First of all, thanks a lot Taylor Swift for canceling the interview. You were way up the list of people I wanted to meet that weekend. Oh well. Someday. Someday…
As you’ll remember from yesterday’s post, I went to a press junket for The Lorax toward the beginning of February. Today I wanted to share parts of the group interviews we had with the talent and creators.
Now, I’m kind of a geek. Just sayin’. And when I go to these things, I’m usually more excited to hear from the directors and producers or the writers than I am the talent. It really fascinates me what drives people to make certain films, what drives them to make them the way they do, and then what drives them to a McDonald’s drive-through for a grilled chicken snack wrap when they get hungry.
Sorry, I’ve got food on the brain. Back to the post.
So, we got to interview Chris Meledandri (producer) and Chris Renaud (director). It was a great interview. The fun things about our roundtable of parent bloggers is that it’s usually more of a discussion than an interview. A couple things I thought were interesting.
After screening the movie, several of us got into a discussion of why it was rated PG instead of G. None of us could really see anything in it that was inappropriate for children. None of us thought it would be too much for any of our children of any age. So why PG instead of G? Somebody asked this to the Chris & Chris so that we could settle the score once and for all. Melandandri’s replied that it was as much a mystery to them as it was to us.
Before the interviews, we had also gotten into a discussion of the music. None of us knew from watching previews that it was a musical, and most of us were very pleasantly surprised. It was brought up at the interview, and Melandandri talked about how important the music was to Dr. Seuss when he did The Grinch, and how they really wanted to do Seuss right.
I can’t tell you how happy I was with the music in this film. There is a big part of me that is sad at the general disappearance of music in not just children’s movies but in movies in general. I often wish that my kid was growing up with the movies from 20-40 years ago. This movie gives me hope that modern technology can still mix with the old (awesome) ways of doing things.
Anyway, after the writers (which I told you about yesterday) and the directors/producers, we got to interview a pretty amazing cast. Danny DeVito, Ed Helms (Andy from the Office), Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, and Rob Riggle.
I won’t go into every interview. That would take way too long, so I’ll hit the highlights that I thought were notable.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE WITH LOTS OF FUN PICTURES
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lovindmutts
Zac IS quite a cutie. Loved him in 17 Again (as Matthew Perry's younger self). He did an excellent job picking up some of Matthew's manerisms. I hear his next movie is based on a book The Lucky One (by the author of The Notebook), as the lead, of course (a returned Iraqi vet). I read the book a while back- very good story!
ADramaticMommy
I just want to go on record and say that *I*did not swoon one bit over Zac. :D
casunshine365
Hahaha! sounds like a blast. who knew blogging would bring you so many new and interesting experinces? just had to laugh about the Zac Efron experince. i think we should coin that term too, "The Zac Efron Experince" . It was one of those moments where I was like oh ya you can tell Dan has a son by that comment and not a daughter-- these girls go crazy over him... and apparently the women too? lol! hilarious. A high school buddy of mine works as engineer at the Nickelodeon Annimation Studios and always posts the start sturck pics. I believe he has a very similar pic of him and Danny DeVito-- he too is a mere 6 foot something too and he always towers over everyone he gets pictures with. wait I can't say everyone because he has one with him and Connan O'Brien, and they are about even in height, man that Connan is tall! lol!
p.s. note the happier upbeat tone of my comments today--- I'm trying to keep my head up and what not... fake it till you make it I guess?
troismommy
I have to admit I got a little choked up at the parts with Danny Devito and Betty White. Amazing. I hope you remember these special events that you get to do - they're pretty special.
http://troismommy.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/its-official-why-this-one-purchase-makes-me-feel-old/
FeliciaPMcNiff
That was a great read. thanks so much for sharing that. As for the PG....I think it could be a message that children need supervision at the movies. G used to mean that good girls and boys could be dropped off by their parents to see the show. No one wants to be responsible for anyone elses kids even if the kids are where they should be. Times have changed on this one.
I just looked it up on IMDB. It says it's rated PG for brief mild language. So there may have been a "hell" or something said once somewhere in the movie. I know How to Train Your Dragon was rated PG for the same thing. The Viking king says "all hell will break loose," so the movie got a PG rating for that one word.
southernmarylandtrish
What an awesome opportunity for you and fellow bloggers! I can't wait to see the movie with my girls. You're never too old for Seuss. By the way, your hair was FLAWLESS that day!
Single Dad Laughing
moderator
southernmarylandtrish Haha. It must've been that sexy California weather.
casunshine365
southernmarylandtrish
just a quick shout out to you southernmarylandtrish! I lived in Lexington Park for 3 years. Miss my SoMD buddies!!!
zedseverywhere
I LOVE Betty White and I'm so jealous that you got to meet her. lol.
MarciaBohn
I agree, who needs Taylor Swift when you have BETTY WHITE. I would give anything to meet her....one of my favorite actresses of all time...next to Lucille Ball. The Golden Girls is a classis show and no matter how many times you see the episodes (just like "I Love Lucy") you still laugh...even when you know the joke that's coming next. Sounds like an awesome experience. Say hi to the little man.
I used to work in Hollywood (b4 moving to NY for now) & absolutely LOVED Betty White!!! She's so rare today...very few ppl out there like her! She's sweet, grounded & absolutely hilarious! LOL I'm smiling just thinking of her & her amazing personality! Before Ann Jeffries passed they had a benefit for her (too many ppl there to name off) but between Betty White & Debbie Reynolds it was a great time. :)
LanaMarie
I had not heard Ed Helms was in it. He plays my favorite character in The Office, i think he's great! Honestly (and you should tell this to the movie people so you get invited to more press junket stuff), i am a big fan of the book and therefore had every intention of NOT seeing the movie, out of fear it would ruin it for me. Now i am looking forward to watching it with my two little boys, hope the library has a copy in so we can read the book first :D
JoeRay
This was a fun read. Great shot w/ Betty White.
Sarah Mickalson
Oh man! Theres that divorced twice comment again! Man your making me feel like i should be self conscious about that....but im not. All it means is you had the guts to try it twice and failed twice but in the end you gained yourself....so wasnt it worth it?
caroline;)
SarahAnderson your right there is nothing to be self conscious about! Who cares! I don't understand the big deal. So things didn't work out that's all!
down_with_it
caroline;) I don't think it's a big deal, but maybe it is for Dan. It seems he's still figuring out how to deal with it. And what better way than to get input from people who have been there. Especially people you admire and respect. He's on his own journey.
While it might not be a big deal to you because you just want him to know that there's nothing inherently wrong with it and that we don't judge him (which is well intended and admirable, btw), saying it's "no big deal" can easily make him feel invalidated or that he shouldn't feel the way he feels.
I don't know if any of this is even right, but I felt compelled to make this point.
Single Dad Laughing
moderator
down_with_it caroline;) You're right. For sure. It has been a big deal for me. In my community and family divorce is "not an option" and they mean it. People who get divorced are considered sinners and quitters. Don't believe me? Scroll a couple posts back and you'll see a comment from my sister saying "divorce is never an option." Haha. It's engrained into us from the time we're children. So is it hard to not define myself by it? Absolutely.
Single Dad Laughing
moderator
SarahAnderson The two-divorce thing still teases me, sure. I've come to grips with most of it, but at the end of the day it's left me with much to ponder because I did feel like I gave everything to both marriages. Would I trade it? Not in a million years. I love my life right now. LOVE LOVE it. And those two divorces led me to really absorb the bigger picture and write some pretty self-changing things that will help me not just not repeat the past, but also help me to live a fulfilling and happy future. I see Betty White and I see true happiness. And I'm just curious how she came to deal with it, that's all. :)
casunshine365
Single Dad Laughing
seems like a hard topic to squeeze into an interview about the Lorax movie though. I would imagine it could create such a huge side discussion that it might have taken away from that particular interview. I so think it would be awesome if you sent something to her telling her you would love her input for not only yourself but your blog. I know it may sound like a crazy idea, who goes asking stars to do such things, but come on-- you could totally pull it off. no harm in asking, right? worse that can happen is you get an no.
sarah.naumcheff
If you ever want to watch something good that Zac Efron was in then AVOID High School Musical.. Its pretty much horrible.. I suggest 17 again, which is quite hilarious! You can totally borrow it from me, but it might be too much of a hassle to mail it to and from utah and california
BlairSanne
sarah.naumcheff Agreed, 17 Again is a great one! I have it on DVD. IDK about High School Musical - it has its own charms. Personally, I like super cheesy stuff from time to time. Plus Sharpay is just... ugh, Sharpay. No, I really can't say that I like or dislike those movies.
BlairSanne
Haha, you go on about loving musicals, but don't know that Zac Efron is from the High School Musical series. I love it!I'm excited, though, I had no idea it was a musical! Eeee! I loved Tangled recently for doing that very well - have you seen it?ALSO, if you're interested in the American film industry ratings, you should watch the documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" which discusses the small group of seemingly-questionably-qualified people who rate every movie for the US. You'll find they're not very consistent.My guess might be that the movie pushes environmental activism too much, but having not yet seen it, hard to say.
JoyHamelink
Sounds like you had a great experience.
BTW, Zac Efron is probably mostly known for High School Musical. I find it funny that you said you want more music in movies, and then didn't know who he was... Just sayin' ♥
caroline;)
I love Betty White! I would have turned in to an babbling idiot and would have giggled the whole time wanting to as her about her moist muffin,(Saturday night live)
caroline;)
*ask her, not as her! I really must learn to type!
Erzabet
You lucky S.O.B ! Sounds like you had a great interview with awesome people who have a wonderful grasp
on the environment and what their place in society can do to spread the message!
CaitlinGrace
The Lorax is one of my all time favourite books and I lost count of how many copies we went throughwhile my kids were little becuase they literally fell apart from too much loving! I even knew the book off by heart. I just read it on to cd for my eldest granddaughter ( no more copies are going to fall apart on my watch) and sent her the last copy that I had that was still in one piece. It was her dad that loved it the most out of all my kids So great that you got to interview them all ( except taylor swift!)
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"The Adoption Option" TV Show
Great Read! (as usual)
Claudia Marshall
I LOVE Danny Devito.
Stacey Robertson
Betty White is the best! I'm so jealous! :)
Krystal Taillon
I'm watching The Lorax right now with my kids! I can't wait to see the new one. It was one of my favourites as a kid (though it makes me incredibly sad, lol).
Brenda Hardie
Love this article Dan! What a lucky (blessed!) guy you are to have been in presence of such astounding individuals! Thanks for sharing with us :)
Maisha Hudson
Take your kids. The movie was great!
Steve Bouchard
Have you checked out the Lorax App for your iPhone or Droid?
Rebecca Price
And today, I'm reminded of how much I love, love, LOVE Danny DeVito. Troll foot. Heh. And Betty White? GAH! You lucky son-of-a-gun. (I am also reminded about why I'm so lukewarm about Taylor Swift. MEH.) Is there verification you ACTUALLY met Mr. DeVito and Ms. White? Because really...with how much of a giant you are, you look a little photoshopped. Where's Gollum when you need'um? :lol:
Mary Ellen Masterson
Very Cool! Congrats!
Wendilynn Kerezman
I can't hear anything about talkign to trees without thinking of this hilarious skit the Smothers Brothers did called "I talk to the trees". Makes me laugh every time.
Nikki Freeman
Great article! I really enjoy your writing... and as a very tiny person myself... I will tell you us "armrests" usually have a pretty good sense of humor about being used as one! :) (You had me falling out of my chair about the "kid goo"....thank you for not being the only one with OCD around here :D ) What a cool experience! Is Noah just dying to get out there and see the movie?
Audra Whitton
I am so jealous that you got to meet Betty White!
Cathy Nava
10 toes up on Danny Devito, oh a thumbs up on Betty White, she is so cute!
Erin Wilson Ortega
Betty White?!? I think I might hate you a little..ok, probably not, but, wow, am I ever JEALOUS!! And I agree with Nikki- who needs Taylor Swift when you have Betty White!
Nikki Rhinard
Gah! Forget Taylor Swift! Betty White was the one I'd be eager to meet!! Woot! Golden Girl hot in Cleveland! Totally stoked to see this with my boys.
Loureen Kelly
DR*
Loureen Kelly
The lorax is my fave Sr Seuss book !
Christie Ragan MacMullin
what's an unless?
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Ahhhhhhh..... 'My ZacE' as I call him. LoL! - When I first saw Zac Efron I had to look him up to make sure I wasn't into an under-ager. I loved "17 again" AND "Charlie St. Cloud" - Watch them! Great cast all-around - looking forward to this!
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