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Kaya Scodelario A Strong Female Character In Pirates Of The Caribbean

May 30, 2017 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Kaya Scodelario has often played a strong female character on the big screen and there isn’t an exception in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. In Dead Men Tell No Tales she plays “Carina Smyth” an intelligent scientist confused as a witch, because of course females shouldn’t be educated. We sat down with Kaya Scodelario and she shared her thoughts on a few things.

Kaya Scodelario Shares All Things Pirates Of The Caribbean

Describing her character:

She’s a young woman who doesn’t have any family. She’s an orphan, but she’s really tried to carve out a life for herself. She doesn’t let that deﬁne her. She wants to study at university. That’s her main goal. She wants to be an astronomer. She wants to study time and space and stars and the universe.”

On Being one of the only females on the set:

Yeah I mean I’ve been, I shouldn’t say lucky because it should be like that- but the guys have never made me feel like the only woman, especially on Maze Runner. And with this one too, they always treat me exactly the same. I’ve never felt like, you know, I’ll walk on the set and they’re like the girl is here, we have to stop farting (laughing). They continue to do that anyway. I’ve grown up with guys; I love them. My best friends are guys, and I like that energy. I think once they get over you being a woman, it can be kind of bonding and nice and but yeah it was interesting. And the last two movies have been very male dominated.

photo credit Disney

On Playing a strong female character:

It’s always important for me. Every role I look for a woman that I would have liked to have seen at thirteen on the big screen. And it’s a huge responsibility because people forget in blockbusters that we’re not simple, there are multilayers, and a lot is going on, she has a lot of that. I mean, she’s an orphan, she’s a survivor. She’s also stubborn and argumentative, but also funny and flirty.

There’s so much to her. And I’m grateful that they wrote her this way. Because usually with a film this size, unfortunately, there isn’t time to layer out a character too much. I made a real effort to her to try and hit all those beats; it’s something that I hope my son grows up watching and understands in women, that we aren’t just the Disney princess or the love interest or the damsel in distress and she’s certainly not any of those things.

Her character also wants to find herself and make her father proud even though she doesn’t know who he is. All she was left with was a book she thinks was from her father.

SPOILER ALERT: Barbossa is her father.

The scene where Carina realizes that Barbossa is her father when she sees the tattoo, that was a very emotional scene.

On bringing those emotions forward?

Well, I have a real personal connection with all that. My father lived far away from me, and he’d always say if you look up at Orion’s Belt, we’re both looking at the same star. (She gets a little emotional). Sorry, I know. And he passed away.

So it was very easy for me to tap into that moment and also to get to work with an actor like Geoffrey. He’s, well you look in his eyes, he’s wonderful. He’s just a giving actor. A film like Pirates, you don’t expect to have that really strong emotional beat, especially as an actor, to get a chance to in the middle of all this craziness just kind of go quiet. And really focus on that relationship, it was an honor. I think we both really thought it was important and we wanted to treat it with as much respect as possible.

On Doing Stunts:

I love to do all that stuff. Because it’s not things, you do every day in life. And to get the opportunity to do it, when you have a great crew that you know it’s going to be safe and it’s going to be done the proper way. But I injured my shoulder. I didn’t break, but I popped out something in there on the Black Pearl of all places. And so afterward it was kind of tough we had about four weeks of filming still so I had to wear a sling in between takes and I had to go quite easy on it.

On working with Johnny Depp:

It’s wonderful. I mean when you watch the movie, you get to see the one take that’s selected, we get to see the fifty-five other ones that he’s come up with on the spot. And it’s he’s just a genius, he really is, there’s a reason why he’s so successful. And he’s good at what he does. My first day on set with him, I had to be really serious in a scene, and I just laughed and laughed and laughed and I was like ‘I’m going to get fired, there’s no way they’re going to put up with me,’ he just brings it every single time.

On dealing with Dyslexia:

Well the biggest thing for me was just knowing that I wasn’t the only one. I remember when I was twelve and diagnosed, I was freaked out by it because I didn’t understand what it was. For me, it meant I’m dumb, that’s like all I knew. I thought well this just means that I can’t ever achieve what other people can. And then they had a poster up in my school saying Tom Cruise has dyslexia.

And that instantly to me was like, oh okay, well he’s doing all right. Maybe I’ll be fine, and it’s just about having an open conversation about it. There are great resources out there, and my school was wonderful. They gave me extra time in exams. I had a one to one teacher in classes for my reading because that’s where I struggled, and just have an open conversation about it and then to find support groups and to make sure that the school also understand what it is. Because it’s kind of a taboo subject, we don’t really know much about it. So the more we can discuss and the more resources we can bring into schools, I think the better.

Kaya did a fantastic job playing a strong character and held her own with all those men. She’s an amazing actress overcoming a learning disability and we will see her in many things to come I’m sure. For now see her in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No tales as it is now in theaters.

Did You Watch Disney’s Descendants? If Not DO IT!

August 1, 2015 by Momstart Leave a Comment

My kids have been counting down for weeks for the day that they could watch Disney’s Descendants. I mean seriously every day it was what day is it? How many more days until Descendants, I mean time was told in how soon it would come on. Well last night their dreams came true because Disney’s Descendants debuted on the Disney channel and only one kids made it. They actually got the time wrong they thought it started at nine and I was watching something on my computer not paying attention. I went upstairs to find that Zoe just started watching it but in the middle. I was like NO WAY sister. You CAN NOT miss the opening song…Evil to the Core.

SO I restarted it from the beginning, they were recording it so they could watch it over and over again and it was so fun to watch it with her. I however, fell asleep before the ending so I’m glad I saw it in advance while I was visiting Disney. Disney Descendants is a musical with lots of singing and lots of dancing and magic and princes and princesses. It was really well done. The characters were really well developed and the talent was amazing. First I have to say it’s directed by award winning Kenny Ortega. Then t stars Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson as modernized depictions of the teenage children based on the villains featured in Walt Disney Studios’ animated film franchise. Queen Bell and King Beast unite the Disney kingdoms into the United States of Auradon, and are elected the leaders of the new idyllic kingdom. All the villains, sidekicks, and accomplices are forced after their defeat to live imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost, a forbidden island surrounded by a barrier that also inhibits magic. We start off in the Isle of the Lost where all the bad guys are trapped forever. Until their son Prince Ben decides to let some of the villains children come over to Auradon.

Maleficent sees this as a chance for everyone to break free so she sets the children off with a plan to get the Good Fairy’s wand. So the children set off to reek havoc but they quickly find that they like being in Auradon and then we find the complication. This is a fantastic movie for young children.

See Shaun the Sheep August 5th #ShaunTheSheep

July 23, 2015 by Momstart 2 Comments

I’ve always enjoyed the whimsical charm of the Wallace and Gromit series. One of the most memorable shorts for me was “A Close Shave”, where the duo have all sorts of misadventures with a flock of sheep. The sheep were such hilarious characters that it always stood out in my mind! Of course, this was the first-ever appearance of Shaun, who has deservedly gotten his own time in the spotlight with his very own spin-off – and now, his big-screen debut with the feature film, Shaun The Sheep!

Although this post is sponsored, my enjoyment of Shaun’s antics is all my own – nothing sheepish about it! If you’re not familiar with Wallace and Gromit, then you are in for a treat with this movie. I thought everybody had heard of them, until one day when we were working on renovations and my man was talking about using grommets for a repair. I made a joke along the lines of “But where’s Wallace?” and got nothing but a blank stare. Well, I know that my joke was hilarious, anyway! If you’ve never seen this series or Chicken Run, the other famous film from the brain of creator Nick Park, then you definitely need to take your family to see Shaun The Sheep when it debuts on August 5th. It’s a great family film and gotten great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. And they are usually pretty hard on family movies.

Shaun The Sheep: Coming to a Theater Near Ewe! #ShaunTheSheep Shaun The Sheep was written and directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak and produced by Julie Lockhart and Paul Kewley, and follows Shaun taking a day off from the farm and getting way over his head when he ends up in the Big City. He has to hurry and round up his friends to get everyone home safe – catch ’em if ewe can! The thing I love about Shaun and his friends is it’s truly entertaining for all ages and will keep the grown-ups laughing right along with the kiddos; and since its rated PG, you can enjoy it with your flock without having to worry about baaa-wdy humor! But don’t just take my word for it – check out all the good reviews it’s been getting on Rotten Tomatoes! Shaun The Sheep is coming to a theater near ewe August 5th. While you wait for it to hit the big screen, click here to download some fun Shaun printables and get cracking on some crafts – your own stop motion film, perhaps? For more inspiration, be sure to check out Pinterest (AKA craft central) and repin some of the ideas on the SocialMoms Shaun The Sheep Movie Pinterest board!

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Would you like to win some Shaun The Sheep Swag? Then be sure to click here to enter the Instagram Sweeps! You can also join us during the #ShaunTheSheepFlock Twitter Party for more chances to win – click here to RSVP. See ewe there! This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Shaun the Sheep blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

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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.

Ant-Man’s Bad Guy Interview with Corey Stoll

July 16, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

What does it take to be a bad guy in a Marvel movie? It takes someone that looks like they could be a good guy. They are strong, funny and repulsive but that’s because someone has to be the bad guy right? In the new Marvel movie Ant-Man the bad guy is Corey Stoll the guy that felt he wasn’t supported appropriately. Well in real life he’s a funny guy with a lot of charm. I had the opportunity to interview him a few weeks ago and he even entered the room with so much energy that I knew it was going to be a great interview.

Here are a few pieces of the interview:

Tell Us About Being a Bad Guy:

Corey: It really wasn’t, it was not hard at all. My first day of shooting was sort of a microcosm of what the whole shoot would be where in the Morning was all, um, Motion Capture, totally abstract, just stunts and you know, it was like being in a Silent Film where you run this way and then duck and then pick up a toy train and throw it, um, and it was just, you know, pure play. Um, and so that was – that was really fun and then the Afternoon was a very quiet scene with Michael Douglas where I show up at his house unannounced and it’s our really most sort of intense scene.

And uh, it was just such a great way to start because there are these two extremes of what this role would be. And yeah, it was just fun. I think as we went on, there was a lot of, you know, with Peyton trying to calibrate. I want to make sure this Character is scary but I also love how, what a Loser he was. So and – and he has this incredible, you know, he’s – he’s the least cool guy in the World. He wants to be Tony Stark. He wants to be the coolest guy in the world.

He’s puffing himself up with these Tom Ford Suits and driving an Aston Martin.. Um, and so he puffs himself up. Uh, but he doesn’t really… He knows that he’s not that guy. And um, and yeah, that’s the irony, he’s trying to buff himself up in the end to impress this Father figure and it’s exactly the opposite of what a Father figure wants. Um, so I mean I think the script was – was really smart about giving very real, playable motivations.

Q : Were you always a Comic Book Fan?

Corey : Yeah, you also have, in Junior High School and High School, I was really into Comic Books starting with the real Super Hero Marvel Comic Books and then getting into some sort of darker stuff but um, yeah, I mean Spiderman, X-Men, and all that stuff.

Q : Who’s your favorite?

Corey: You know, he really bounced around but I would definitely say this about Spiderman. He was just the guy that I think that as a High School Student that you could identify with the most. Um, and just, then also just the New Yorkness. You know, I never really, you know, I liked Batman and I mean, and Superman but they were all in these sort of fictional Cities and uh, Spiderman was New York. You know, as a kid from Queens, the idea, you know, that fantasy of being able to swing through the – the buildings that I see every day was really cool.

Q : Talk about the suit.

Corey : No, we try to, I did two separate trips down to Atlanta just to try on different versions of the — of the suit and it just never looked right. And I remember the first time I tried it on, everybody was trying to convince themselves that it looked cool. Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna be great, just a little CGI over there and you know, it looked great. And I was, I just felt like a Power Ranger. So and luckily, you know, smarter heads prevailed and they just did it off CGI.

Tell us a bit about a scene you thought was more difficult.

Corey : Well the big sort of climax scene in the — in the Feature’s Vaults, uh, where I have sort of lured Hank Penn and Hope in order to deliver my big Villain Monologue and all that. I mean, I would say it was several days, maybe 3 days shooting that scene. It was an — it was an endurance feat because there were so many people in that scene. Uh, you know, we really felt like we were sort of trapped in that room for a long time. Um, but it was — it was just — it was just really fun to have that license to just be that big sort of Bond Villain, you know, just for it.

ANT-MAN COMES TO THEATERS JULY 17

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Behind the Scenes Of Disney’s New Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything

July 15, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

Disney’s New Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything premieres July 22nd at 9:30pm ET/PT on Disney XD!! My kids are excited about this show coming on soon. I was lucky enough to go behind the scenes a few weeks ago. Then I was able to see the set, meet the characters and watch a network run through. The set is a long side of sets, different rooms side by side and then on the other side is another set of sets side by side. But before we take a look at the set photos let’s meet the characters.

Cameron Boyce as Conor Murray Wyatt Rundus as Wendell Felix Avitia as Franklin Sophie Reynolds as Ashley

The subcultures of high school and professional video gaming are merged in the sitcom “Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything” starring Cameron Boyce (Disney Channel’s “Jessie” and “Descendants”) as a 15-year-old video game-playing phenomenon who enrolls in public high school for the first time. Now, he must deploy his virtual gaming acumen to circumvent real-life challenges.
Cool and charismatic Conor gains notoriety as the ace game player “KidFury,” but he suffers a devastating thumb injury that forces him off the high-flying professional gaming circuit. After years of being privately tutored, Conor enrolls in public school, Mondale High, for the first time and meets three fellow gamers – Franklin, Wendell and Ashley who help him for form the school’s first-ever gaming league.

The series captures the fun spirit of the gaming culture by weaving digital graphics (“Game Over” and “Achievement Unlocked”) into the stories. Video games come to life onscreen during “gamer vision” sequences that depict alternate realities whenever the characters face particularly challenging situations.

Also starring are Murray Wyatt Rundus as the overly-confident but lovable Wendell; Felix Avitia as the gamer-groupie Franklin; and Sophie Reynolds as the quirky and fun Ashley.

I play Conner – he was a professional gamer. He did all these tours, went to Tokyo and London and all these places doing these professional tournaments. In the midst of a tournament, he breaks his thumb, which is kind of what you need to game. So, Conner has to basically be a regular kid now. He was home schooled and other stuff to do his gaming, and his mom tells him ‘okay, well you’re going to go to regular school.’ Conor doesn’t really know how to be a regular kid, so he goes and he makes some friends, but he tries to use them at first to get back on the tour where he thinks he belongs. Then eventually he realizes that he kind of likes having these guys around. Instead of going on the solo gaming tour, he chooses to keep these guys around and go on the team tour. – Cameron Boyce

I play Ashley and she’s the girl that hangs with the guys. She’s not always the smartest with the books, but she’s got a really good heart and, she’s just a good friend. She’s a great gamer, super-smart gamer and that’s her strength. – Sophie Reynolds

I play Franklin and he’s very positive, very energetic. He’s not the best gamer like these guys who grew up like that, but he really wants to be. He wants to fit in with people and he wants to be a part of the group. He’s very smart though, outside of the gaming world. He knows common sense and knows he loves school and, of course, he’s got a great sense of fashion. Always wearing ties and shoes and pants and shirts. He’s just a good kid and he wants to make everybody as happy as they can be all the time. That’s what I love about him. – Felix Avitia

I play Wendell and he’s very, very full of himself. He is a very cocky character. He believes everyone around him doesn’t know what’s really going on, and that he is really the mastermind of everything that’s going on. He’s very aggressive when he plays video games with the crew and that really describes him. – Murray Wyatt Rundus

We briefly spoke with them about the show. They seem like they are having a blast working together. And who doesn’t like playing video games at their age? Cameron was asked about his transition from Jessie to this show and I remember him saying that the schedule is different but the actors became an instant family. And after watching them work together in the network run through I could see how well they all get along.

Here are some fun shots from the set, when you sit down with your family and watch this show see if you can find each of these items.

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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#AntManEvent Michael Douglas Interview Scoop

July 10, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

I have to tell you Michael Douglas wasn’t on my “I Hope to one day interview” lists because I never ever thought it was even a possibility to interview him. Michael Douglas is that Hollywood A-lister that carries himself with a touch of class, or at least that’s my opinion of him. I’ve been watching him going back to Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile and he had been working since way before then even. He’s amazing and seemed to enjoy being interviewed by the blogger crew (usually known as the mommy bloggers but hey there were two dads there this time).

How did you prepare for this role?

Michael: Ah, okay, well, historically I’m not a comic book guy. I was not as a, a kid. There was one I kind of followed, but since it’s not in the Marvel world, I don’t think on it necessarily. But when they, sent me this script, they sent me also a lovely leather bound book with about two of the Ant Man comics. So before I read the script, I opened that up and sort of familiarized myself with the different characters and a little of the back story. And of course, ironically for these kind of super comic book, it was more character background than you get in most parts you ever play, …in terms of, you know, your loss of your wife, the relationship with your daughter. So there was a whole bunch of stuff to actually, you know, play once you, once you read it.

During the interview Michael Douglas revealed that out of his career this is one of the only movies with special effects.

Michael: Well, I mean, one of the exciting things for me about doing this picture is I have never done a, a special effects movie before. My entire career has kind of, it actually all contemporary story lines except for one movie out of I think 50. It was a World War 2. Everything else was contemporary and there weren’t any kind of effects in them, just a green screen. So I was fascinated by that. There were like four units shooting.

We were the first unit, then you had the second unit which was your stunt unit. Your third unit, which was your special effects, your green screen, and then your fourth unit was that macro unit, was shooting these ant, you know, perspective ant shots, ah, from, um, all over. Ah, it was , it was fascinating.

In the first unit, we were doing stunts and this and that, but to see how they put four units together using the story boards, ah, was, was inspirational. And it was a lot faster. I mean, how often too do you get to do a movie where you get to see yourself 30 years younger. [LAUGHING]. You know, I mean, it’s just, ah, it was wild. I remember that day when the put, put these little dots all over your head. And I hadn’t seen the movie yet. But I saw and when I was doing dubbing for a couple of lines, there’s one scene and they had, had done half, half the scene is with the special effects where they made me younger, and the other half I still have the dots on my face, you know. So it was, it was, it’s hard to explain. It’s been the wildest experience I’ve ever had.

He also spoke about his cast members.

….Um, Paul, I knew from the beginning and he’s just as easy and wonderful as could be. He’s lovely. And then Evangeline I did not know her range, and so you go wow. There’s, there’s no weak spots here. Everybody’s solid……Yeah, no, Paul, he’s, he, um, he’s just the sweetest, he, he’s a lovely guy. He’s very, um, you know, unassuming. Obviously, he did some rewriting on the script and was very helpful. Sometimes I would get frustrated where I’d have one of these five minute long monologues explaining everything, and of course, he would have a one-line punch line. Damn, you get a good laugh and all of that. I go sure. I’m working my ass off.

Yeah, you wrote the script, didn’t you? But he’s got an elfish, um, elfish grin and quality about him. He was, you know, worked it out, maintaining, staying in shape, and then putting in the whole day. So my heart went out to him. He was, he was fabulous. I happened to see his work. Interesting casting on, again, on Marvel’s part. Every film is sort of interesting. I mean, Paul now looks to me like Robert did before the first Iron Man, you know, Robert Downey. Also an excellent actor. And I’m sure this is going to be great for Paul.

Finally we spoke about why he took on a role in a Marvel Movie

Michael: Um, something different, you know, just basically never having been. I’m, I’m, two of my best buddies are Jack Nicholson and, and Danny DeVito, and each of them had a great time, you know,as the Joker and as the penguin. I remember them, you know, talking about it and all that. And just never having been offered anything in this realm before when this came up, so, ah, this will be great. This will be cool.

Um, and as I was saying , that my 14-year-old son, you know, I told him all about it, and he was like my agent. He said Dad, you know what? This is a whole new audience for you. [LAUGHING.] I say, oh, thanks, thanks….. You’re right, you know, you’re right. I mean, all of that. I always try to think of doing something different and I was really curious about effects movies and all of that. And so that really was the reason.

ANTMAN COMES TO THEATERS JULY 17

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Exclusive Ant-Man Interview with Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly #AntManEvent

July 8, 2015 by Momstart 5 Comments

During my recent trip to LA, I had the chance to sit down with the stars of Marvel’s Ant-Man! Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly. Having interviewed Paul in the past, I already knew he was kind and funny. But he continued to show is chivalry by helping the pregnant Evangeline Lilly to her seat.

Photo by Jana Merlot Mommy

They get to choose if they want to let the mommy bloggers interview them and they were so kind to take the time out of their busy schedules to give this Ant-Man exclusive interview. I was really excited to get to interview him again after seeing the entire movie and how it all came together. It’s a fantastic movie with a lot of heart.

We started off talking about how Paul usually does comedy and now this is obviously an action movie or is it?

PAUL : Right, well, um, you know, I always felt like with, especially with Marvel movies, but just talking about this one, that it was going to be funny. They are good with levity. I mean, all their films have funny moments but they’re not necessarily straight up comedies. And, with this one I knew that the action was going to be really good. I knew the visuals were going to be crazy good. But, I also knew that there was this relationship that Scott Lang had with his daughter and that there was the relationship that Michael Douglas has with his daughter and that this whole thing with parents and children, that that was going to be really the thrust of the film. And that’s relatable and empathetic and something that you can hang the whole thing on. And that’s pretty dramatic. So, that’s really what I kind of focused on, figuring you know, humor would be there in the end.

Evangeline actually felt intimidated working with such great talent and said that of course there is comedy in this movie. How can you have an actor like Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas without humor.

EVANGELINE: And that said, he did not stop improving and cracking jokes through the entire– there wasn’t one scene no matter how serious where you didn’t make me break character. And I kept asking him what am I supposed to do with you do that? Do I riff with you? Do I shut up and let you do your thing? Like, I am so out of my element ’cause you are so comfortable in that comedic space and he being the sweetest man alive as we all know, always — I’m only preaching to the choir. Do you see their faces? You were always like I’ll just do what you say, do whatever you want. I don’t know what to do. Nothing feels right. Tell me what to do. And he never did, never would……….which made me even more insecure ’cause even Michael Douglas can riff an improv. I was the only person on set who wasn’t improving.

There was a lot of banter back and fourth during the interview which made everyone in the room laugh quite a bit. I didn’t know this but I found out that Evangeline actually helped write part of her character. Someone asked do you feel like that it came out what you wanted as far as the girl power part of it?

EVANGELINE: You know, it’s funny because actually the girl power part was no really my contribution. [LAUGHS] That was Marvel and the boys who– I mean what guy doesn’t like a girl who can kick ass? They like to see that on screen, right? What I think is important is that woman, first of all be a woman and not a girl, and that she also have all the dimensions that a male character who can kick ass would also have. And I think a lot of the times what happens mistakenly in men’s very, very meaningful attempts to make strong women is they make them strong in the way that they relate to, which is wrong. And I think that female strength, um, has many more dimensions than that and I think that um, a lot of our strength comes from our women’s vulnerability, our compassion, our maternal instincts, and I don’t think that those things should ever be labeled as weaknesses. And I think that’s one of the things that I always look to put in and infuse these characters with is um, is the sort of moments where you suddenly realize underneath that very hard facade, underneath what she’s trying to project to the world because she feels she has to survive or she has to do what she needs to do is you know, a little girl within all of us and even within Paul, there’s just a little girl [LAUGHTER].

PAUL : It’s true, very true.

EVANGELINE: That needs love and wants to give love in order to receive love and I think that’s what we’re all doing. That’s the human predicament is how do we give unconditional love and just not losing sight of that.

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