interview — MomStart

Inside The Hunger Games Movie: Interview with Producer Nina Jacobson

March 22, 2012 By Momstart 26 Comments

An Interview with Nina Jacobson – Producer of The Hunger Games Movie

Fans of The Hunger Games have been waiting and counting down the days until the movie FINALLY makes it to the big screen. I am one of those fans. I fell in love with the books, and I am honestly thrilled with the movie. Getting to interview Nina Jacobson, producer of The Hunger Games, has definitely set this girl on fire! Do you want to know what impressed me most about Ms. Jacobson? It wasn’t that she took time out her surely IMPOSSIBLE schedule to chat with some parent bloggers (though that was VERY cool), it wasn’t that her son was in the room with her (again, just an added “real person” bonus), but she is one of the biggest fans of The Hunger Games out there!

Jacobson’s love of the books is actually what pushed her to make the movie. She read the books when there were only about 100,000 in print. After reading the books, Jacobson says she “couldn’t imagine not making it into a movie.” She knew that she was working with an extremely powerful and ethical book (how she described it), and didn’t want the movie to be done wrong. Over the course of about 3 months, Jacobson talked with Suzanne Collins (author of the book series) and after getting the green light from her, went to Lionsgate. According to Jacobson, Lionsgate wanted to do a “faithful adaptation of the book … and was fully committed from the very beginning.” This all started in 2009, and now, we have a movie!

For those true, die-hard fans of The Hunger Games, you may be worried about what differences there are between the book and the movie. We asked the producer about this. There are 2 big things missing from the movie. First of all, the mockingjay pin comes to Katniss in a very different way. Sadly, Madge is while not in the movie, but it’s a difference that makes sense. Jacobson says, “we needed to build the relationship between Katniss and her sister.” Also, some fans might be disappointed that Katniss’s stylists don’t really come to life in quite the same way. “I love the stylists,” says Jacobson, “but there just wasn’t enough time.” Time was instead spent building the amazing character of Cinna. A trade well worth the sacrifice.

Another concern from many parents is the violence in the story and how that will be portrayed on screen. I’ve even had some parents ask me if the movie will be appropriate for their kid(s). It’s a tough call to make, but when asked about her perspective on the violence in the story (both in the book and the movie). Jacobson says that since the books are recommended for readers ages 12 and up, they have been “very mindful of the fans of the books.” She also notes that when reading, “your imagination really sets the parameters “ for the violence in the books, where as the movie creates the parameters for you. That said, Jacobson was also very aware that they “needed to be true to the gravity of the situation… show how wrong” things were and not tiptoe around it. She worked hard to make sure that the movie did not dilute the level of intensity but also to not “be the capitol” and glorify the violence in any way.

Now for the question lots of fans are asking. Are there sequels planned? The answer to that is yes. The script is currently undergoing some work, but they are really hoping for a November 2013 release for the next movie in The Hunger Games story.

Keep checking MomStart for more on The Hunger Games, more from my interview with Nina Jacobson, and more about a special Hunger Games laptop giveaway!

Thanks to Lionsgate for arranging the interview and to Nina Jacobson for her time!

About Ashley: Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: interview, Movie review, Nina Jacobs, producer of the Hunger Games, The Hunger Games

On-Set Interview with Elizabeth Banks – What to Expect When You’re Expecting

January 30, 2012 By Momstart 4 Comments

By: Ashley

When I was in Atlanta this September, I stood at the back of a huge convention room filled with hundreds of pregnant women… or were they? Sound crazy? That’s because it was! Thanks to an invite from Lionsgate, I was able to go on set as they filmed a pee your pants HILARIOUS scene from the coming soon movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting (this analogy might be funnier for those during pregnancy or suffering from a post baby bladder!). A few other bloggers and I had the chance to watch one of the stars, Elizabeth Banks, in action before we sat down and talked with her for a bit about her role as a mom both on and off the screen.

In the scene, Elizabeth Banks plays Wendy. This character is a mom who has a dream of what a breeze pregnancy will be since she has so much information and insight into the whole process. Wendy runs a specialty boutique in the heart of Atlanta called The Breast Choice where she is a proud supporter of breastfeeding and all things baby. According to Banks, Wendy, “learns that pregnancy is such a different experience for everyone,” and you really see her journey as “she learns not to judge.” I often write about all of those things I thought I knew before having my own son, so that is a character I think lots of moms can relate to!

Sitting in the hall of the Georgia World Congress Center, surrounded by women with baby bellies (both prosthetic and real), Elizabeth Banks graciously offered a few minutes of her time. I was amazed at how genuine and down to Earth she was (not to mention INCREDIBLY funny). Since Elizabeth had literally JUST finished filming another movie 4 days before she started filming What to Expect she talked about her life as a working mom. She works to spend as much time with her son as possible. She considers herself lucky that he’s able to come to work with her, but said she does like every working mom and does the best she can. In an interview with WhatToExpect.com Banks added that she wants Felix (her son) to know that she is passionate about something.

Among the wit, sarcasm, and off the cuff jokes that Elizabeth shared with us, one of my favorites had to be when she was asked about her favorite “go to” book for parenting advice. She adamantly believes that we “don’t rely enough on common sense!” I really agree with her attitude that things happen and you have to learn as you go.

When I asked Elizabeth what had changed for her since entering mommyhood, her response was one I think we can all relate to. “I am learning so much more about the capacity of joy. I didn’t know it was possibly to have this much joy in (her) life.” Sure we all have our not so great moments, but when it’s all said and done, isn’t that the truth? Our kids do bring us joy!

My experience visiting the set of What to Expect and meeting a Hollywood star was amazing. A big thank you to Lionsgate for inviting me and having us out for such a great adventure. Next stop? May 18 to see What to Expect when it lands in theatres! If Elizabeth Banks is ½ as funny on screen as she is off, you might want to make sure you don’t drink too much soda, if you know what I mean!

What to Expect When You’re Expecting pops into theaters May 18 just in time for Mother’s Day.

Travel expenses were covered by Lionsgate.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: book to movie, interview, Lionsgate, movie, movie interview, what to expect, What To Expect When You're Expecting

Inside Funky Monkey Snacks with CEO Matt Herzog

January 25, 2012 By Momstart 13 Comments

By Ashley

This is a product that once you’re heard of, you can’t forget. Say it out loud: “Funky Monkey!” You can’t help but smile a little when you say the name. The bright yellow package, the silly name, the ALL NATURAL ingredients… it all adds up for one delicious (and super healthy) freeze-dried fruit snack. I’m trying hard to steer my family in a more natural, less processed direction. When I had the chance to review Funky Monkey Snacks I was swinging from the chandelier with joy. (Maybe not ACTUALLY, but great correlation to monkeys, right?) Funky Monkey Snacks have no artificial sweeteners, no added colors, no added flavors, are gluten free, Kosher, and 100% natural. There are 3 servings (according to the FDA) of fruit in every ounce of Funky Monkey Snacks. AWESOME!

Atticus and I tried out Funky Monkey Snacks and loved it! They have some smooth flavors like Banana-Mon (Banana + Cinnamon) and things that are a little more tart like Mang-OJ (Mango+Orange). My personal favorite is Pink Pineapple (Pineapple+Guava) because it tastes JUST like a juice I had in Hawaii! That’s how fruity these freeze-dried fruit snacks are.

For this review, the CEO of Funky Monkey Snacks, Matt Herzog (whose favorite flavor by the way is Carnival Mix), took some time out of his day to talk with me about their great line of snacks. I had such a great conversation with Matt who is thrilled to be working for a “good for you” company. I had no idea how young Funky Monkey Snacks were. According to Matt, there was about a year of getting everything together and then 4 years sending the snacks out to the public. Now Funky Monkey Snacks are available at 1/3 of all Target stores and all Whole Foods and I’ve even seen them at our local Safeway. Funky Monkey Snacks are also available online at drugstore.com, greenpolkadotbox.com, and Amazon. When I asked Matt what plans Funky Monkey had for the future, he said that Funky Monkey plans to keep moving with all fruits and experimenting with new flavors. As a cost conscious mom I also asked him how moms on a budget could afford all natural, organic snacks like Funky Monkey. Matt gave great advice by saying that moms should “shop sales, use lists, don’t go to the store hungry, and sign up for coupons when you can.” He let me know that there is a Funky Monkey Newsletter that includes coupons! Make sure you sign up ASAP! I just signed up for mine and can’t wait to get my coupons.

Samples were received.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and active with our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: Ashley, review Tagged With: Ashley, Funky Monkey Snacks, Funky Monkey Snacks CEO, interview, Matt Herzoz

Inside the Movie Beauty & The Beast 3D: Interview with Paige O’Hara

January 9, 2012 By Momstart 5 Comments

Beauty and the Beast 3D enchants it’s way into theaters January 13th, giving audiences the chance to share the magic of their childhood with their children. I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast in the theaters and being amazed at the screen with how far technology had come combining hand drawings with a few computer enhancements mixed in. It was amazing and the 3D is pretty fascinating as well. Today, I had the opportunity to interview Paige O’Hara over the phone and it reminded me of a year and a half ago when I met her in person for the Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray release.

Paige is an amazingly talented Broadway singer who found out she was going to be the voice of Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast just after getting engaged so it was like icing on top of the cake for her at that time. As you can imagine, She was really excited. During today’s interview Paige was asked if she had any idea that Beauty and the Beast would be the hit that it remains to be when she played the part of Belle from the beginning, she said not at first. It wasn’t until the screening when the movie received a standing ovation that people realized it was going to be great. It was so good that it was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Paige said it was quite an exciting time and because the music was nominated as well, she was asked to sing live on stage at the Oscars.

Trying to imagine being on stage like that just makes me really nervous, and Paige said she was shaking with nerves at that point, and Angela Lansbury was standing next to her shaking with nerves as well. She was going to announce Paige on stage, and she leaned over to her and said, someone as old as I am knows when to be nervous and when not to be, and honey with a voice like yours you have nothing to be nervous about. Paige said that it was an amazing compliment to her for Angela to say to her. I’ve heard her sing in person without any music, Paige O’Hara is an amazing, very personable and kind Hollywood talent.

Paige has been doing oil painting for Disney for about two years now and I wanted to know if she had any input in the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast. She said she hasn’t seen the entire 3D version yet, but there wasn’t any animation differences in the characters or scenes. It was just changed into 3D. She said the only scene she’s previewed was the ballroom scene which is my favorite scene in any version!! And her favorite character is The Beast.

What was Paige O’Hara’s favorite scene? Her favorite scene in Beauty and the Beast is when Belle realizes she’s starting to fall for the beast and she sings about the changes they are both going through. How he’s never looked at her that way before. And her favorite song, she couldn’t pick just one. She found Belle to be a very relatable character to her childhood. She enjoyed classical music and theater at a very young age, plus she said, “I really was not looking for a male”. She wanted to travel with her career and have great adventures like Belle dreamed of. Being Belle still resonates with her and she is amazed and quite proud of being part of the Disney Princess legacy. Children meet her and realize that she’s Belle and ask her where her ball gown is. She just loves that. She also loves that she’s going to touch generations and generations through her role of a Princess with big dreams.

Don’t forget…. Beauty and the Beast 3D enchants it’s way into theaters January 13th 2012.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast 3D, Belle, interview, Paige O'Hara, theaters January 13th 2012

Monster.com: Dress For Success Present A Better You

December 9, 2011 By Momstart 50 Comments

My best interview experience happened about 7 years ago. I was looking for a job in retail, something to keep me busy. I was dressed for an interview, which means I had on nice clothes, wore makeup and did my hair, even though all I was doing was picking up applications and then turning them back in. I also had prepared a resume with all of my past experience and in one store they interviewed and hired me right on the spot. I was even hired to be the manager of that store, so it never hurts to be prepared for success by presenting a better you with how you dress.

Fast Forward 7 years I’m still always prepared for success. Whenever I go on a blogging trip I dress as if it’s a job interview. I would love to one day become a corporate blogger or the mom that represent that brand on a long term basis. Meeting these companies face to face is the best way to make an impression, so whenever I’m getting ready to go on a brand trip, I tear my closet apart making cute, fashionable yet quite update and professional outfits for our events.

This is what I brought on my trip to Kissimmee with Global Resort Homes.

Then, I’ve also been known to run through the streets of New York dressed like this for Movie Premieres like War Horse with Disney & DreamWorks. You never ever know what life is going to bring you so always present a better you and dress for success.

Now let’s run through some photos of things you could wear:

Interview???

No way, swimsuits are for the pool

Interview??

No way, this dress is for a night out on the town

Interview:

Yes

Interview

How to dress for Success Video Tips:

If you need even more ideas on how to present a better you then check out Monster.com’s recent release of its professional networking tool that helps young professionals BeKnown. BeKnown basically helps young job seekers develop new professional connections by tapping into the networks of their Facebook friends and allowing them to easily connect, send messages, and see who among their existing contacts is connected to a company or job opportunity they are interested in. There is nothing you can’t accomplish through social media.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Louis.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

This post enters me to win Present a Better You sweepstakes with Monster.com and BeKnown. .

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Beknown, Dress for Success, how to dress, interview, Monster.com

Inside The Muppets Domination with James Bobin

November 25, 2011 By Momstart 15 Comments

James Bobin, the director of the Muppets took the time to sit down with us for an interview about The Muppets and his journey with bringing them back to the big screen. Just in case you don’t know who James Bobin is, he’s a British director and producer and one of the most inventive comedic writers in television. He created, wrote and executive produced the hit series “Flight of the Conchords” for HBO and played a key role in making it one of “Time” magazine’s top five new television series in 2007. The show garnered seven Emmy^® nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series. For his work on “Flight of the Conchords,” Bobin received back-to-back nominations for Outstanding Directing and Writing as well as a Writers Guild Award nomination. Bobin currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Francesca, daughter Madelaine and son Jack.

Way back in January I was on the movie set of The Muppets and I saw a lot of the secrets in making the movie. Making a movie with puppets and puppeteers is quite complicated and takes twice as long as filming a regular movie because they have to cut holes in the set, and film twice as many times. Bobin knew going into this that it would take a very long time filming, but he said,

I knew, coming into this that that was what it would involve ’cause, you know, the moment you start using puppets and you don’t have legs, then the world gets a lot harder for you. So I knew it coming into it.

We also asked him if there was a different in directing Muppets verses people. He said it was the same:

I say none because you are directing them to act in a certain way and humans deal with their emotional things with their face and with puppeteers it is with their hands. But the direction you give is the same.

If you read my review you know that I found The Muppet movie to be great for my generation but it was also a movie to introduce a new generation to The Muppets. So we asked Bobin “What did you do to make the Muppets fresh for this generation?” He said the secret to that was just letting The Muppets be true to themselves and Miss Piggy, well all of them I thought were very true to who they always have been.

But each character would then have their own moment to show the thing they do, so it could make sense if you had no idea who they are.

An interesting fact that I learned was that The Muppets were filmed in England for 5 years.

It was written by Americans and performed by Americans, but the director and the technical staff were all English. And the actual Muppet Theater itself is an old musical theater, which is a London thing rather than a New York thing. So it felt very English in a weird way. But also I think the tone of it, the sense of the, sense of humor is really quite English.

We also asked him what he thought of working with Jason Segel and he said it was quite easy. It turns out that they had the same vision and wanted the same thing for the movie so they got along great.

I mean, you can’t ask for more than that because I mean he really cares about it and so really always gives extra a hundred and ten percent which is fantastic. So as a director I couldn’t ask for more.

The Muppets is now in theaters and you should go see it. It’s a fantastic generational movie.

Disney/Dreamworks paid for my travel and expenses for the press junket.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: interview, James Bobin, movie, The Muppets

Should I be Red or Blond?

November 8, 2011 By Momstart 26 Comments

Last week I had the opportunity to work with Clairol and I interviewed Marie Robinson, Clairol Color Director who knows all about hair color and what looks best. I had a few questions about my hair color and using over the counter hair color. I’m Dye-ing to Know What my Hair Color Alter-Ego is are you?

So what is my hair color alter-ego?

Based on your alter-ego quiz results, you’re a fiery red head and I think you’d look great as one. We tested out your alter-ego on Clairol’s Try It On Studio, see below for a preview of your hair color makeover! It’s a really fun tool you can use just by accessing on the Clairol Facebook “Expert Advice” tab or via the iPhone/Android application. If you’re readers would like to take the quiz themselves, tell them to check out the Clairol Facebook page starting November 7^th!

What about red?

Anything from a lovely medium auburn or dark copper to strawberry would look great, like Nice ‘n Easy Natural Reddish Blonde, 108. You’d get really true results since that’s only two shades from your current color. Here’s what came up for you through TIOS.

I recommend going for a dark copper or light auburn, with your naturally fair skin you have some flexibility. I just wouldn’t advise going any darker.

I love being a light blonde, not a dirty dish washer blonde (is this a good look for me?)

I do like your blonde look as long as you keep your locks in the honey and gold family. Stay away from ash and cool tones as they could wash you out.

Why does my hair turn orange whenever I try to dye it red myself over the counter?

Are you selecting hair color options that say copper or gold on the box? The two Nice ‘n Easy shades I recommended for you have more red tones than orange tones which will help to counteract the orange tendency.

Will dying dry out my hair?

If you color your hair too frequently, whether at a salon or a home, it will dry out your hair. All Clairol boxes, as well as most at-home hair color brands, come with a weekly deep conditioner that helps to seal in the color, adding shine to your hair while conditioning your locks.

Filed Under: interview, personal Tagged With: Clairol, color director, interview, Marie Robinson, Nice 'n Easy, Try It On Studio

Apolo Anton Ohno Trades in His Skates with Subway

November 5, 2011 By Momstart 1,360 Comments

By Reviewer Ashley,

Apolo Anton Ohno Trades in His Skates for the ING New York City Marathon … all with Subway’s Support!

Apolo Anton Ohno, usually known for his 8 Olympic medals in Speed Skating, is making headlines as he prepares to run the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday. Thanks to Subway, I had the chance to talk with Apolo and his trainer via conference call and get a behind the scenes look at his journey to the marathon.

It all started when Subway’s Famous Jared Fogel challenged Apolo (along with some of Subway’s other Famous Fans) to complete the NYC Marathon. With the marathon just around the corner, Apolo is hanging tough and couldn’t be more excited to run.

In the interview, Apolo described his training regimen pretty in depth. It was interesting how different it was from the usual training Ohno was accustomed to with speed skating. He said that it was both a physical and mental change that he had to make in order to prepare for the ING New York City Marathon. It wasn’t about all-out, big and fast, but more about pacing and endurance. What really drives Apolo? Well, he just has that “No Regrets” mantra that he truly lives by. He says that he wants no regrets in the preparation, no regrets in the execution, and no regrets when he crosses the line. That’s a mantra he applies to all aspects of his life. One other big motivator in for the ING New York City Marathon is that Subway is planning to donate $26,200 ($1000 for each mile that Apolo runs) to Special Olympics.

With the perspective of a mom, I was really excited to ask Apolo what advice and thoughts he had on getting moms up, active, and healthy. His answer was both inspiring and completely logical. First of all, Apolo made it clear that he truly lives by his mantra “No Regrets.” The more he talked though, the more it became so specific to moms. Apolo says that the biggest excuse given about exercise is that there is just not enough time. (Which we all know is true…) The fact of the matter though, according to him, is that no matter how small you start, even if it is only 15-20 minutes a day of physical activity, you will begin to feel the benefits and get hooked. That is 15-20 minutes a day that is just for you. Your mind can be clear. It is all about you, your body, and your mind. He continued on to say that once you start exercising regularly, you can feel such a difference in your mental clarity and efficiency. (Who among us couldn’t use more of that, right?)

In addition to exercise, eating right is also key to living a healthy lifestyle. According to Apolo’s marathon trainer Todd Rushworth , having the luxury of scheduled eating every 2-3 hours really is best to increase your metabolism and keep your body burning calories. That doesn’t mean you should be popping a candy bar every few hours, but watching your portion control and eating good foods will help lead you down the road to healthy living. Todd and Apolo both agree that Subway is definitely a great stop for eating healthy when you’re on the go. When I asked Apolo what his “go to” Subway sandwich was, he said the footlong Turkey on Honey Oat – double meat. =) It’s actually making me crave a delicious Subway sandwich right now!

How about you MomStart readers? Could you use a trip to Subway? Well Subway has teamed up with MomStart to giveaway a $25 Subway gift card. Make sure you enter to win the giveaway… and make sure to cheer Apolo on as he runs in the ING New York City Marathon this weekend!

All artwork is courtesy and property of Subway.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Debra G.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this post; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and President of our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Apolo Anton Ohno, athlete, famous fans, footlong, giveaway, ING New York City Marathon, interview, Special Olympics, Subway, Todd Rushworth

Inside The Help: A Conversation with Octavia Spencer

August 21, 2011 By Momstart 32 Comments

On Friday, I had the opportunity to interview Octavia Spencer who played Minny Jackson one of the main characters in The Help. Many of Minny’s characteristics were taken from Octavia and her personality. Octavia described herself as defiantly being feisty and someone that speaks up for herself and that Kathryn Stockett the author of The Help used her as character inspiration.

“Kathryn Stockett very loosely based well, the character of Minny on me and it’s basically my physicalities (being short and round) she met me on a day I would say I was not really feisty, but I was completely irritable.”

After watching The Help myself, I found Minny to be the spunk and humor the movie needed to lighten the subject matter. The Help made me cry my eyes out. I cried and cried as I watched the sets of women the movie portrayed and all of their different struggles. I cried in the beginning as they illustrated that Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) had lost her own son. I cried when Celia lost her baby. I cried when I found out Minny was an abused wife and the cruelty she suffered at the hands of Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). But it was Minny’s feistiness and that very special chocolate pie that brought some sunshine of revenge into laughter.

Most everyone I know that has seen The Help in theaters cried, so when it was my turn to ask a question I had to know if Octavia cried.

“I did cry when I watched the film…there’s so many scenes that made me cry but I have different reactions because they were evocative of other things. So just the last thing without giving anything away…definitely the scene were Minny finds Celia in the bathroom…um..yeah there were just other moments that nobody else knows would be emotionally moved by…I think it’s where ever you are emotionally that you’re response…that would honor a certain response.”

She’s exactly right, being a mother of very young children myself, any scene children were involved in made me get emotional in some way. As the subject matter was very serious Octavia was asked what she hopes people would take away from the film.

“I hope people will take away the sense of humanity and the strength of the bond that these women from culturally different backgrounds were able to come together and basically change their community..I find it remarkable…the triumphs of the young”

When people ask me about The Help, I tell them they will cry, they will get emotional. Almost everyone says, then I’m going to wait to go see it. No, don’t wait to go see it, you need to see this movie in the theater and take all your friends with you. Take your support group with you and you can all cry and laugh together. It’s a movie about hard times, but it’s also about how these women band together and build strength and stand up to the injustices that they live with. There is triumph at the end of the movie.

Photos and interview courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures The Help.

Filed Under: interview, Movie review Tagged With: interview, Octavia Spencer, The Help, The Help Movie

The Help With Stacey Snider Dreamworks CEO: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.

August 7, 2011 By Momstart 18 Comments

“It takes a village to raise a child” says Stacey Snider CEO of Dreamworks movie studio. There is nothing wrong with having help while raising a child. Parents need time to recharge and should take a break. It’s ok to have a nanny care for your children. It’s ok to have a career. Stacey Snider wouldn’t be CEO of Dreamworks without the help she has had in raising her own children. Stacey talked a bit about the help she had with her children.

“Well, you know, I have two daughters. I have a 12 year old and a 14 year old. I first went to Universal after Katie had been born. She had just been born and then I had Natalie two and a half years later…….So I relied on women to help me raise the kids and I’m a pretty good hands on get home, get your butt home mom. But I’ve always felt like more love is good. More people that know them, that love them, you know, I know women who feel threatened by that. That feel that they don’t want — that’s a person that works for me. I feel like Jody, who’s the woman who’s been with us for 12 years, that Jody and my husband and I have raised the girls together.”

“She’s the boss when I’m not there and our values are comparable and she’s leaving us this year. So, you know, it’s funny my big girl graduated from eight grade yesterday and they had that, you know, as only teenagers get. I’m never gonna see my friends again and, all the crying and then she got home and she saw Jody and she said, you’re leaving me too. How can you leave me?”

“You just want your kids to have that love and that wisdom and you’re grateful to the women the help. It takes a village. My mom passed away when I was 17 so I used to get in bed with the night nurse that helped me when the kids were young and I would sleep with her all night. My husband was in the other room. it would be me and her and the baby and, you know, she got me through such a scary time that I just was attached like a little, you know, a little kangaroo. I didn’t want to let her leave.”

For me, hearing Stacey Snider speak about having help was refreshing. Being a blogger sometimes feels like a full time job. Plus the kids are there in my lap and any mother knows that kids are a full time job two, so I have have two full time jobs. I’m terrified of asking for help and constantly worried about the guild I would feel for leaving them with someone else. I never once considered the love they would get from one other person in their life.

In the movie The Help, it was quite obvious how the help really cared for the children. It was so sad to see how the mother’s instead of being grateful for all the help they received were vicious and cruel just because the color of their skin was different. These women were even raised by the help they hired to take care of their own children. Yet, once they were a young adult they suddenly decided that their toilet paper was too good for their help.

Stacy said, “Tate Taylor, who wrote the adaptation The Help and directed it grew up with Kathryn (the author) in Jackson, Mississippi and it’s a kind of great story because they were best friends growing up both raised by single moms, both raised by African American women who were like their moms and both trying to make it in their respective careers” Together they brought a realism to the movie, and Tate wouldn’t let any studio tell him how the movie should be done. We all need help in our lives and I feel that even though The Help is more about how terrible these women were, and how Aibileen and Skeeter were able to rise above their issues, I still walked away from my experience knowing that it’s ok to have help. We should remember to love our help the same way they love and care for our children.

Thank you to Disney and Dreamworks for the hotel stay and transportation to Hollywood to watch The Help.

Filed Under: interview, review Tagged With: Dreamworks CEO, interview, review, Stacey Snider, Takes a villiage, The Help