In 2011, we were all pretty dang excited about The Muppets coming to theaters. I mean, of course we were. There was nothing (shy of a Muppets From Space debacle) that would keep us from enjoying the heck out of the film. So the only thing we could do was to find a way to increase our enjoyment. And the way we did that was to gather Muppet fans together to share the moment.
So on the day of the premiere, we invited Muppet fans from all around the New York City area to join us for a Muppet Fan Screening at a central movie theater. A bunch of people showed up (not as many as we’d hoped, mainly because it was the day before Thanksgiving and most people had already left town), and our pal Dave Hulteen even shot a video with everyone’s reactions. It was a blast, and now we want to repeat it.
But we don’t just want to repeat it for the locals. We also want to extend the Muppet Fan Screenings across the country! We reached out to some of our friends in other large cities in the USA, and they’ve agreed to help out with this project. Hopefully we’ll extend this list to more locations, so keep checking back here throughout the week to see if your hometown will have a Muppet Fan Screening too!
The plan is this: A half hour or so before the film starts, show up to the theater and look for your ToughPigs representative. They’ll be gathering fans, and then about 15 minutes before the film starts, they’ll head into the theater to guarantee that everyone can watch together. If possible, we’d love to see a group photo of everyone who showed up! And that’s it! You’ll get to hang out with your fellow Muppet fans and then have someone to geek out over the movie with after it’s over.
We highly, highly, highly recommend pre-ordering your tickets. We can’t guarantee seats, and we’d feel terrible if you missed out on seeing the movie on opening day.
Here are the details on the Muppet Fan Screenings (please note that the Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Chicago screenings will be on Saturday, March 22, and the Phoenix screening will be on Thursday, March 20):
New York City
AMC Loews 34th Street – 312 W 34th Street
7:15pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representatives: Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe
Facebook event page
Los Angeles
El Capitan Theatre – 6838 Hollywood Blvd.
7:30pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representatives – Matt Wilkie, Rachel Herrick and Raymond Persi
Bonus: Screenings at the El Capitan are preceded by a live show with Kermit and Miss Piggy singing on stage, and you can view props on display from the movie! Also, attendees will include people from LA’s Puppet School, so feel free to bring your own puppets!
Facebook event page
Portland, Oregon
The Roseway Theater – 7229 NE Sandy Blvd.
7:15pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representative: Carolyn Wiesner
Facebook event page
New Orleans
AMC Clearview Palace – 4486 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metarie LA
7:20pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representative: Justin Tonglet
Facebook event page
Washington, DC
AMC Loews Georgetown – 3111 K St NW
7:30pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representative: Arianne Gallagher
Facebook event page
Dallas
Regal MacArthur Marketplace Stadium – 8505 Walton Blvd., Irving TX
7:15pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representative: Nick Wheatley
Facebook event page
Philadelphia / Cherry Hill, NJ
Regal Moorestown Mall Stadium 12 – 400 Route 38
10:10pm, Friday March 21
ToughPigs representative: Jeff Epstein (will be wearing the “Muppetational Mosaic” t-shirt)
Facebook event page
Atlanta
Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station – 261 19th St NW
7:30pm SATURDAY March 22
ToughPigs representative: Elizabeth Leary
Facebook event page
Salt Lake City
Cinemark 24 Jordan Landing – 7301 S Jordan Landing Blvd, West Jordan, UT
4:55pm, SATURDAY March 22
ToughPigs representatives: Quinn Rollins and Chase Beecher
Facebook event page
Chicago
Regal City North Stadium 14 – 2600 N Western Avenue
7:20pm, SATURDAY March 22
ToughPigs representative: Sam O’Rama
Facebook event page
Phoenix
MetroCenter 12 – 9615-A Metro Parkway West
9:50pm, THURSDAY March 20
ToughPigs representative: D.W. McKim (look for the guy in the black Sweetums shirt)
Facebook event page
Don’t see your city on our list? Send us an email if you’re willing to host a Muppet Fan Screening!
Many, many thanks to our friends who have volunteered to help us out with this project! We’re looking forward to seeing all of you at the movies!
Click here to watch with your fellow fanatics on the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
