press junket — Cuban-American Lifestyle & Food Blog — My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

I got to attend another press junket a few weeks ago.

Also, it's just recently that I've started actually using the word, "junket" with regularity in coherent sentences. Mostly because I finally looked it up.

jun•ket noun

1. a sweet, custardlike food of flavored milk curdled with rennet.
2. a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.
3. a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.

verb (used without object)
4. to go on a junket.

verb (used with object)
5. to entertain; feast; regale.

So, there's that.

This time it was for the upcoming Marvel Studios release, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (win) and it was in Beverly Hills (double-win).

Of course, you know that we are all super-über-nerdy Marvel fans around here. So, getting invited to the press junket for Captain America and pre-screening put my Mom Points way off the scoreboard. (Thanks for that, Disney and Marvel!)

Cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier -Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson

I managed once again to get a front row seat to the awesome. (Charmed life, you know.) So already this junket was pretty much shaping up to be 2. a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.

The thing that impressed me the most about the Q & A with the directors and cast was how much they love the franchise. Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios and producer of the film is wonderfully committed to staying true to the comic book stories and heroes, which is truly a beautiful thing.

And speaking of beautiful things, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to - The Winners of the Genetic Lotto...

From left to right, Anthony Mackie (Falcon - by far my favorite character, but that's not important right now), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier), and Chris Evans (Captain America).

I'll post a review of the film in delicious detail in a few days, but right now I'm still reeling from being in the same room with all this beauty. Oh, yeah, and Scarlett Johansson was there, too.

My favorite quote of the day came from Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury).

It’s a dream come true. You sit there and read comic books when you’re a kid and you wonder if there’s a world like that. You grow up as an actor and they start making movies like that and you wonder, “How can I get in that movie?” and the next thing you know you’re inside it going, “Yeah!” So, it’s all plus there.

I know. I feel the same way about getting invited to this junket, Sam.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens Friday, April 4th, 2014.

Last week I had the incredible pleasure of participating in the press junket for Disney's "Muppets Most Wanted," the sequel to the 2011 film, the aptly named, "The Muppets."

Here are Tina Fey, Kermit the Frog, Ricky Gervais, Constantine, Ty Burrell, and Sam Eagle.

There I sat at the beautiful Beverly Hilton Hotel as part of the group of invited journalists who were asking pertinent and pointed questions about the filmmakers, the movie making process, their inspiration, the stars talent (<--that's the cool way to refer to the people in the film) interaction with each other and all that.

Muppets Most Wanted director producer song writer

There's my curly haired self as we journalists (wink, wink) are being regaled with stories from Producer Todd Lieberman, Director James Bobin, and Music Supervisor Bret McKenzie.

And there were the filmmakers and the stars talent answering those pertinent and pointed questions in a lovely conversational manner while bantering with each other about things that happened on set and their best moments on the film and all that.

The brilliance of this particular junket was that the Muppets were themselves and never broke that "fourth wall." They were very much themselves, just as you wanted them to be.

Let me just tell you why it's fun to be me at these things - because while I sat there posing as a real journalist, I was truly just a star struck über-fan. I have always loved the Muppets and faithfully watched their show even when I was a young adult, and then later I introduced my kids to them. They are part of our collective pop culture. Their sense of humor always intact.

My favorite part of the panel had to be when Sam Eagle just gushed about how he bonded with Ty Burrell in the film and howTy's accent was so good that Sam actually believed that Ty was French. (I know. It feels a little surreal writing this.) But that's what made the day so lovely. We all embraced the Muppets as the real characters they are to all of us.

Finally Sam excused himself announcing to us that he had been summoned by hotel security and was mindful of keeping all of us journalists safe. Off he went.

The vacancy in the panel was soon filled as Miss Piggy, fashionably late (of course) swished in and made a fashion statement in a gorgeous purple gown.

You can totally picture it, can't you? I know. Shut up.

I suppose I could pull some of the more memorable quotes from the film makers and stars talent, but my take-away from the day was that I was not the only über-fan. It was obvious that everyone who worked on the picture had the same reverence for Jim Henson's legacy and the very real characters people he created so many years ago.

I am a writer, of course. I have been sharing my life and thoughts right here in this space for years. But a journalist? I still have a lot to learn. I am, in fact, pretty green.

And you know what Kermit says about being green... (<--yeah. I went there.)