Last month, after the final Harry Potter film was released on DVD/Blu Ray, my sister and I watched all 8 films over the course of a week and then took a road trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida. Technically, it’s part of Universal Studios Orlando in the Islands of Adventure park but the Wizarding World is a destination in itself.
My sister had never seen past the second film and has never read the books. Watching all 8 with a newbie was definitely an enjoyable experience but it does point out some of the flaws in the movies. There are parts that make absolutely no sense to those who haven’t read the books. Overall though, the movies are an incredible achievement with every single character played by the same cast member (except Dumbledore) over the course of 8 movies.
I don’t necessarily think all of the Harry Potter movies are great but there is one thing you can not deny: the world is amazingly creative and rich. That’s what I love about them and that’s what you experience by going to the Wizarding World.
The Wizarding World is a place for fans of Harry Potter. It’s very much like Comic-Con. People from all over the world congregate there and share their unashamed love of all things Potter. It is not uncommon to see people dressed up as their favorite characters. In line for the rides you’ll hear debates about various things relevant to the Potter mythos.
I must admit, I got caught up in the excitement. I spent way too much money on Butterbeer (a rich butterscotch/cream soda drink), Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, and Chocolate Frogs.
The unique element that the Wizarding World has that most Theme Parks do not have is that the designers chose to fully immerse you into the world as much as they could. The shops in Hogsmeade have regular doors rather than the double wide automatic doors that most theme parks have. They want you to feel like you are actually in a shop that Harry and his friends would visit. And you won’t find merchandise that says ‘Harry Potter’ in the shops. It’s all about the reality of the world — you aren’t in a theme park.
My favorite shop is Olivander’s Wand Shop. They sell all of the movie wands as well as wands that are specific to your birthday. The show in the wand shop is amazing, recreating the scene from Sorcerer’s Stone for one lucky park guest. This always has a long line so be sure to see it first thing in the morning. It’s a short show but it is NOT to be missed.
And yes, I did buy a wand. How could I not?
(Thanks to Ricky Brigante of Inside the Magic for taking this picture.)
By far the coolest thing to see is the attraction Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It combines the animatronics and sets of a dark ride with a great simulator ride. I won’t say anything more than that — I don’t want to spoil the experience. It is definitely my favorite theme park ride — and that’s saying a lot considering I’m a huge Disneyland/Disney World fan. Watch out for Dementors!
I had a great two days immersing myself into everything Potter casting spells and drinking Butterbeer. I felt like I was 11 years old.
Check out the pictures we took and go plan your trip today! You won’t regret it. If you want to know more about the Wizarding World, head on over to InsidetheMagic.net and see their comprehensive coverage.
The best TV sitcom ever to grace the small screen is The Dick Van Dyke show. Created by Carl Reiner, it starred a cast of brilliant comedians including Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, and Carl Reiner himself. Garry Marshall (of Happy Days fame) was a writer for the show.
If you aren’t familiar with the show: it’s about a TV writer who uses his experiences at home with his wife and son to inspire the comedy scripts he writes for the show. Dick Van Dyke stars as the writer, Rob Petrie, with Mary Tyler Moore as his wife, Laura. This show is important to me for two reasons — it’s partly to blame for my desire to write for TV/Film. It looks like so much fun. The other reason — Laura was my first crush. Those capri pants and that 60′s hair… wow.
A few weeks ago, Josh and I had the pleasure of attending the 50th Anniversary of the show held at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, and Garry Marshall spoke for about an hour and they showed 3 classic episodes on the big screen. (That was a rare treat.)
As we waited for the show to begin, a woman was wheeled into the auditorium and an applause errupted. It took Josh and myself just a few seconds to realize who the woman was. Rose Marie. This woman is a living legend. She’s been performing since she was Baby Rose Marie when she was three years old. She always had a trademark bow in her hair, always on one side.
There were also a ton of guest stars and relatives of the cast and crew. One of the most prolific directors of the show and cast member Jerry Paris’ sons were in attendance and sat a few feet from us.
The entire night was just another reminder that these shows and films we love aren’t made by the superhuman – they’re made by people. And Josh and I are people. There’s no reason why we couldn’t do what they do.
We recorded the hour long discussion and I’ve uploaded it for you all to listen to. There’s a rare treat about 15 minutes in when Dick Van Dyke performs the theme song to the show with his a cappella group, The Vantastix.
And to show you how star struck we were, here’s a terrible picture of Carl Reiner leaving the men’s bathroom after the show.
One side note — my parents introduced us to this show when Nick at Nite ran a marathon of the entire show in the early 90s. My family was camping that week — we had set the timer on our VCR to record the shows. But the tapes always ran out with 2 hours left each night. So, we’d pack the family up and drive all the way back to our home, pop in a fresh tape, and drive back to the camp site. Every night. At the time, we thought our parents were a little strange. But after watching those tapes till they wore out, we now know why this was so important. Thank God for DVDs.
Ryan Gosling is an extremely busy man. This summer he’s appeared in the rom-com, Crazy, Stupid, Love, he has a film coming out in October in which he co-stars with George Clooney, and according to imdb.com he has at least three more films either in production, or in pre-production. But before you see Ryan with George, you’ll have the chance to see him in the stylish heist film, Drive, which opens Friday, September 16th.
If you’ve been following his career at all, you may have noticed that Gosling is a bit of a chameleon on the silver screen. He first came to notoriety for playing the romantic lead in The Notebook. Then the hot young actor did something unusual and starred in the low budget indie, Half Nelson, only to follow that up with the oddball role of Lars in Lars and the Real Girl. Now the handsome, blonde, and blue-eyed fresh face of Hollywood has yet again done something completely different – he’s playing the man of mystery in his latest film, a Neo-Noir, or should I say Neon Noir (it’ll make since when you listen to the recording).
Just the other day, I was among a small group of press with whom Gosling sat down and talked about Drive, his approach to acting, his emphasis on change, and his career plans for the future. Let’s just say it’s not a fluke that he decided to work with Clooney who’s an actor who became a director, but it’s better if you hear it for yourself. The reporters who surrounded me were very bright and asked some great questions that allowed for a great flow of conversation, and a nice bit of insight into a rising star that’s obviously in the game for the long haul.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with John Sayles about his latest film Amigo. Amigo is an historical drama that opened August 19th. It’s a beautifully shot film set on a small, occupied island during the Philippine-American War.
Although the cast is mostly unknown to American audiences, the performances are exceptional, performed by an appealing cast led by Filipino actor, Joel Torre. With a story that centers on a small village thrust into a war they understand very little about, the film’s theme holds a striking significance for the modern audience given the events happening all over the world today.
When I first arrived at Du-Par’s at the Farmers Market in LA I had intended to ask Sayles about his filmmaking process, from the point in which he becomes interested in a project to the development and producing of the final product. I was particularly interested in this because Amigo, like most of Sayles’ films (Brother From Another Planet, Matewan, Lone Star) has a certain degree of social consciousness, and yet manages to maintain a high level of entertainment throughout the picture. I had my list of questions carefully planned out, but you know what they say about best-laid plans.
As you will hear from the recording below, I didn’t get around to hardly any of the questions I had in mind. Instead, the conversation took on a life of its’ own. And well, I was enjoying listening to Sayles so much I just let the topic go where it wanted. As you’ll soon hear that’s the best thing to do when interviewing a master storyteller, because what they have to say is far more interesting than anything you may want them to say. And man, can Sayles talk. From observations about bicycling in LA, to the use of locals in his films, to memories of going to the drive-in as a kid, and more, Sayles can tell a fascinating tale.
What you’re about to hear starts off with Sayles mid sentence reacting to the fact I rode a bicycle to the interview, and it just flows in all directions from there. If you like Sayles (or even just listening to an intelligent director) you’re going to like listening to him as much as I did. And if you don’t know Sayles, you’re going to want to after listening to this recording. I recommend starting out with Amigo since it’s in theaters now, and follow up with putting Lone Star and Eight Men Out on your NetFlix list. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
As I posted earlier, on June 2-3, Josh and I were invited to cover the Grand Re-Opening of Star Tours at Disneyland as well as the Grand Opening of the new The Little Mermaid attraction at Disney California Adventure.
Today, I wanted to share with you about The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. We were there for the opening ceremonies where none other than the voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson, was on hand to perform a medley of songs from the film. This was an experience that I’ll never forget. She’s still got it! Check out the video:
This new attraction is the next generation “dark ride.” Picture any of the attractions in Fantasyland injected with steroids. It’s the same idea — floating through various scenes like you would in Peter Pan, Snow White, or Pinnochio. But instead of small rooms, with half size figures, The Little Mermaid ride is MASSIVE with life-size characters. The Ursula is especially large and foreboding.
If you are a fan of The Little Mermaid, you’ll love the ride. If not, it may not be your thing. No thrills. What you see is what you get. But I liked it very much. And I was excited to see how the Imagineers used new technologies to achieve the same “dark ride” experience on a bigger scale.
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We teamed up with Ricky Brigante of Inside the Magic to cover the event. Head on over to InsidetheMagic.net to view full coverage of the events including video and pictures.
A few weeks ago, Josh and I attended Comic-Con in San Diego. Thankfully, because of our status as filmmakers, we were able to score Producers Passes — free.
We had a wonderful time both inside the convention hall and outside roaming the streets of beautiful San Diego. I thought I’d share a little bit of our experience.
I started each morning riding the San Diego Trolley along with several hundred other geeks. The sense of community is thick. We’re all there because we love elements of pop culture. Sometimes those things overlap and sometimes they don’t. But we can all respect each other.
The convention is held at the San Diego Convention Center right on the water and adjacent to the Gas Lamp district.
Advertisements can be found everywhere. They were really pushing Cowboys & Aliens hard.
Part of the fun of Comic-Con is seeing geeks dressed up as their favorite characters. Here’s someone dressed as my favorite character – Marty McFly.
But I’d have to say the best costumes I saw were The Frogg Brothers (played by two teen girls) from the movie Lost Boys.
Another fun element of Comic-Con are the random promotional stunts that are pulled. As we were walking the streets, we saw a long line of people at an ice-cream truck. Upon further investigation, we found that Seth Green was giving out free Ben & Jerry’s Ice-cream to promote Robot Chicken and Adult Swim. I snapped this photo.
With so much going on in the streets and on the convention floor (seems like MILES of booths to peruse,) it is easy to get distracted. But once I focused, I set about getting into the mythical Hall H. This is where they have all the biggest panels. It’s fairly tough to get into because once you are in, you’re in all day. The catch is, if you leave, you can’t get back in without waiting for hours and hours.
On Thursday night, I saw a discussion between Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro. It was fascinating. And for any Disney fans, be sure to listen to the audio — they talk about their future projects based on Disney Theme Park attractions. You can listen to that audio here: Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro.
But by far, the most amazing part of Comic-Con was seeing Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson live. They spoke about Tintin among other things. Here’s a picture of them with a fan who wore a shirt that said something like “It would make my day to shake Steven Spielberg’s hand.” So they invited him on stage and took photos with him. It was very sweet.
You can here the audio from their talk here: Spielberg and Jackson
I attended for 2 days. The con went on for another 2 but I had had enough. The crowds were almost unbearable. But looking back, I wish I had stayed longer. It’s incredibly fun. I highly recommend getting tickets… though getting tickets seems to be extremely difficult nowadays.
On June 2-3 of this year, Josh and I were invited to cover the Grand Re-Opening of Star Tours at Disneyland as well as the Grand Opening of the new The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure attraction at Disney California Adventure. And let me tell ya, Disney sure knows how to throw a party. We had such a fun weekend.
Today, I’ll give my review of Star Tours. Check back soon for my review of Little Mermaid.
The opening Ceremony for Star Tours wasn’t as impressive as I’d hoped it would be — George Lucas did not show up. But it was cute, including the Disneyland Resort president, Tom Staggs in the theatrics.
My thoughts:
The day the original Star Tours closed last year, I drove down from Santa Monica specifically to ride one last time. I waited in line for an hour along with many other like-minded geeks. I stood in line in silence saying goodbye to an old friend. To be honest, I didn’t trust George Lucas to reopen this classic attraction with anything that would live up to the original. I took my last trip to Endor and left the park, grieving. (I know – pathetic. But there is something so final about extinct Disney attractions.)
I can honestly say, I am blown away by “Star Tours 2.” I love it. The geniuses at ILM and Imagineering lovingly updated this attraction. They kept the traditional Star Tours jingle and even found a place for the original pilot, Rex.
The Queue – I was afraid they’d take away the giant Star Speeder, R2-D2, and C-3P0 but thankfully, they didn’t. Just spruced them up. The second room, the Robot Room, makes more sense — it’s more of a baggage handling area rather than some weird trash conveyor belt area from the original. I never quite got what was going on in that room — or why we were seeing behind the veil of Star Tours. The new security scanner at the end of the queue is hilarious.
The Ride – AMAZING. And so many variables. Over 50 different ride variations? Wow. I was a little worried about the 3D aspect but I am very impressed with it. Probably the best 3D and the best use of 3D I’ve ever seen. The destinations are great, even those revolving around the prequels. And making C-3PO the pilot actually works really well.
My only minor complaint is how the story exists in this strange in-between — there are elements of the prequels and the original trilogy in the ride. The timeline doesn’t quite work but I don’t mind.
The bottom line: Head on down to Disneyland or Walt Disney World and get in the two hour+ line to ride Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. You’ll love it.
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We teamed up with Ricky Brigante of Inside the Magic to cover the event. Head on over to InsidetheMagic.net to view full coverage of the events including video and pictures.
Hey guys and gals,
Some of you email us from time to time asking how to break into the industry. Here is a pretty cool way to try. Brett Ratner is holding a short film contest. The winner gets to work as a PA on his next production.
No matter what your opinion of Brett Ratner and his films, you have to respect the fact that he is working in the business and doing extremely well. I recommend anyone who is just starting out on their path to give it a try. Working on a big-budget blockbuster film would be a GREAT experience.
Saturday, July 2nd at 1:45 in the morning Turner Classic Movies will be airing an Ernst Lubitsch comedy classic, “To Be or Not To Be”. I don’t expect anyone to stay up late for this one, but I highly encourage you to set your recording devices for one of the funniest films ever made.
This 1942 classic stars Jack Benny and Carol Lombard as the husband and wife leads of a theater troupe in Warsaw. He’s incredibly vain and insecure while she is likely the biggest flirt in Poland. After Germany invades their country, they and their company of actors use their collective talents to dupe the Nazi’s and rescue a Polish flyer as well as their own skins.
Both Benny and Lombard are at their comedic best as they skillfully handle Lubitsch’s well-crafted words like dueling weapons, first as the playful banter of a husband and wife and later as loyalists armed with sharpened wits against their enemies. Particularly notable is Benny’s famous ability to comically affect indignation, and Lombard’s deadpan delivery of one straight line after another – no one should be that beautiful and that funny. Of course, as they improvise themselves out of one situation they only find themselves getting stuck in something even more difficult, requiring them to be more and more clever every step of the way. Benny’s near escape from being discovered as an imposter is comedy brilliance at its best, matched only by Lombard’s reaction to being trapped in a corner you don’t think she can possibly escape.
Much like a thriller or complicated espionage film you’re going to want to watch this film again and again just so you can go back and figure out exactly how they managed to resolve everything. Lubitsch keeps the pace that quick and snappy. And even though he never lingers on the political aspects for too long, Hitler himself plays a major part in a significant and hilarious plot development. Only Lubitsch could pull that off.
About a month ago, a friend asked me to act in an online commercial he was directing. He wanted me to play the role of a comic book nerd. If you know me, that’s a huge stretch.
(Sarcasm.)
Though I’m not a comic book fan, I do like all things nerdy — and my glasses and skinny frame help sell the part.
I’ve acted a little in college in student films. I even took an acting class. But I don’t consider myself to be an actor. Thankfully, I had only one word of dialogue.
I thought I’d do the video, get paid, and forget about it. I don’t really enjoy being in front of the camera. But instead, the commercial went VIRAL. At the time of this writing, it has 78,000 views. Insane.
Within a view days of posting, it was picked up by various comic book websites, each with its own opinion on the message of the video. Some appreciated the commercial’s portrayal of comic book nerds and others didn’t. My favorite review is found on ToplessRobot.com. I am called “reasonably attractive.” I’ll take it. 
(Beware – That site is sometimes NSFW)
Check out the video here:
