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Exclusive Interview with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed #AntManEvent

July 20, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

The president of Marvel, Kevin Feige is always a pleasure to interview, and during the Ant-Man press conference he wasn’t even on our schedule. He loves the mommy bloggers so much that he decided to pop in when Director Peyton Reed came in, Kevin Feige popped in as well. These guys are so passionate, focused, and ready for a good laugh which is a must in the Marvel world. I have to start off with a fun fact here about Peyton Reed.

Peyton Reed was an ardent Marvel fanboy. When he was in high school, Reed made a pencil drawing of the punk band he was in, in which he depicted the band as a recreation of “The Avengers #1” cover, where each of the band members was a different Avenger. Perhaps it was a flash of precognition, but Reed drew himself as Ant-Man.

Q : So with Ant-Man being more humorous what was that like to film a Marvel superhero that was humorous?

Peyton: Well, I think that was one of the things that appealed to me about it in the first place was that, you know, particularly in the context of Marvel movies it was sort of a smaller, more intimate Marvel movie and it did kind of revolve around family. Scott Lang, his one goal in the movie is to when he gets out of prison is to “become a part of his daughter’s life.” That’s it, that’s all he wants. And it’s a really strong, relatable personal goal. You know, of course he has to go on a crazy journey and achieve a lot of crazy things to–– to become a part of her life but that’s it.

And I also liked that it was always a part of the movie that, you know, Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd’s characters, they both have daughters and they both have kind of strange relationships. They want to be closer to their daughter. Um, and I like that that’s sort of a bond that they have. They may not realize that that’s their bond at all, but it is. And with Hank Pym and Hope, um, it’s crucial to the success of pulling off this heist they have to repair that relationship. ‘Cause they’re never gonna achieve that goal unless they, you know, they find some peace with each other.

…….. And in particular when you have Paul Rudd at the center of it, um, you know, it’s gonna be funny.

Making this movie there were a LOT of special effects. There had to be to include an army of ants right? Well I really enjoyed learning about how that came about and Peyton shared his experiences.

Peyton: There are I think 1600 visual effects in the movie, it’s a big deal in that regard. But it really is what–– what Marvel does extremely well. I mean, we have Jake Morrison who’s our Visual Effects Supervisor. I spent a lot of time with him and sort of talking about the look of the movie and, um, and the realism that we wanted. We were gonna be doing what’s hopefully the definitive “shrinking movie” for 2015. And ……….it had to look as photorealistic as possible.

FUN FACT: For the scaled-down Ant-Man sequences, the filmmakers used a combination of motion-picture macro photography, still macro photography, motion capture with the actors, motion capture with the stunt people, and for every set they built miniature sets, called macro sets. Macro photography is extreme close-up photography that produces photographs of small items larger than life-size.

PEYTON: And it really had to put the viewer down in that environment. When he shrinks down we were gonna be shrinking the audience down with him. And what would that look like and–– and feel and how are we gonna achieve that? ‘Cause I wanted, you know, if he’s running across a table I wanted to really feel like the texture of the table and all that. So, um, Marvel just happens to employ the top people in Hollywood for doing that and it was a huge education for me in that regard and I, but I–– I loved it. It was, it was, it’s amazing and the stuff that they are able to pull off is, it’s kind of mind-boggling.

FUN FACT: In the spirit of shooting everything in miniature, the macro photography team built a mini clapperboard, the device filmmakers use to help synchronize picture and sound. Originally made of wood and handwritten on with chalk, clapperboards now have digital features, but the one for the macro sets was of the old-fashioned variety.

When creating these films, how do you try to incorporate things to get the women a little more involved and excited about the film as well?

Kevin: Well, I think, I think, uh, all of our movies, have appeal to both. And I think people still feel, this is our 12th movie so I’m not sure why it still seems surprising but in test screenings oftentimes, the movies are rated higher by the women in the audience than by the men. So when people go, “Oh, you know, these, women don’t usually like these kind of movies,” I go, “Well, that’s not true.” I mean, there are men that don’t like them, there are women that, you know, but it’s, but it really is a huge portion of the fan base now. Uh, and I don’t know that we sit and go, “Okay how do we make the movie work for us, frankly.” We want to see, uh, the powerful women because we all have powerful women in our lives. That’s the way of the world. Um, so when it comes to Hope it was a big part of the development of the development of the movie, in particular when Peyton came on board and when Evangeline was about to come on board, um, of how to, you know, a lot, the big question was,

“Well, why isn’t she in the suit?” She could easily be in the suit. She is, she is clearly in the movie–– movie that we’ve made, uh, more capable than–– than, uh, Scott Lang is to be in the suit.

And that became the cruxt of her issues with her dad and her issues with–– with the way that–– that he, uh, the relationship they had growing up. Um, and why it becomes a big reveal in the movie. This is why I’m so adamant about it, um, leading up to the moment at the very end of the movie where he gets over those issues, uh, and she says, which I think is one of my favorite quotes of any of our films, “It’s about damn time.”

AND FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT QUOTE YOU HAVE TO GO SEE THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE OF ANTMANT.

What You Want To Know About Ant-Man #AntManEvent

July 17, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

Ant-Man is out in theaters today and I know why you should take your family to go see it. I will admit I was worried about this one being ok for kids, at least ok for my own kids. My kids for one are sensitive to suspense and when it comes to bugs OMG. My kids will run to the hills screaming like babies to get away from a but. In all honesty I’m just like them so I was worried about how the ants would come across. How did the ants come across? They were almost cute.

So Paul Rudd is in jail for committing a cyber crime. He stole money from rich people that were screwing around with little people and he gave it to the little people. This caught the attention of one rich person in particular, Dr. Hank Pym. Dr. Pym played by Michael Douglas is looking for a replacement. He needs someone to steal his technology back from his old business partners. Along with Dr. Pym’s daughter, Evangeline Lilly, they train Scott to become Ant-Man.

It’s a fantastic adventure story that focuses on family dynamics. We have Scott just trying to have permission to even be around his daughter because he loves her so much. Then we have the father daughter dynamic also between Dr. Pym and his daughter Hope. It’s going to do quite well in the theater as it hits the comic book fans where they want to be hit. It also gets all the men who like to see action movies and see things blow up. Then it also hits the female audience with Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll and Michael Pena as some really dreamy characters. Oh and you have your comedy, Marvel movies allow actors to play with their lines and Paul Rudd had everyone on set struggling to stay in character so you can only imagine how that plays out in the movie.

So go take your family to see Ant-Man, that’s where we’re headed.

Three Funny Guys: #Antourage #Antmanevent Interview

July 13, 2015 by Momstart Leave a Comment

At the core of every good Marvel movie is a good dose of humor. Of course Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd hold their own on camera and in person, but we recently found that the Antourage made up of three criminals that end up supporting Ant-Man are quite the jokesters themselves. These three guys came into the interview room during the Ant-Man press day and had everyone laughing from beginning to end.

About the Antourage:

“Luis is Scotty’s best friend from jail and they both got there in different ways,” says Michael Peña. “Luis is a street criminal while Scott is a white-collar criminal. They were cellmates and became buddies because Luis protected Scott in jail and in return he taught Luis about pulling off heists. So when he gets out of prison and realizes that it’s not easy for an ex-con to get any kind of job, Scott becomes part of a job that Luis has gotten an inside tip on. So they put a team together that includes Scott as well as two new guys, Dave and Kurt, who are both experts in their own fields.”

Describing Kurt, David Dastmalchian says, “Kurt is very talented with computer hacking and he has been in the United States for some time and spent some time in prison at which point he became friends with Luis. Now he’s out and he’s trying to do something positive with his skills, but he is not having a lot of luck with the job market. Kurt is a very fun character who is part of this really cool gang of knucklehead criminals that are trying to turn themselves around. I love Michael Peña, and getting to play with T.I. and obviously Paul is just an awesome opportunity.”

Rounding out the group of ex-cons is Dave, played by Tip “T.I.” Harris, and Kurt, played by David Dastmalchian. “We all met in prison and now that we’re out, we’re all trying to get our lives straightened out and on the right path,” says T.I. “My character Dave’s specialty is transportation, navigation and contingency plans. So when the first plan doesn’t work, Dave is always quick to think of something that can be done to ensure that all is not lost.”

When interviewing three people it ends up being much more like a conversation and a laugh-fest. Here are two questions about their humor in the movie and in their real lives.

Q: So, Michael, your method of story telling is hilarious in the film. Are you like that in real life?

Michael: “No. I’m like, I was always like a quiet kid, to be honest.”

T.I.: “What?!”

Michael: “Yeah. I remember, like I got messages on Facebook and I’m like, out of all people to be an actor you’re the guy? I was captain of the wrestling team and the track team and, you know, I loved sports and stuff. So that’s the only way that I really made friends, but I was like kind of a nerd to be honest – It’s hard to believe, I know.”

T.I.: “You know what, man, me too.”

Michael: “Were you really?”

T.I.: “Hell no.”

Michael: “You know, but he’s a smart dude, though. So I’m like, you never know, you know what I mean? So I’m like… He knows. T.I. being a nerd. I’m like, “I would believe it.” He’s a smart dude. I mean he’s not– he doesn’t rap about like, you know, just dumb shit, you know?”

David: “I know [Michael] has done some comedy work before, but he’s so famous for these killer dramatic roles and stuff. And the first time we’re on set and he started making T.I. and I just bust out I was like that’s not the dude that I was expecting.”

T.I.: “Right.”

David: “He’s so brilliant in this film and I, I love it, yeah.”

T.I.: “Yeah.”

Michael: “I’m imitating this guy – I won’t say his name, but he’s, you know, in my neighborhood. And I had the blessing of going to prep school and living in the ghetto, you know what I mean? It’s what happens or whatever. And so like, I’d travel like an hour in the morning just to get to that school, come back and then all of a sudden the dude’s like, “And how, how did it go man? You want a nickel bag?” And I’m like, “No man, I’m good man. I gotta study and stuff.” He said, “But if you don’t want a nickel bag it’s cool.”

And then you know he’s the kind of dude that, you know, he got a girl pregnant when he was 13. Yeah, which is amazing, but he’s a really great dad…when he’s not in jail. So, it was like I was waiting for a movie to put that character in there because he’s like, the most optimistic criminal that I’ve ever met in my life. But he like, you know, everybody loves him, but at the same time like you gotta’ be kidding me. So that’s Luis.”

Q: You guys are pretty hilarious in the movie. Can you share a moment or a funny scene that you all really enjoyed filming together?

T.I.: “I’ll do that…”

Michael: “Sorry, I’m still on Instagram mode, dude. Look how awesome it is man. Are you kidding me?! Get out of town.”

T.I.: “All of the scenes, you know, that we did together, to me, were funny. A lot of the van stuff. You know, remember the first night we were in that van, the van in San Francisco?”

Michael: “Instagram bro, [I’m on] Instagram.”

Antman press with moms!!!!!

A photo posted by Michael Pena (@mvegapena) on Jun 27, 2015 at 12:06pm PDT

T.I.: “In San Francisco, I think it was the scene when Scott was breaking into Hank Pym’s house for the first time. I mean, the stuff that didn’t make it on screen now that’s…that’s the goal. That’s the action.”

Michael: “I mean, that would be another kind of movie.”

David: “It was intimidating too. It’s scary. Because I… we were big fans of these guys and everybody in the film and so the first time we’re sitting there it was in– yeah, it was in San Francisco right?”

T.I.: “Yeah.”

David: “…in the van. And they started to just go and rif, too. And they made me feel really welcome immediately, which was a great feeling. You feel more creatively free to do that, but like there were some jokes, obviously not all of ‘em can make it in the film, but these guys…”

Michael: “ …of very poor taste.”

T.I.: “Yeah, of very poor taste. Oh, man.”

David: “And dancing; we had some fun dancing.”

T.I.: “Yeah. And the, you know, the jokes every time he would make a joke because him and Luis and Scott were cellmates, you know, supposedly.”

Michael: “No, we were cell mates, bro.”

T.I.: “Yeah. So every time they’d make mention of ‘Yo, it’s just like when we were in the cell’ and we were like, “Oh really? Really.” You know, things like that.”

Michael: “You get close, bro.”

David: “And then you don’t talk about cells.”

T.I.: “Yeah, exactly.”

Michael: “Yo, the first rule about prison is, you don’t talk about prison. Unless you wanna’ talk about prison.”

ANTMAN COMES TO THEATERS JULY 17

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On The Marvel Ant-man Set with Judy Greer #Antmanevent

June 24, 2015 by Momstart Leave a Comment

On Monday I gave you our experience as we drove over to the house set where we were in Atlanta Georgia in a residential area. The studio was using a house to film in that day because they were filming a birthday party scene where Paul Rudd who plays Ant-man was late for his daughter’s birthday part. He was late because he wasn’t even invited to the party but he loves his daughter so he went as soon as he found out about it. This is the scene we spent most of the day watching. He arrived at the house where Judy Greer who plays his ex-wife Maggie and Bobby Cannavale who plays Paxton wouldn’t let him in at first. Maggie lets him in though so he can see his daughter and give her his birthday present. It seems that to both of them family is important.

While on set we had the opportunity to interview Judy Greet to learn more about the relationship and how she came to this project. Here are the things I learned from her.

How did you get involved with the project?

Judy : Um, old-fashioned. They just auditioned. But I did get the part within I think less than 24 hours, which for a movie audition is very rare. Usually TV happens really fast. But for films, and especially a film like this scale. There’s so many producers and studio executives that it usually has a lot of people it has to go through. But, yeah, I found out the next morning. And that was my first audition in a really long time ’cause I’d been working a lot. So I was feeling pretty good about myself. I’m not gonna lie.

Did you know what you were auditioning for?

Judy : Yeah, I just wasn’t allowed to read the script ahead of time. But I knew the movie and Paul.

Why did you want to audition for it?

Judy : I really love Peyton Reed. There was another director attached to it before whose name I totally forget, which is bad. But I was really excited to work with Peyton because he’s I think really funny. And I think what some of these super hero movies lack is like a genuine sense of comedy in them. And I think that the serious like super hero movies are great for like the super fans.

But it’s the comedy that’s gonna keep us interested in them when we’re watching them over and over with our kids or whatever. You know, like Guardians of the Galaxy was so funny. And so I would watch that a bunch if it was on television. And you know how kids just– they fuckin’ watch the same thing over and over and over. (everyone laughed) I mean over and over. I’m like we have seen this episode of Good Luck Charlie so many times. But, um, yeah, so I was excited about the comedy. And with Paul being Ant-Man I knew it was gonna be funny.

Did you have to do any research for your part?

Judy : Well, I did do research because they gave us information about it. But, you know, my role isn’t really in the like stunty super hero parts of the movie. So I feel like I can get away with, um, not having to know too much.

Can you tell them a bit about your role and the character you play?

Judy : Yeah, so I play Scott Lang who’s Paul Rudd’s character’s ex-wife. And we’ve sort of established that in our relationship when I got pregnant we were gonna kinda live the straight life. Ok, so– so basically we were married when we were really young. Scott Lang’s character is extremely intelligent and able to do kind of like I don’t know like cyber law breaking.

And when I got pregnant I asked him to stop. And he didn’t. And he ended up getting arrested and going to jail. So we got a divorce. And I had our baby. Well, I already had the baby. But we got a divorce. And I, um, met Jim Paxton, Bobby Cannavale’s character. And we’re engaged. And so our relationship is good. It’s just we’re not married anymore. But I think we had a really amicable divorce.

So we’re friendly. And I want him to see his daughter. And I want him to have custody. And I want that stuff most– you know, for my daughter. But he can’t, you know, put her in danger anymore, which is what he I felt was doing by breaking the law when, you know, she was a baby. So that’s my role. I’m like you have to get a job and be responsible. And he’s like, ugh!

Do you see a lot of similarities in yourself when you put yourself into the character?

Judy : Yeah, I always do. I– I don’t know, it’s just easier if I just kind of play a version of myself. And, um, yeah, even like the scene yesterday that we shot, which was a really cool scene where we confront Scott about having to shape up in order to see his daughter Cassie. I think I feel like I wanted her to be like cool and strong and compassionate.

It’s not like– this guy’s not the devil. You know, he just messed up. So, I felt like that was definitely coming from me ’cause I don’t know that the text– the text maybe was supporting someone who was more emotional. And I wanted her to be like a strong person and in her own way like a positive influence on her ex-husband. I also find that to be more layered and interesting…..

So being your first Marvel like feature what is this like for you?

Judy : Yeah, um, well, I don’t know. It’s really fun to be here. I can tell you that. Like it’s just been such an easy job because everyone’s nice and cool. And there’s …….. I don’t know. It just seems like we have time to figure out the material. And, again, you know, I’m not in like stunty super heroey scenes. So I– that might be a different answer. But for my scenes, they’re more acty and more about like inner personal relationships.

And I feel like they’re giving us a lot of space and a lot of time to figure those out. And I really like that. But it’s also really fun because the combination of Peyton and Paul Rudd and Bobby Cannavale is awesome. They’re really funny.

We’ve heard you guys kind of cracking up and making jokes. And Paul Rudd was calling you dense and all of that. Was that something that was kind of consistent throughout filming?

Judy : It has been for me, yeah. It seems like it….I came back. I was gone for a minute. I shot some stuff, and then I left town and came back to finish up this stuff. And when I came back, uh, it was Friday, last Friday. We shot a really long day. And I got in Thursday evening, like slept, got up, came. We shot like 15 hours. And I was like so tired at the end of it. But we were all still hanging out and making jokes and having fun like what you saw today.

And I then I remembered….God….Paul’s been doing this all week. Like I’m like ugh! Like he’s been doing this all week like shooting 15-hour days all week for weeks. And he’s still like fresh and fun and funny and like making jokes and so nice to everybody. So, yeah, it– it feels like that’s just who he is. And same with Bobby and Peyton.

Judy was very kind to give us her time in between takes as well. People think acting is so glamorous and it is in a way but there is so much work that goes into it. I mean imagine working 15 hour days all week. Doing interviews while the set is reset and then going right back to work. Plus each seen is shot over and over again, then they change the camera angle and you do it again.

Ant-man is in theaters July 17th.