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Star Wars Rebels Spark of Rebellion Character Interview: Steve Blum and Taylor Gray

October 19, 2014 by Momstart 1 Comment

As a family my kids and I have been having Star Wars Rebels family time. We record on Mondays at 9PM EST and then on Saturdays watch Star Wars Rebels Spark of Rebellion together. The kids love it, actually we all love it. It’s so fun to be able to share something that we loved while growing up with our kids and have them love it too. Since I had the opportunity to interview the characters/actors I wanted to share it with all of you.

Star Wars Rebels

 

Steve Blum and Taylor Gray act as Zeb Orrelios and Ezra Bridger. These two characters do not get along at all, but the actors on the other hand just look at the photo above!

Q : What drew you guys to the film?

TG :  I love it. I think it’s so cool, um, like what, my favorite part about it is all the action. I think that that’s so fun. I think kids are gonna enjoy, um, all the characters and, and their multiple layers and how they run around firing off blasters and taking down troopers. I think, I think it’s all a lot of fun. It’s action along with a lot of, ah, nice dialogue.

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SB : I was drawn when I was a kid when I first saw it. I was seventeen. I was fresh out of high school, and I went to the premiere in 1977, and I was one of those kids in the theatre whose head snapped back when the imperial star destroyer comes across the screen and the whole theatre rumbled. So, I get to relive this on a cellular level. It, it activates all of those memories from that time and, and, ah, when I was graduating high school, I was one of those apathetic youth and I didn’t go to my own graduation.

And, ah, to get to go and see something like that that was brand new. It was stuff that we hadn’t seen before. It, it woke up something in me and kind of gave me a new hope [UNINTELLIGIBLE.] But to get to, to work on something like that now where it’s, we’re bringing this to a whole new generation. It’s really exciting for me, and I’m a dad. And so I, I like working on quality programming that’s, ah safe for kids and it’s, um, it’s, it’s really got a great underlying message. It does, ah, offer a notion that there’s something bigger than we are and that we can strive to be better than we are and, and that a small group of people can be just as powerful as a large army against injustice.

TG : And a little bit of the force.

SB : And a little bit of the force, yes.

Q : Were you a Star Wars fan prior to this?

TG : Um, yeah. I hadn’t seen all the Star Wars movies. I had seen, I had seen 4, 5 and 6. It’s a nice joke with us, because we have some people in our cast, Vanessa and Freddy and then Dave as well who know more about Star Wars than anything I’ve ever met. They know things that I think aren’t even in Star Wars that are [UNINTELLIGIBLE]. And Steve and I, ah, Steven knows more than I do as well, but it’s been fun because, um, it’s cool to be a fan. I, I’ve now caught up and understood why everyone loves it so much.

I remember being in school when I was little, and every other kid had either a Star Wars shirt on or a lunch pail or a back pack. And it all makes sense why it’s so appealing, but it’s, it’s really cool. The best part of it is talking to fans of Star Wars and hearing their sentiments and why it’s so special to them, because everyone has their own connection to, ah, the Star Wars story. So it’s been really cool, um, coming up through all of it.

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Q : We heard from some of the crew that you’re the funny one. Have you pulled any pranks on the cast?

SB : Not really. I think, what I just demonstrated there… [LAUGHING]. At the end of every effort, some, some of these guys…

TG : And an effort sounded something ridiculous. It’s like when we jump from building to building, or push a crate through planes.

SB : Yeah. I mean, he’s not used to doing that because he’s an on-camera guy and he can do that with his face or his body, but in, in voice over, we have to do everything on the mic, and so we’ll have what we call sound sets and in the sound sets, they’ll say okay, now we need you to, ah, take a punch or take six punches, three soft, three medium, three hard. And you’ll just hear us go [GRUNTING SOUND EFFECTS], and it can sound really filthy or, you know [LAUGHING] you go a lot of different directions. But basically after every sound that he makes… Do a sound.

TG : [GRUNTING SOUND EFFECT]. Every time, though`. Like you think you’ve heard it twice and it’s gonna come again, ah, but it’s always, it’s always so funny, but the king of doing all those sounds is Steve. We, there’s a thing that we do called the, what is it, [SOUNDS LIKE: walla librar–]…

SB : A sound library.

TG : Yes, sound library. And it’s like let’s hear you jump 20 times. Let’s hear you get hit in the face. Let’s hear you get shocked, and this guy can do every sound in the book when I’m like, ah, I’ve done it once. I think that’s the only way I’m ever gonna get a hit, but, um, it’s cool to learn from him. He’s so good at it.

SB : Well, I had to because I grew up doing anime, so in anime it’s a requirement to make every disgusting sound known to man.

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Q : When you came in to read for the Wolf role, was anyone keen on what it could have been?

TG : Jungle Book? I thought it was like a, like a, like a discovery, like animal… I had no idea.

SB : Yeah, I do so many military games and, and military type characters that I just figured it was some military guy and some fighting show. I didn’t know what it was. I do a lot of superheroes also, so I really didn’t know until I think I was in the studio just about to record, and I saw storm troopers in the copy and I went, oh, this is something different. This is Star Wars. This is, this is Star Wars! [LAUGHING.] Yeah, so it was that moment of realization. Dave can probably speak to that about, ah….

TG : Yeah, I still didn’t pick up. I was like storm troopers, still probably like Jungle Book. [LAUGHING.]

SB : Yeah, a lot of shows that we auditioned for are coded, they’re very heavily coded. They want to protect that and we sign non-disclosure agreements once we do know, so I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. I had to keep all that inside, and thank God I can finally talk about it. [NON-INTERVIEW DIALOGUE.]

Q : How have you embraced the hardcore Star Wars fans?

TG : I think it’s awesome. I had no clue that there, we went out to, the first little taste of it we got was they sent us this thing called Star Wars Weekends in, ah, in Florida. And I had no idea what to expect. I was like oh, it will be fun to like hang out with a couple people who like Star Wars and go on some rides. There were like 60 thousand people who all had Star Wars shirts or full on, ah, costumes, ah, wardrobe, outfits, everything and, and light sabers. And just seeing that, I realized oh, wow, we’re in something much bigger than I thought.

And it’s, it’s been so much fun and they’re saying there’s so much more to look forward to, and I can’t wait.

SB : Yeah, I, I’ve been doing the convention circuit for the last 10 years for my other work for my other work and, ah, going to that weekend in particular seemed, you know, there was 20, 30 thousand people on the parade route, and they put us in convertibles and we’re waited on. It’s great, and I’m thinking the show hasn’t come out. Nobody’s gonna know who we are, and they’re chanting our names, you know. It’s my name. This guy had researched and knew everything that we did and people were bringing stuff up to me from my whole career. It was, in was amazing, and seeing the families, too.

There was this one family where there was a grandma in a wheelchair in her 90’s, and the way down to like a 2-year-old, and there are like 50 of them and they’re all together cheering for us as we’re coming out of the parade route, and they’re in first position right there, and they’re everywhere in the park that we were [SIMULTANEOUS TALKING,] [UNINTELLIGIBLE]. There’s all the signs and, and they had us take a family photo.

TG : They all had code names. They were, there was Red Leader [LAUGHING]. They, they knew what they were doing. Yeah, and, ah, it’s so fun.

SB : Yes. It’s been awesome. It’s a whole different level of fandom too, and so show-specific. It’s just amazing to me that after all these years, that the fandom is stronger now than it’s ever been. It’s incredible. [SIMULTANEOUS TALKING.]

TG : With all the media, it’s crazy. It’s on Twitter. It’s, it’s unbelievable. I’ve been telling people, I’ve had a Twitter before I’d gotten this, and I felt like half the people I see on Twitter somewhere in their little, ah, description of themself, it’s like coffee enthusiast. I like my hair. I’m a Jedi. [LAUGHING.] I’ve seen Jedi, so I see the word Jedi in more of those biographies than anything and, ah, I understand why. They’re the coolest type of person you could be.

SB : Hey, you’ve got Freddie Prince, Jr. [SIMULTANEOUS TALKING,] [UNINTELLIGIBLE]. Yeah, he’s on Twitter and he’s going crazy about it. It took Star Wars to do that.

Q : Since you didn’t know what you were going in for to read for, was there a point of time where you wondered about turning it down before you knew what it was?

SB : I don’t turn down anything.

TG : Me neither, but there’s a fine, sort of, this, it was actually this one. I, I was doing something else that day, I think and I remember being really late to, I was like an hour, and not normally would we show up late to anything and I was, I was running an hour late and I remember calling my agent, I’m like I’m late. I’m gonna make a fool of myself. I was sweaty. It was, I was working on something else. I had a hat on, and I was like I’m just not gonna go into this. I don’t even know what it is. And he’s like just walk in. I think they’re still there. And I remember walking in like this, so ridiculous. Like I, I can’t believe I’m late. I feel so bad.

And then yeah, it worked out. And now I’m so glad that I did, ’cause that I had, I guess that’s maybe a recurring thing in my life, like if I’m like a couple, I’m like no, I can’t do this, but, um, it sit, my mom’s over there nodding, yes. Yes it is. [LAUGHING.] Um, but yes, so this is, this has been awesome.

SB : Well, yeah, I, I treat every role as though it is the most important thing in the world. And a friend of mine wrote a song called Soldier A, and it’s, it’s about like the, the most innocuous character who, who dies every episode, but you have to invest as a voice actor. Especially on camera, we don’t have the luxury of grabbing a role and carrying it, you know, through a whole series and being able to depend on that for, ah, income. In the case of the show, of course, it’s a little bit different, but, ah, there’s so many shows that I work on where I am literally fired every day.

I go in, I work one day on a show and I’m on to the next thing, and so I treat every character with great reverence and I’m very grateful for the ones that I book. So, ah, to, to have invested that much into something like this and then it fleshes out to something like this, it’s gravy, it’s amazing.

Q : Do you have a favorite Star Wars character?

TG : Um, I hadn’t even seen all those, all those three films, so I had, yeah, then caught up, Anakin. I had, ah, when he was young and racing the pods, um, because I had played like the, ’cause Star Wars has everything. I, I play the video game where you’re racing through the, the deserts…

SB : The pod racing.

TG : Pod racing. [SOUNDS LIKE: Thank you.] I just needed reassurance from somebody. Ah, and, and, ah, I thought Anakin. He was young. He was the hero and, and he was my favorite character, but Darth Sidious, that’s a much cooler character. We met Ray Park when we went out to the, um, weekends and he was, um, Darth Maul. And I thought he was awesome, ’cause I hadn’t seen all those [SOUNDS LIKE: shows], so that is another character that I think is so cool, but I, ah, I hope that kids like the characters from this show as well. And I think it will be a lot of fun.

SB : They probably will.

Q : What was your favorite scene to voice over?

SB : Well, well, pretty much, I don’t know. I–I love, I love all of it for so many different reasons. I, I think one of my very favorite scenes that I’ve seen so far was Ezra’s realization that he was doing something of value. Ah, after our first initial struggle, and then stealing stuff, and he’s sitting there and we’re giving away, ah, food, and that was the whole, ah, purpose of our mission. And we’re risking our lives to do that. And to see that look of, of, ah, realization on his face where he’s just going, well, I didn’t do anything.

It’s like he didn’t deserve the praise and you see a little bit of a transformation in him [SIMULTANEOUS TALKING] and that was, that was a very powerful moment for me.

Q : Another moment is when he realized you came back for him, another strong turning point.

SB : And for me actually not taking care of him and letting him go, that was a really hard thing for me to play as, as a dad. It was really hard for me to, to just say see, you’re on your own, and leaving him with the empire. I mean, that was, that was terrible, but thank God we resolved that. [LAUGHING.] I can sleep now.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: children's tv show, entertainment, interview, movie, Star Wars, star wars rebels, TV show

Star Wars Rebels Interview: Vanessa Marshall and Tiya Sircar

October 12, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Star Wars Rebels began last week with a bang! The pilot movie had my kids cheering with excitement for the new series that starts Monday night October 10th at 9 PM on Disney XD. We will have our DVR set on record because we don’t plan to miss a single episode. TO help you guys get even more excited about the new series I have an interview with two of the female lead characters, Vanessa Marshall and Tiya Sircar.

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Question : I’ll ask. Um, so, what was it like auditioning for the role that you had? Did you freak out?

Tiya : We didn’t know what we were auditioning for. So, that helped in that probably you weren’t freaking out and —

Vanessa : I [LAUGHS] — no, I —

Tiya : — if you would’ve been — if you had known.

Vanessa: Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Tiya : Well, we, uh, we were told — well, I was under the impression I was auditioning for, um, a new animated series on Disney called Wolf. Um, and so it wasn’t until I actually got the phone call that I had gotten the job, which was great. And they said — star wars rebels vanessa

Vanessa : Mm-hmm.

Tiya : — and by the way, it’s Star Wars. And I was like, well, you know, it’s like doubly exciting, ’cause I got a job and it’s not — it’s way more exciting than I even realized.

Vanessa : Well, I didn’t know what it was, but I always — everything’s a Star Wars metaphor for me. I’m a huge Star Wars fan. So, I felt that there were elements of Star Wars within the piece of copy that I read.

Tiya : Oh, wow. You and Freddy both, okay.

Vanessa : Yeah, they — well, they said that, um, my character was a, a strong leader against the tyranny and da da da. And I’m like, hmm, well, all right, well, alliance.

So, I actually sort of transposed what I know about Star Wars onto the little copy [CHUCKLES], and, um, and I got a callback. And I thought, oh, cool, I’m gonna be a wolf or [LAUGHS]. And when I, when I got to the callbacks —

Tiya : Oh, you saw a character.

Vanessa : — I saw a, a drawing of the character on the wall, and I know what….

Tiya : You were like a wait a minute. Fun shot of Vanessa rebels

Vanessa : — race that is. I mean that’s not a Trekkie. [CHUCKLES] You know, I know exactly what’s going on here. And it sort of dawned on me in the moment, and I had to pull it together.

Because I’m such a huge fan. I — if I really thought about it, I’d probably have a heart attack. So, but I’m also a professional, so I was able to do my job and I showed up and I did a good job clearly and then I got the call.

Tiya : Enough, yeah.

Vanessa : Then, then I hyperventilated. And — my agent was literally afraid for my life. [LAUGHS] She was like, honey, do I need to call a paramedic?

[LAUGHS] And I mean she probably should have [CHUCKLES], ’cause I couldn’t stop going, oh, my God, oh, my — you know, I was crying. Ohh, anyway.

Tiya : Freddy also says that he figured it out, because Freddy and Vanessa —

Vanessa : Well, I didn’t figure it out. I just — it just lucked out that it was in fact what it

Vanessa: No, no. Well, I — but I even said to a friend of mine who read for another wolf, um, he [CHUCKLES] — I said — do you think this is Star Wars? And he said, you’re such an idiot. [LAUGHS] Everything is — Star Wars, Vanessa.

Vanessa : Yeah, exactly. He was like, yeah, you with your Star Wars. [LAUGHS] Yeah, anyway. But, um, so, it was, um, it was go– probably a good thing that I didn’t know what I was doing. [LAUGHS] ’cause I would’ve been terrified. [CHUCKLES]

Question : How do you feel about being a strong female character ?

Vanessa : Hera is the leader and, and while she is fierce, she’s a great fighter and a great pilot, she’s also very nurturing, and she sort of plays a maternal role, uh, within the crew. And I think she sets a really great example, I think she does a lot of mentoring to — Sabine. Now, I will also say parenthetically as a Star Wars fan, she is a Mandalorian. So I personally bow down to her character.

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Right. Getting back to Hera. Um, but, but I do think it’s really wonderful, uh, that Star Wars Rebels embodies two, uh, female characters that we all can aspire to act like them whether we’re adults or children or even little boys or little girls.

I’ve said before that the empire universally oppresses all races and all gender to where it sort of neutralizes elements. These aren’t good women or good female characters. They’re all good people. So that we’re not even thinking in terms of gender or class. Um, we’re, we’re united towards doing the right thing. So, while they are strong, female characters, it’s also kinda cool that there’s this different element that even transcends those distinctions.

Tiya : And not to get too, you know, well, social commentary on you, but — you know, there are, in my own personal opinion, there are,so many female personalities that, well, for better or worse, they may be famous not for a specific skill or talent but just famous for the sake of being famous. And maybe not for the right reasons — if you know what I mean.

So, it’s — such an honor you know, and I, and I — it makes me cringe, you know, I don’t have kids, but it makes me cringe to think like all little girls are like — this is, this is what they have to look up to and to aspire to be, and it’s worrisome for me. So, to me, it’s such an honor to get to play this female character who, you know, Sabine’s a teenager and yet she is so intelligent and so, uh, uh, uh, like not even concerned about the superficial stuff whatsoever. She’s never taken a selfie in her life, you know. [LAUGHS]

And if she knew what that was, she wouldn’t be interested. So I think it’s really — I think it’s amazing to get to play these two smart women. They are right there alongside the guys, beating up the bad guys. I hope that, that young girls and young boys can aspire to be like these characters, because they’re fighting for the greater good. They’re doing the right thing and they’re,  just like really smart and savvy about it while they’re doing it. So, I, I hope that’s like, you know, uh — I don’t know.

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Vanessa : Yeah. Yeah. And I think also that, that what we’re all driven by is hope. Once again in transcending gender that I hope that kids take that hope, that, that it’s important to have faith, to have morals, to have ethics, um, and, and adults could probably [CHUCKLES] learn from, from that as well. And, um, some of those, those bigger human values that are not often embodied in, say, the people who are famous for things less than, you know, desirable. But, um, it — it’s really cool. There are some very wonderful, delicious ideas, uh, that are also in– inspiring over all, you know. Um, but I agree, definitely. These are really cool women, for younger girls to emulate.

Tiya : And they’re still fun, too. It’s not all about —

Vanessa : Yeah. They’re hilarious.

Tiya : — there’s, there’s, you know, Sabine’s c– can be a little sassy and she has a little attitude, but —

Vanessa : Yeah, it’s cool. Those things are sort of hidden beneath all the, the jokes and, and the high stakes. Yeah. It, it very much feels like the original trilogy. It has the same wit and, you know, get this walking carpet out of my way. You know, we talk to each other like that —

Question : Talk a little bit about how you guys do this script all together.

Vanessa : I love it.

Tiya : — for me, it’s — yeah, it’s, it’s so — such a treat, because —

Vanessa : Well, uh, yeah, oftentimes in animation and animated series, they try to get the entire group together, uh, but, uh, the previous Star Wars video games that I’ve done, I’ve been in a room by myself, uh, on a quote unquote Jedi counsel talking about people — [OVERLAP]

Tiya : [LAUGHS] Me, too. No.

Vanessa : You know, I mean, luckily, I know enough about the different places and things in the Star Wars universe, but it’s so much easier to interact with people, you know. We all love Star Wars, but that collective energy in the room is something that I think viewers will feel. I think it’s a real advantage. And, uh, and like I said, the, the writing of the scripts is so great. It’s really not that hard to do.

Tiya: Right.

Vanessa : I feel like we don’t do much [CHUCKLES], you know.

Tiya: It doesn’t feel like work certainly for me.

Vanessa: No. I mean not that we don’t — yeah, I mean we — obviously, it’s a job and we do work very hard. We research and all that, but, um, I think, uh, working as a group, I think that is a part of why it bristles with so much love and energy. Yeah.

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Tiya : And also I think, uh, what’s really, special — makes the experience so special, aside from the fact that you know, we — I think that like getting to act the — actually act these scenes out in a room together — you know, not is it more enjoyable for us, but it infuses the scenes and hopefully makes for a better show. But aside from that, I think we really forge, you know, this, this, this family, uh, you know, this Motley Crew of people. Like we have this Motley Crew of characters.

Vanessa : Exactly.

Tiya : And so, we’ve like created this, this bond, uh, as a, as a crew, you know, the, the five of us and, and also, you know, our guest stars and — but the five of us really have like [STUTTER] kind of, uh, embodied these — the, you know, the same dynamics, familial dynamics as we have on this show. And so — yeah, as, as [CHUCKLES] Vanessa was saying, you know, she kind of is this maternal figure making sure I am not hungry — do I have — need a snack — am I cold; do I need to borrow her cardigan. I mean it’s the  it’s just the best.

Freddy is like the big bro and making sure everything’s …..cool and under control. And —

Steve is like the, the clown —

Vanessa : The prankster.

Tiya : — that’s like cracking us up —

Vanessa : He is hilarious.

Tiya : At inappropriate times. So, it’s fun to like get to kind of be part of this, crew that we’re actually getting to, you know it, it — art imitates life, imitates art. Whatever. [CHUCKLES]

Vanessa : Yeah. Yeah. That — that’s, that’s fortunate that we all have, have sort of fallen into a groove that’s very similar to what we need to —

Tiya : To do and embody —

Question : I love your, um — Sabine’s character, because she’s very multidimensional. Like she’s out there shooting and fighting with them, but then she’ll like be gone over doing some technical stuff, like shutting down the field and all of that stuff. But one thing I notice about her character, she’s the only one that wears a cover over a face, like wears the [INAUDIBLE]. Do you know if there’s a significance to that?

Tiya : Well, she’s Mandalorian, so that’s like Mandalorian armor, the full thing. The only difference is that, um, I think she’s probably the only Mandalorian that has armor that’s been graffitied [CHUCKLES], because she designs her own. Yeah, she, actually like sort of, uh, embellishes her armor, but, yeah, that the significance of the helmet is that she’s a Mandalorian and that’s full Mandalorian, like, warrior armor.

Question : Um, who are you guys’ favorite characters in the Star Wars universe? Can you pick one or?

Vanessa : Well, you know we both love Princess Leia, because she’s a strong female character, but I also don’t wanna forget Ahsoka from the because Ashley Eckstein is so wonderful and she’s really a — she’s also a wonderful character that we watched grow from being a young padiwan, you know, towards becoming a Jedi. Um, but I think it’s the same principles.

Uh, women who are strong on so many levels that, uh, they’re really inspiring. So, I would say, overall, probably Princess Leia. Yeah.

Tiya : And I have a soft spot for Han Solo, but who doesn’t? I mean — [LAUGHS]

Vaenssa : Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Tiya : But as inspiration, Leia. [CHUCKLES]

Vaenssa : Yeah, exactly.

Tiya : [OVERLAP] For my own viewing pleasure, Han Solo. [LAUGHS]

Vanessa : You know, it’s really — it’s, it’s hard to choose. I mean —

Tiya : It’s true. There’s so many good ones.

Vanessa : Yeah, ’cause I, I sort of believe that I love Chewie, but I think that’s born on the fact that it was my first action figure that I got. But, you know, in terms of things that have really touched my heart, I would say Leia.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Disney, rebels, Star Wars, star wars rebels

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion Movie Premiere Review #StarWarsRebels

October 4, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Last night was the premiere of Star Wars Rebels and I thought it was really great. Star Wars fans will love it as it continues the story the story of the rebellion. The Jedi are being hunted down but they are on the defensive as they fight the Empire. Star Wars Rebels is about a brave and clever ragtag starship crew that stands up against the evil Empire. The Empire has been tightening it’s grip on the galaxy and they are tired of it. In the movie premiere we meet the characters.

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Vanessa Marshal plays Hera Syndulla who is the ships pilot and mother figure. She always wants to take care of everyone but she’s a strong fighter too and great with  gun. Steve Blum plays Zeb Orrelios a character with a lot of attitude who in the premiere does something really awful and I’ll go into that a little more later. Then you have Tiya Sircar who plays Sabine Wren a younger female that has amazing aim and the skills to fix the ship. Freddie Prinze Jr. plays the hero Jedi Kanan Jarrus who finds himself a paddiwon Ezra Bridger played by Taylor Gray. 

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The motley crew of characters run into Ezra for the first time as they are trying to steal some freighters from the Empire. Ezra interrupts their plan making it more complicated than it should have been and as they fight Ezra to get the crates back, Ezra ends up on their ship. This is when Kanan tests him for Jedi powers. We don’t know anything about Ezra’s past except that he has lost his parents and he’s all alone, so even though no one can trust him, the crew decides he should get to stay. Well, all except Zeb ends up leaving him with the Empire on one of their rescue missions. I wasn’t sure what to think.

Of course Hera and her motherly instincts said they had to go back for him, which they do and luckily he was already making his own escape so it was a really easy rescue mission.

I found that I really enjoyed the action and can’t wait for the kids to see it. Last night we recorded it because they were having a sleep over. They are going to LOVE IT! Starting next Monday (10/13), Star Wars Rebels picks up at its regular time, 9pm PT/ET on Disney XD!

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: movie, spark of rebellion, star wars rebels

Star Wars Rebels Interview: Freddie Prinze Jr. Loves Being Part of Star Wars

October 3, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

I have been super excited about Star Wars Rebels. My kids watch the Disney Channel all the time and the previews are super enticing to them. Every time they see it they start yelling at me that they have to watch it. They don’t want me to forget to record it and neither do I. This is going to be a great series that the whole family can watch together. It’s a cartoon series that Star Wars fans will love. While in LA last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Freddie Prinze Jr. who plays Kanan, and the Producer Dave Filoni. Here is their interview.

star wars rebels interview

Q: Star Wars is such a legacy, a huge franchise.  How did it feel to be a part of that?

Freddie:  I didn’t know it was Star Wars.  It was titled Wolf Pack.  And you’ll have to speak to him about that.  But uh, I went in and I saw some Character breakdowns on the wall at Disney and I looked at them and I’m thinking, these guys are either ripping off Star Wars real bad or this is a Star Wars thing.  And uh, there was another girl in the waiting room and she was reading for Tia — for Tia’s character and she looked super nervous.  And when she came out of the room, it was like this is definitely Star Wars.  So I asked them and I think I said a word that I shouldn’t say, this first table run.  I said is this bleeping Star Wars?  And then — and then he kind of sits back, he sits back there, he sits back and he kind of like nods his head all cool and I was like “All right, give me a second”.  I’ve got to turn around and compose myself and then get prepared.  Instead of a Light Sabre, I had a Sun Sword, which Thunder the Barbarian had from Hanna Barbera.  Remember that?

Dave:  That’s good knowledge.

Freddie:  But they ripped off Star Wars.  They even had their Wookie.  They had Klan, right?  That was the Wookie that Princess Ariel, Princess Leah but she had Manly–Sorry, (he’s laughing)  My ’80s Cartoon Knowledge is on point.

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What made you want to do this?

Dave:  Well you know, we were kind of wrapping up the Series, Clone Wars with the big Disney purchase, it was time for a change and fans, you know, felt very strongly about the show.  In all honesty, it just felt like something that we probably shouldn’t continue without George (Lucas).  It was just a part of him and his creation and working with him was like no other experience I’ve ever had.  So we wanted to come up with something new that represented this kind of new era of Star Wars and working with Lucas Films Story team, we all quickly came up with the idea of Star Wars Rebels, the story team introduced the idea to make an A-Team like scenario and it just makes sense.

 

 

Talk about the strong female characters in Star Wars Rebels.

Dave:  Yeah, I think that, I mean, it’s a strange word to use but like it’s just a necessity.  I think most Creatives you speak to right now would say that if they had  a choice to tell a story, they would use a female lead.  I think some people feel that the stories have been told with the guys, you know. 

Freddie:  I was gonna say, Clone Wars is a good example where we can show good and evil, strong, powerful women at a young age to a more young adult age as far as young female protagonists.  They did Clone Wars big time, both good and evil.

Dave:  Yeah, so we didn’t want to repeat Luke so we did Soka.  And then we did Ezra cause we didn’t want a repeat of Soka, so instead we made the women characters ones that didn’t have the force, ones that could be tough on their own.  So when we direct like Hara, I say, I want you to say and be and do any of the lines you would have given Hans Solo.  I don’t want you to change them in any way.  You know, I want this character as  being one that would react like Clint Eastwood when he got shot.  Don’t make her, don’t diminish in any way or color it any way that you think has traditionally been.  You see, I get schooled on this on a daily basis at home by my wife and honestly, she’s a way better storyteller than I am.

Freddie:  And just because Leah is in a dress, don’t trip.  She’s tougher than the guys in all 3 Movies.  So I mean a dress doesn’t–You all are in dresses.  I’m sure some of you can move on us.  That existed in the Star Wars World long, long ago.

Dave:  It’s got to be more about your spirit, your integrity, your emotions as a character, more than anything superficial so that’s what we try to work with.  And like I said, my wife is definitely the hugest influence for me there.  If I’ve been successful at all creating female characters, it’s because of her absolutely.

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Talk about the Casting process.

Dave:  Oh it went so fast.  We made this show very quick, because we wanted to film in the time prior to Episode 7.  You know, that’s gonna be this thunderous amazing thing!  But it was gonna take time to produce so we wanted to get an animated series up ahead to kind of get kids up and going with Star Wars and in this new world and so it was one of the big challenges when we were sold.  So it was gonna be very hard to cast quickly and my feelings was that you just, you know the right people when you hear them, when you see them.  So we met everybody when they came in and we just brought in a group of people and pretty much without fail, Simon Kinberg, Greg Weisman and I always would give high marks to the same people.  We’ve been so lucky that creatively, we’ve all collaborated really well with Lucas Film.  And we’ve all pretty much agreed on the decisions.  It’s really rare, so we would pick our top people and we were like wow, I agree, I heard he is really good.  I like to judge things, you can be really talented but if you’re not a good person, if you’re not gonna be collaborative, then I don’t want to work with you.  Talent’s not gonna outweigh that.  I think that’s the important thing for young people.  If you’re really talented and you’re arrogant, I don’t want to work with you.  I want somebody who’s hard working.  You know, right?

Freddie:  Green.

Dave:  You know, when I went to play hockey growing up, you know, my coach always appreciated the kids that put in the work, not just the talented kids.  You know, you got to work for things.  And we got to work hard together to prove.  We got to get along really well.  And these guys have to become these characters.  So it’s really worked out.  I can see a lot of people might have the acting chops but you have the personality plus all the fans, the Star Wars Fans, I think an important part of being an actor in Star Wars is you have to accept the exposure to our fans and I want you to treat them with respect cause they’ll treat you with respect for the most part.  I mean, they’ve all been great.

Freddie:  For the most part.

Dave:  You passed the test.

Freddie:  There have been a few though.

Dave:  Vision, to me Freddie’s kind of like a Star Wars goal, he gets it.  He gets the attitude.  He gets the kind of way that–You get the swagger, my friend.  That kind of Hans Solo thing.

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Freddie: It’s a generation thing though like it’s a genetic thing when you’re around our age like it’s just, you know, that was back when wrestling was real.  That was back when the news told the truth.  So it’s just, it’s ingrained and it’s a part of you so you know, you read lines and I’m literally, like before I even talked to him like I know exactly how he wants me to say that because I remember this from “Empire Strikes Back” when they’re–You know what I mean and like you just get the vibe of who you’re kind of summoning as you’re sort of figuring out who this–who this sort of Rebel Jedi is.

 

Cause he’s not the normal Jedi.  He’s not together.  He doesn’t have it all figured out.  He has maybe 3 answers.  Forget all the answers and then two of them, he’s guessing on.  You’ll literally see him sort of BS Ezra on some of these horse things that something like Master Yoda would be like, you know, there is no try, there’s only do.  Where’s–Kanan will be like give me your best shot.  (Laughing)  You’re not supposed to do that.  I mean, you know what I mean?  He makes mistakes cause he was young and he didn’t get to complete his training in the way that an Anakin or the way that Luke could, you know what I mean?  He’s not the master that Ezra, you know, that a kid sees.  Growing up without a father like Ezra, you put certain men in your life on a pedestal.  And they become something to you.  They become something special and spiritual and powerful.  And it’s not fair to do to them by the way because they’re just men, right?  They’re gonna have mistakes, they’re gonna get sick, they’re gonna cheat on their wives, they’re gonna do whatever it is they do that’s gonna destroy that image you have and make you angry at them, even though you projected that on them.  And so they get to have that type of a relationship and you can really see it from Jump Street.  You can see Kanan kind of resist, and you can see him get sucked in because the way Taylor plays Ezra is, he may be a smart alleck but he knows how to  show you vulnerability and–and that’s what kind of gets me.

We read together like we’re in the room at the same time.  It’s a very collaborative process.  It’s very Breakfast Clubby, you know what I mean, like we do everything in order.  It is, they shot that movie like a play basically.  The scenes in the beginning and end were the only things they shot out of order.  The rest of that Movie was all together and that’s–that’s kind of how we record.  You know what I mean, unless we got a big dog and we got to shoot out there.

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How did you get this role?

Freddie:  It’s weird.  I’ve taken a step back from acting when we had kids and I didn’t want to leave Los Angeles anymore.  I wanted to be present.  Since they shoot don’t anything in Los Angeles, that was sort of that.  And so it became very easy to not work and I was starting to get kind of creatively antsy and I did a couple of voices on video games which these days are way more drawn out than Mario Bros.  You know what I mean?  You do a voice for Mario and it’s like ‘Hey look at me.’  Then you work on a video game today and it’s 6 months worth of work.  And I really started getting hungry and those acting juices started flowing again.  And when this script came around, you have to remember, I didn’t know that it was “Star Wars.”  So I wasn’t that excited.  I was like these guys are ripping this off.  This isn’t even, you know what I mean, like it’s not that good.  A Sun Sword?  That’s not cool, you know.  So you’re not hyped up and then it wasn’t until I read, I didn’t know if I–if I booked it.  I know I did a good job.  And so you know, you kind of dissociate cause you don’t want to be like yes.  And then like no, no.  So you know, you wait, you wait, and then I heard that I got it.  And it’s just this very surreal moment, you know.  And I’m sure it was different for Vanessa, for Steve, certainly for Taylor, Arden.  We’re generationally so far apart.  For me, I mean, I slipped down the slide when I was 4 years old with a broken flagpole cause I was Luke and my cousin was Darth Vader.  I have to be specific, there are so many Darths now.  Back then it was only this.  But you know, the pole hit the ground first and it stuck in my chin and my mom ran out and my chin blew out.  And you know, she flipped and threw me in the car and took me to the hospital and they stitched this little scar I have back here.  I had 16 and it looked like I had a little Goatee and I was only 4.  And so you know, those, all those images start racing back through your head and you’re reading dialogue, you know, telling a kid, come with me.  Come learn the ways of the forest, you know what I mean?  (laughing)  From 4 years old to 38 years old, I mean, come on, it’s easy to know that I really care about this.

Do you have a real Light Sabre?

Freddie:  A real Light Sabre?  When do I get my real Light Saber? (turning to Dave)

Dave:  No, you’re not ready for that.

The half-hour series will premiere on Disney XD MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT).

 

Our family is super excited and we have it scheduled to record.

 

Follow @DisneyChannelPR and @StarWars for the latest news on #StarWarsRebels, and check out StarWars.com for more exciting news on the series.

Star Wars Rebels Freddie Group

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Disney Channel, entertainment, interview, movie, star wars rebels, tv

Star Wars Rebels Vanessa Marshall Chats about Star Wars Episode VII #StarWarsRebelsEvent

May 5, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Vanessa Marshall is known for her voice over work and will be in the new Disney series Star Wars Rebels in the fall on the Disney Channel XD. She was born in New York City and is the daughter of Joan Van Ark. She is passionate about Women and single moms and of children. She supports SOS Children’s Villages, Free Arts for Abused Children and Step Up Women’s Network. And while chatting with her she spoke of how on the set of Star Wars Rebels she is like a mom to the team always making sure they eat when they are hungry. Sounds to me like she may not have kids yet but she’s ready to be a mom.

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Vanessa Marshall was amazing she knew all about us and our blogs. It’s very rare for someone to take the time to read our blogs and know what we’ve been posting. She’s probably going to read this post too which makes it slightly harder to write. Winking smile I get nervous when I realize people actually do read my blog. I mean I know people read it but in my mind I don’t actually think people are reading it when I’m writing it. LOL I know I’m crazy!

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Vanessa Marshall did tell us about Star Wars VII. She’s just as excited as we are to follow along and hear the news. Yep, that’s right she only knows what we know. She is perfectly cast for her part in Star Wars Rebels as she’s been a Star Wars geek for a long long time.  She plays Hera Syndulla a rebel working with a Jedi pretending he’s not a Jedi because all Jedi are being hunted down between Star Wars Episode 3 and Episode 4.

In Star Wars rebels the cast actually gets to work together for recording sessions which is very rare in the animation world. But from what I can see it helps each other because they can actually react to what each character says. From the footage I saw last night, it’s going to be a great series. My family will be watching it as part of our TV family time.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Disney, entertainment, Episode VII, movie, Star Wars Episode VII, star wars rebels, Vanessa Marshall

Star Wars Rebels Trailer #maythe4thbewithyou #starwarsrebelsevent

May 4, 2014 by Momstart 1 Comment

Good luck getting this video to play, it is Star Wars day and all and everyone and their dog is trying to watch this video so I have seen on the internet that there are some loading issues. However, when it does play, I hope you enjoy. My kids are really looking forward to a show on Disney XD all about the Star Wars Rebels!
 
 

 

 

 

www.starwars.com – All Star Wars news…

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: may the 4th be with you, May the Fourth, movie, Star Wars, star wars day, star wars rebels

Star Wars Rebels Artwork #StarWarsDay #StarWarsRebels #Maythe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsRebelsEvent

May 4, 2014 by Momstart 1 Comment

Ok, so yeah that’s a lot of hashtags for a title bar but this is exciting stuff. Star Wars is slowly coming back to life. Not that it ever stopped but I mean this stuff is starting to fly. With a new animated series on the way and then a movie to come the following year Star Wars is on the map and we’re at the heart of it all getting to work so closely with Disney. 132963_TT

Star Wars Rebels:

An animated TV series set between the events of Episode III and IV, Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. SWRebels_Heroes_hires

I wanted to share the art work with you because that’s something that I find interesting and hope you do to. SO here is the artwork from Star Wars Rebels coming on Disney XD in the Fall. SWRebels_Villains_hires

Here are a few of the Star Wars Rebels Stills:

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And here is some propaganda art. Which side are you on?

SWR Propaganda postcard6SWR Propaganda postcard1SWR Propaganda postcard2SWR Propaganda postcard3SWR Propaganda postcard4SWR Propaganda postcard5

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Disney, may the 4th be with you, May the Fourth, movie, Star Wars, star wars rebels

May The Fourth Be With You #StarWarsRebelsEvent #ABCTVEvent #MillionDollarArmEvent

April 27, 2014 by Momstart 2 Comments

I’m super excited about May The Fourth this year because I’ll be in LA learning all about the new series Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD. My kids are super excited about Star Wars Rebels and we’re going to set the DVR to record it so we don’t miss a single episode.

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I’m also going to be visiting the set of Jimmy Kimmel.

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I will attend a live taping of JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! from a VIP room in the show’s theatre! Executive Producer Jill Leiderman will stop by before the show to chat and afterwards, Jimmy’s trusty security guard Guillermo Rodriguez will be your guide on a tour of the set! Plus, you will mix, mingle and chat with the creators/executive producers of a variety of ABC shows about their upcoming season finales & summer premieres AND visit the set of ABC’s sassy summer drama, MISTRESSES, where you will meet & greet with available cast members for interviews!

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And last but not least I will be attending the red carpet premiere of MILLION DOLLAR ARM (opening in theatres on 5/16).

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Sounds like it’s going to be full of entertainment.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: ABCTV, entertainment, May the Fourth, Million dollar arm, movie, star wars rebels, travel, trip

Stormtroopers Walk The Red Carpet For Star Wars Rebels #StarWarsRebelsEvent

April 27, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Star Wars Rebels….An animated TV series set between the events of Episode III and IV, Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.

"Star Wars" Stormtroopers, with actors Taylor Gray and Tiya Sircar of Disney XD’s upcoming animated series "Star Wars Rebels" were at the Radio Disney Music Awards, a celebration of kids and families’ favorite music yesterday [Saturday, April 26] at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. "Disney Channel Presents The Radio Disney Music Awards," a television special originating from the event, will be presented SUNDAY, APRIL 27 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

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"Star Wars" Stormtroopers arrive on the red carpet of the Radio Disney Music Awards, a celebration of kids and families’ favorite music yesterday [Saturday, April 26] at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. "Disney Channel Presents The Radio Disney Music Awards," a television special originating from the event, will be presented SUNDAY, APRIL 27 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

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Photo Credit: © DISNEY CHANNEL/Matt Petit

Filed Under: Movie review, TV Tagged With: Disney Channel, star wars rebels, tv

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