) tonight to get your entries in for all the giveaway fun. If you are arriving late to the party you can find all the info on the main Giveaway Post. For those who have been following all month here is the final post. Please give a big thank you to all of the shops that donated prizes this year and the blogs that helped spread the word. And thank you to everyone who joined in the fun and made this our biggest and best Halloween event yet. We appreciate it more then you know. We will be back again next October to do it all over again.

Laughing Vixen Lounge Halloween Crew
Skeleton Monkey, Frankengerbil and Flyin' Purple People Eater

Up next up will be our 2nd annual Christmas A Go-Go Giveaway December 1-15th. We already have lots of shops lined up and some holiday fun ready to go. Don't miss it! Plus, check in often during November as Laughing Vixen Lounge will be having lots of other giveaways with the first starting tonight at Midnight. There will also be a big Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale at Laughing Vixen Lounge. Stay tuned to see when the deals start.

Zombie Brains Necklace  $18
"Abby something."
"Abby what?"
"Abby normal."

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

***Today is the last day to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering these others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***


ENDS TONIGHT ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.


ENDS TONIGHT ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.


Many of our shops chose a charity to fund raise for during October. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. Once the participating shops have submitted their monthly total the grand total raised will be posted on the blog. Thanks to everyone who shopped the shops and helped raise money.


**Solve The Murder Mystery Now**
The body of Miss Death has been found at Raven's Perch Manor. Detective Heathmoor has caught a shadowy figure fleeing into the night. You have the clues now solve the mystery.
 
Hopefully you have been keeping a list of all the clues you have collected. You can now submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly (I chose my favorite clues before the game started and they will be the winning clues) will win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can still go back and find past clues in case you missed any. Clues will stay posted until the end of the giveaway.

How to submit your guess.
1. Pick one clue from each of the 5 categories. Week 1 Settings, Week 2 Suspects, Week 3 Rooms, Week 4 Weapons and Week 5 Escapes. Use Miss Death as the victim.
Example ~ In the twilight, Mr. Blue killed Miss Death in the bedroom with a skillet then tried to escape out the window.
2. Find the "Solve the Murder Mystery" entry on the Rafflecopter widget on the main Giveaway Post and paste your guess there. Do not post your guess anywhere else on the blog or it will not count. Guesses must use the actual clues from the Scavenger Hunt or they will not count. If you have any questions just ask. You have until tonight at Midnight (EST) to do this.


**New entries for the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Giveaway**
A couple new entries have been added to the Rafflecopter widget on the main Giveaway Post. You will find them at the end of all the entries. These are just for fun so enjoy!


Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.

**You still have time to play along. You have until the end of the giveaway ~ Tonight at Midnight EST ~ to leave your comments.**

We have made it to the end of our Halloween Movie Marathon. Hope you have had fun reminiscing about these movies or maybe found some new ones to watch. Today is the last day to comment on the movie posts for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway. Here is how to do it...

1. You must leave a comment on each night's movie post with your opinion of that movie.
2. Then, on the main Giveaway Post, log in to the Rafflecopter and find the Follow Halloween Movie Marathon entry.
3. You will need to enter the magic phrase "I survived the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween" into the extra info box along with the name you used to post your comments.
Make sure you commented on each movie post or the entry will not count!


While watching the movies on our list I couldn't help but think about...

What have we learned from watching horror films?
1. Only the skinny survive! If you can't fit through small openings you will never escape.
2. If you leave your window/doors unlocked or open then you should not be surprised when the killer appears in your house.
3. If you hear something outside at night don't go out and offer yourself up to it.
4. Do not touch things that fall from the sky.
5. If your wife is telling you something is evil, listen to her.
6. Never trust the local sheriff, gas attendants, doctor, etc. They are part of it!
7. Hit him again.
8. Don't sit with your back to the killer with your eyes shut thinking "It all OK now". It's not. You only hit him once and now he's standing up.
9. After the third time #8 happens...learn from it!


For those who like their Halloween year-round we have more movie reviews each Friday with our Fear Fridays. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between. Please do join us. It will be a scream!


And now for our final feature...

Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites

Night 30 - Young Frankenstein



Tagline - The scariest comedy of all time!

Directed by Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Dracula: Dead and Loving It) and released on December 15, 1974 by Twentieth Century Fox (Rated PG). Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) inherits his grandfathers castle and all it's possessions. Despite his resistance to his grandfather's ideas he quickly changes his mind when he stumbles upon some hidden journals in his grandfather's secret library. With the help of his assistants Igor (Marty Feldman) and Inga (Terri Garr) Dr. Frankenstein will attempt to bring his grandfather's dream to life.

This is the best of the best. A loving homage to classic horror. The comedy is so silly it's stupid but at the same time it's really rather brilliant. Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder are at their finest here and it's a treat to watch them. The sets and atmosphere are beautiful and Peter Boyle is such fun as the monster. This is a yearly Halloween staple at my house and I can't wait to watch it tonight!

And always remember, "Put ze candle back!"


Take a look at the original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie
1. The film was shot with many of the same props and lab equipment as the original Frankenstein (1931).
2. The howling wolf sound on the ride to the castle was made by director Mel Brooks.
3. The idea of Frederick's dart hitting a cat was ad-libbed on set. When Gene Wilder threw his dart off camera, director Mel Brooks quickly screamed like a cat to create the illusion.
4. The scene in which the creature contemplates throwing the little girl into the lake ("No more flowers. What shall we throw in now?"), is a homage to a scene in Frankenstein (1931). That scene was cut and not restored to the original until its video release 50 years later.
5. Gene Wilder conceived the "Puttin' on the Ritz" scene, while Mel Brooks was resistant to it, feeling it detracted from the fidelity to Universal horror films in the rest of the film. It was only when he saw it with a howling audience that Brooks was confident about the sequence.
6. Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle and Marty Feldman appear together in this film by virtue of the fact that their mutual agent had a deal with the movie studio.
7. The shifting hump on Igor's back was an ad-libbed gag of Marty Feldman's. He had surreptitiously been shifting the hump back and forth for several days when cast members finally noticed. It was then added to the script.
8. Rock band Aerosmith took a break from a long night of recording to see "Young Frankenstein" in 1974. Steven Tyler wrote the band's hit "Walk This Way" the morning after seeing the movie, inspired by Marty Feldman's first scene, the "walk this way... this way" scene.
9. When Mel Brooks was preparing "Young Frankenstein," he found that Ken Strickfaden, who had made the elaborate electrical machinery for the lab sequences in the Universal Frankenstein films, was still alive in the Los Angeles area. He visited Strickfaden and found that Strickfaden had saved all the equipment and had it stored in his garage. Brooks made a deal to rent the equipment for his film and gave Strickfaden the screen credit he'd deserved, but hadn't gotten, for the original films.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Night 30 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 30 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

I Wake Up Screaming Compact  $15

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

***When you are done with today's activities make sure to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering the others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***


ENDS TOMORROW ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.


ENDS TOMORROW ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.


Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold during October to Support Supernatural to help A Dog's Life Rescue. The amazing gals at Support Supernatural (as in the TV show) have been fundraising for A Dog's Life Rescue since 2009 and have raised over $100,000 to help animals in need.


Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 30
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

**Solve The Murder Mystery Now**
The body of Miss Death has been found at Raven's Perch Manor. Detective Heathmoor has caught a shadowy figure fleeing into the night. You have the clues now solve the mystery.
 
Hopefully you have been keeping a list of all the clues you have collected. After you find tonight's clue (the last clue of the game) you can submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly (I chose my favorite clues before the game started and they will be the winning clues) will win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can still go back and find past clues in case you missed any. Clues will stay posted until the end of the giveaway.

How to submit your guess.
1. Pick one clue from each of the 5 categories. Week 1 Settings, Week 2 Suspects, Week 3 Rooms, Week 4 Weapons and Week 5 Escapes.
Example ~ In the twilight, Mr. Blue killed Miss Death in the bedroom with a skillet then tried to escape out the window.
2. Find the "Solve the Murder Mystery" entry on the Rafflecopter widget on the main Giveaway Post and paste your guess there. Do not post your guess anywhere else on the blog or it will not count. Guesses must use the actual clues from the Scavenger Hunt or they will not count. If you have any questions just ask. You have until the end of the giveaway to do this ~ October 31st at midnight EST.

Night 30
A shadow flees the scene.
This week you will be collecting clues to the escapes of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Apocalypso.
Need a little help finding the clue? He was so "great" he gets a second clue.


Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

**You still have time to play along. You have until the end of the giveaway ~ Tomorrow, October 31st at midnight EST ~ to leave your comments.**
On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.
**Tomorrow's post will have the "Magic Phrase" needed to take the Movie Marathon entry. You will only be able to take the entry tomorrow before the giveaway ends.**

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up.  

*Last Clue*
Tonight's Clue ~ "Werewolf?"
                          "There wolf. There castle."


Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites

Night 30 - Halloween (1978)
 



Tagline - The Night he came home
              He's come back
              The trick was to stay alive

Written and Directed by John Carpenter (The Fog, Starman and The Thing) and released on October 25, 1978 by Compass International Pictures (Rated R). In 1963 little Mikey chops up his sister on Halloween for no apparent reason. Now it's 15 years later and Michael has come home to Haddenfeild, IL for another round. Escaping from the institution he had been living in, Michael Myers (Nick Castle) returns to his home town to wreak havoc on a group on teenagers. Our leading teen, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), is great at ignoring all the obvious signs that something is wrong and just going about her day. The little boy she is babysitting keep telling her he sees the boogieman outside but he's told to shut up. As all of Laurie's friends start to die around her she starts to realize that indeed the boogieman does exist. And he doesn't die very easily!

**For everyone that guessed When A Stranger Calls for tonight's movie, you all get a gold star too. That one fits the clue perfectly but I went with the one that started it all (released one year earlier) and is a must see for the holiday season.**

This film just works. Slightly dated which adds to the creepiness, a very scary villain and a bunch of dumb teenagers. I mean really, if they were not dumb we would not have much of a movie would we?

The music is great and completely creepy. The atmosphere is perfect and the suspense is high (unless you've seen it too many times and know where everything happens). I love the way Michael just appears out of the dark. Sometimes you don't even realize he's there right away. It really is one of the only characters that truly scares me. While I wonder why I would continue to watch something that bothers me on a certain level, I always find myself coming back to it year after year. I guess we need that healthy dose of fear and preferably on the screen where it can not actually hurt us!

The original and it's sequel are both great. Part 3 has nothing to do with any of the characters from the original but as a stand alone movie it is OK. Not great but decent. Part 4 was the first one I ever saw and I still like that one. Part 5 and 6 get pretty darn bad but part 6 was Paul Rudd's first movie so that's fun. Part 7 or H2O was to be the final chapter of the series. I love this one and it's a fun and great end to everything. But it was too much of a success that Hollywood had to make Part 8. Watch it once if you haven't seen it so you can say you saw them all then forget about it!


Take a look at the original trailer.




Some trivia about the movie.
1. This was Jamie Lee Curtis' film debut.
2. The movie was on such a tight budget that they used the cheapest Halloween mask they could buy. It happened to be a Captain Kirk mask that they spray painted, teased up the hair and readjusted the eye holes. Somehow it makes me feel a little less scared if I just remember it's William Shatner's face there. How can that not make you giggle?
3. The movie the kid's are watching on TV is 1951's The Thing which John Carpenter would remake in 1982.
4. The character of Laurie Strode was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.
5. There are some names that are taken from Psycho in this movie. Dr. Loomis shares the same last name as Marion's boyfriend in Psycho. There is a character here named Marion Chambers a combination of two Psycho characters. And of course, Jamie Lee Curtis is Janet Leighs' daughter.
6. Halloween was shot in 21 days in April of 1978. Made on a budget of $320,000, it became the highest-grossing independent movie ever made at that time.
7. According to screenwriter/producer Debra Hill, the character of Laurie Strode was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Night 29 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween


Welcome to night 29 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Vintage Witch Photo Charm Bracelet  $53

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

***When you are done with today's activities make sure to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering the others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.


Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold during October to Support Supernatural to help A Dog's Life Rescue. The amazing gals at Support Supernatural (as in the TV show) have been fundraising for A Dog's Life Rescue since 2009 and have raised over $100,000 to help animals in need.
 

Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 29
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 29
A shadow flees the scene.
This week you will be collecting clues to the escapes of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Deep Midnight Perfume Oils.
Need a little help finding the clue? A little man on a big mission


Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up. 

Tonight's Clue ~ Babysitting will never be the same.

Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites

Night 29 - Rosemary's Baby 



Tagline - Pray for Rosemary's Baby


Roman Polanski directed this film adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling horror novel. Released on June 12 1968 by Paramount Studios (Rated R). Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her not-so-successful actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes), move into a Gothic apartment building in New York called The Bramford. Of course, they were told of The Bramford's reputation for odd going-ons but they happily ignore it. After an unfortunate "accident" happens their neighbors, Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon), soon invade their lives. After Guy starts spending far too much time with the Castevets he begins to land acting roles. When Rosemary becomes pregnant she starts to become suspicious of her surroundings and the people who inhabit it.

Everything works here. The mood is one of uneasiness and paranoia as we watch Rosemary fall deeper and deeper into the world of The Bramford. Mia Farrow does such a great job that you can't help but feel everything she's feeling right along with her. Adding to the look of the film are the colorful outfits, home decor of the era and the exterior of the famous Dakota building. There is not any gore and little violence in this film. It is a well written and acted horror thriller that is truly one of the best. If you haven not seen it I highly, highly recommend it.  

And yes, my mother's name is Rosemary. Muwahahahahaha!!!


Take a look at the original trailer



Some trivia about the movie.
1. The building used for The Bramford is the famous Dakota building in New York City. Many will remember it as the place John Lennon was living and was shot in front of.
2. Vidal Sassoon created the now famous "Pixie" cut for Mia Farrow to wear in the movie.
3. William Castle (famously know for his low budget movies such as "House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler and I Saw What You Did") owned the movie rights to the novel but Paramount would only agree to green-light the movie if he agreed to only produce the movie not to direct it. He did however have a cameo in the film as "The man near the phone booth".
4. Mia Farrow does the vocals on the title-sequence lullaby.
5. Mia Farrow received divorce papers while filming. She was married to Frank Sinatra at the time.
6. Ruth Gordon won a well deserved Oscar for her role as the over friendly neighbor "Minnie".
7. Oscar-nominated editor Sam O'Steen would later direct the sequel, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby.
8. This was Roman Polanski's very first adaptation, and it is very faithful to the novel. Pieces of dialog, color schemes and clothes are taken verbatim.
9. Mia Farrow actually ate raw liver for a scene in the movie.
10. Rosemary's baby was born in June 1966 (6/66).
11. Tony Curtis is the voice on the phone of the actor who is struck blind by a witch's curse so that Rosemary's husband can get an acting job.
12. Directed by Roman Polanski, whose pregnant wife actress Sharon Tate was murdered in 1969 by Charles Manson and his followers, who titled their death spree "Helter Skelter" after the 1968 song by The Beatles, one of whose members, John Lennon, would one day live (and in 1980 be murdered) in the Manhattan apartment building called The Dakota - where Rosemary's Baby had been filmed.
13.  There is a heatedly disputed rumor that Sharon Tate appears unbilled at the party Rosemary gives for her "young" friends.
14. A scene was shot, but not used, of the characters attending an off-Broadway play. Mia Farrow's and Emmaline Henry's attend a performance of "The Fantasticks" and meet Joan Crawford and Van Johnson as themselves. Along with several other insignificant scenes, this was deleted to reduce the film's running time.
15. Oscar-nominated editor Sam O'Steen would later direct the sequel, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby.
16. According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic were spontaneous and genuine. Roman Polanski is reported to have told her that "nobody will hit a pregnant woman."
17. Roman Polanski was so faithful to the novel that he asked Ira Levin the date of the issue of the New Yorker in which Guy Woodhouse sees a shirt he wants. Levin confessed that he had made up the detail.
18. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) says to Terry Gionoffrio (Angela Dorian), "I thought you were Victoria Vetri, the actress," to which Terry responds, "Everyone says that, but I don't see the resemblance." Victoria Vetri is Angela Dorian's real name.
19. Rosemary's baby was born in June 1966 (6/66).
20. Mia Farrow went on to play the nanny to "devil child" Damien in the 2006 remake of The Omen almost 40 years later. The film was released to coincide with the date 06/06/06 in order to spark interest and gain publicity.
21. Producer William Castle wanted to display a grotesque demon baby at the end of the film when Mia Farrow looks at her child but Roman Polanski (and the other producers) vetoed the idea in lieu of a more ambiguous scene.
22. Casting for this film presented its own problems: Polanski at first saw Rosemary as an "All-American Girl" and sought Tuesday Weld for the lead, but she passed on the role. Jane Fonda was then approached, but turned down the offer so she could make Barbarella in Europe with then- husband Roger Vadim. According to his memoirs, Polanski for a while had the idea of having his future wife Sharon Tate on the part of Rosemary, yet he desisted, thinking it would have been unethical. Other actresses considered for the part were Julie Christie, Elizabeth Hartman and Joanna Pettet. Robert Evans suggested Mia Farrow based on her TV work and her media appeal (at the time she was Mrs. Frank Sinatra). Both men wanted Robert Redford for the role of Guy Woodhouse, but negotiations broke down when Paramount's lawyers blundered by serving the actor with a subpoena over a contractual dispute regarding his pulling out of Silvio Narizzano's film Blue. Other actors considered were Richard Chamberlain, Jack Nicholson and James Fox. Laurence Harvey begged to do it, Warren Beatty turned it down claiming "Hey! Can't I play Rosemary?", before the part was offered to John Cassavetes. For Minnie and Roman Castevet, William Castle suggested Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the famous Broadway acting duo. He even tried to convince Polanski to let him play the part of Dr. Sapirstein, a role eventually filled by Ralph Bellamy.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Night 28 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 28 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. But that's not all! Keep reading to find the next feature on one of our participating shops. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Frankenstein Deluxe Charm Bracelet  $32

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

***When you are done with today's activities make sure to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering the others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.


Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold during October to Support Supernatural to help A Dog's Life Rescue. The amazing gals at Support Supernatural (as in the TV show) have been fundraising for A Dog's Life Rescue since 2009 and have raised over $100,000 to help animals in need.


Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 28
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 28
A shadow flees the scene.
This week you will be collecting clues to the escapes of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Laughing Vixen Lounge.
Need a little help finding the clue? Classic Sci-Fi.


Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up.

Tonight's Clue ~ "What have you done to him? What have you done to his eyes?!!"

Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites

Night 28 - May
 



Tagline - If you can't find a friend... make one.
              Be Careful... She Just Might Take Your
              Heart.


Directed by Lucky McKee (The Woods and Red) and released on June 6, 2003 by Lions Gate Films (Rated R). May (Angela Bettis) has always been "different" and has trouble finding friends. Her best friend is Suzy a creepy old doll kept inside a glass box. May tries so hard to connect with the people around her like Adam (Jeremy Sisto) the boy she likes and Polly (Anna Faris) the girl she works with. But no one seems to understand May and no one sticks around for long. As May's mother once told her "If you can't find a friend make one".

This is a wonderful movie. It's so much more than a horror film. Angela Bettis is so good in her role as May that you can't help feeling for this character. We can all see a little bit of ourselves in her. The wanting to be accepted, trying to get the attention of a certain boy, wanting someone to like you for who you are and all the other insecure feelings we all have. May just happens to be a little closer to the edge of sanity then most. It's both sad and scary to watch her slide into madness.

The look of the film and the music work well. There is some blood but it's not over the top. It's just used effectively. The scene with the blind children, Suzy and May it just hard for me to watch but wonderfully done. The best scene here will come at the very end of the last scene. The first time I saw it I was creeped out. It is so unexpected and so wrong on so many levels!!! It's subtle but very effective. You should really go check this one out.


Take a look at the original trailer.




Some trivia about the movie.
1. Director Lucky McKee has a cameo as the man with his girlfriend in the elevator, both times.
2. Originally the film opened with a lengthy introduction to May as a child. But when the film appeared to be taking too long to get to its point, most of those scenes were cut. The opening with the adult May, specifically the first scene with her and her doll, were shot quickly and only to make the point that May was lonely as quickly as possible.
3. The scene where Blank and May meet was a re-shoot. In the original scene, May was not cold and vague, but angry, and insulted people as they walked by on the street. The scene ended with the two of them in the park. That scene is still in the film but entirely replaced and reedited. It is now the scene where Adam and May meet and have their final talk in the park. The scene is told only through close ups, with both May and Adam glancing off camera. They were originally looking at Blank who was sitting beside her but he was edited out of the scene completely.
4. There is a movie called "Roman" which is directed by Angela Bettis and stars Lucky McKee. A reversal of roles.
5. The teenage girl who asks May "got any cold ones in there" is dressed up as a zombie cheerleader in the exact same costume and makeup from Lucky McKee's very first movie, _All Cheerleaders Must Die (2001) (V).
6. In the very beginning of the film we see young May with a black patch over her left eye (the right eye, from an audience perspective). Skip forward a few minutes and May is now a young woman with a "lazy" right eye (the left eye, from an audiences' perspective).
7.
When May takes a cigarette out of the Bilson box, a camel cigarette logo can be seen along the bottom part of the cigarette.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Night 27 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 27 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. But that's not all! Keep reading to find the next feature on one of our participating shops. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Vintage Skulls Charm Bracelet  $50

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

***When you are done with today's activities make sure to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering the others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.


ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.


 Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold during October to Support Supernatural to help A Dog's Life Rescue. The amazing gals at Support Supernatural (as in the TV show) have been fundraising for A Dog's Life Rescue since 2009 and have raised over $100,000 to help animals in need.



Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 27
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 27
A shadow flees the scene.
This week you will be collecting clues to the escapes of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in OSO Free Jewellery.
Need a little help finding the clue? Helps you climb higher.

Featured Shop - OSO Free Jewelry

OSO Free Jewellery is run by Arnaz from Mumbai, India. Her shop is filled beautiful one of a kind pieces of jewelry.

Pastel Statement Necklace  $68

How did you choose your shop name?
"I got the inspiration for my shop name whilst meditating. I had just gone through major liberating changes in my life thus the name "OSOFREE"."

Earthy Gemstone Necklace  $78

Why did you choose to make/sell what you do?
"I find jewelry making very therapeutic and calming. I love to hear from my clients about how unique their pieces look and how their friends always want to know where they've bought those pieces from, it gives me a high when customers keep coming back for more and to know how valuable my pieces are to them."

Colorful Statement Necklace  $85

What inspires the designs/creations you make?
"I am constantly inspired by nature and all of god's unusual creations. Architecture and landscapes inspire me to a great extent too. I am sometimes simply inspired when i meet interesting people."

Abalone Shell Necklace  $75

What new designs/creations would you like to add to your shop in the future?
"I am soon to launch a line of laser cut jewelry with my own unique designs, combining different materials and techniques."

White And Gold Layered Necklace  $110

You'll have a chance to win a one of a kind vintage inspired statement necklace from OSO Free Jewellery. Enter now on the main giveaway post.

Elegant Metallic Gold And Silver Necklace  $58

Visit OSO Free Jewellery and use coupon code OSOFR20 at checkout for 20% off your order.


Since it's Halloween I asked the shops to share their favorite spooky movie.
"Hannibal, i was horrified by the visuals, so much so that i had my eyes closed throughout the movie and don't have a clue what the movie was about!!"




Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up.

Tonight's Clue ~ If you can not find the perfect boyfriend make one.


Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites

Night 27 - The Hitcher 



Tagline - The terror starts the moment he stops.
             Never Pick Up A Stranger.
             He came from hell. Don't ask him where he wants to go.
             Out on the desert highway, the rule of thumb has a different
             meaning.



Directed by Robert Harmon (They) and released in February 21, 1986 by TriStar Pictures (rated R). A young man, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), is delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego. Unable to keep his eyes open, he decides to pick up a hitch hiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer), standing on the side of the road so he can have someone to talk to. As the passenger door opens Jim utters the infamous line "My mother always told me not to do this". We the viewer know that mom was right but Jim has to learn the hard way.

I used to love Tommy Howell. The I grew up and realized a cute boy does not a good actor make! That aside, this movie is still creepy and fun.

OK...this movie has lots of flaws. Mr. Howell really is not the greatest actor and it does show in this movie. Also, it's quite amazing how the hitcher can always be hiding right where Jim is about to show up. Maybe his character is psychic and they forgot to tell us. It's probably laying on the editing room floor.

The silliness aside, there really are some great scary and creepy elements here. It plays on all of those terrible "what could happen" of traveling, especially on your own. Driving in out of the way places, stopping at gas station and rest areas and crossing paths with lots of strangers. Usually harmless things but we all know the horrible things that do happen to people sometimes and that's what feeds the fear here.

What takes that fear and kicks it into high gear is Mr. Hauer himself. This is the first movie I really noticed Rutger Hauer in and it took a good decade to be able to separate him from this character. He is truly scary as the villain here and it shows just how talented of an actor he can be.

And the scene with Nash at the truck stop is just classic horror film making. Maybe you don't get to see as much as nowadays but it's horrible all the same.


Take a look at the original trailer.




Some trivia about the movie.
1.The writer of the screenplay, Eric Red, has said the story was inspired by the Doors song "Riders on the Storm".
2. In Rutger Hauer's book "All Those Moments," Hauer discusses how producer Ed Feldman settled on Sam Elliott for the role of John Ryder. Hauer states that "Apparently, Elliott was so scary when he came in to audition that Edward S. Feldman was afraid to go out to his car afterward." Sam Elliott had a scheduling conflict and had to back out the role.
3. Rutger Hauer knocked out one of his teeth with the shotgun he was holding during the windshield scene.
4. C. Thomas Howell admitted that he was actually afraid of Rutger Hauer on and off the set because of the actor's general intensity.
5. Screenwriter Eric Red can be seen in a cameo role toward the end of the film, playing a sheriff's deputy escorting John Ryder to the prison bus for transfer.
6. Rutger Hauer did a lot of the stunt driving throughout the movie which amazed the film crew and even the real stunt drivers.
7. The coach stops at "Roy's Motel and Diner" which is a famous landmark on the old Route 66, now interstate 40. It can be found at Amboy, California in the Mojave desert. It is featured in many films and documentaries.
8. On the jail wall you can read "Mort aux matons!" (probably written by a previous prisoner), translated to "Death to the jail guards!" in French.
9. In early drafts of the script, John Ryder had been described as skeletal in nature and so actors like David Bowie, Sting, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton, and Terence Stamp were mentioned.
10. For the role of Jim Halsey, the producers mentioned Matthew Modine, Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez.
11. The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours.
12. Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStar Pictures took over.
13. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries), a graphic sex scene between 'Gal' Galveston (the girl before Nash) and Jim, and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments.
14. To avoid an X rating the ending was changed to give Jim justification to doing what he does.
15. While being arrested outside the diner, C. Thomas Howell accidentally kicks one of the deputies in the back of the head while being slammed on the hood of the police car.
16. When Jim enters the abandoned garage, birds fly in front of the camera for dramatic effect. Though the hole in the floor seems to be intentional, the person visible pushing the birds out from said hole was probably not.