Favourite Movie Friday with Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi

Since Tangled opened yesterday, what more appropriate time to do Favourite Movie Friday with its stars Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore.

Zach:
“Forrest Gump, I loved it. I was 12-years-old and on a family vacation (when I saw it) and I cried my eyes out from the point where his mom died . . .I couldn’t stop crying. My parents thought something was wrong with me and there was. Groundhog Day, one of my favourites and anything with Bill Murray, Ghostbusters. Amelie, one of my favourite love stories, it transcends language. "

Mandy:
"Annie Hall, one of my favourites and Groundhog Day, for sure. Amelie."

Tangled is out now.

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Getting hairy

Forget singing lessons and pops stars, for Mandy Moore it was a little mermaid who first made her want to be singer.
``The whole reason I wanted to start singing was because of Ariel, it's crazy for life to come full circle in that way,'' says the 26-year-old.

The singer and actress was in Australia recently promoting Disney film Tangled, with co-star Zachary Levi of Chuck fame and I got to chat them exclusively from their Melbourne hotel room (above). The animated flick is a retelling of Rapunzel and a return to the classic fairytales Disney is renowned for says Moore.
``Zach and I both loved Disney movies growing up, I know he loved Aladdin and for me it was The Little Mermaid.
``To have the opportunity to make an animated Disney musical is . . . wow.
``They're not making very many any more and knowing too what those films meant to us as kids, there's nothing cooler.''

Levi too says being part of Tangled was an `absolute bucket list dream come true'.
``We were both in that prime age when The Little Mermaid started the third dynasty of Disney and now we're part of kicking off that fourth dynasty,'' he says.
``Regardless of their chapters or dynasties, we have done a Disney animated musical and it happens to be their 50th so we got to be part of that milestone.
``Thank God we weren't told that until after because it would have been a lot of pressure and now with the Golden Globe nominations, it's amazing.''During their time in Australia the Golden Globe nominations were announced, with Tangled up for animated feature and original song. With Oscar nominations at the end of next month, the film is a sure thing to fight it out against Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon in the animation category.
``I don't know what the chances are, it sounds so clichaacé to say `just to be nominated' but just to be nominated is amazing,'' says Levi.
``Each of the films is very different.
``You can watch Tangled and appreciate it for its very classic Disney storytelling mixed with great CGI.''
Moore says ``As someone who has never been involved with anything that has been nominated before, I'm very excited.''

While Moore is known for her vocal chords, having started in the industry as pop singer before crossing over to acting, Levi had the opportunity to belt a few notes in the Disney musical as well. And although he's known for his acting, the result of his first time in a singing role are both impressive and surprising.
``First of all thank you very much, I really appreciate that,'' he says.
``I always sang. I've always grown up doing musical theatre and I always believed I had an adequate voice, but so to do the people in first weeks of American Idol.
``To have never been hired for my voice and then with this, suddenly I was.
``I like the idea of surprising people and I have different things that I can do, I just don't advertise it.''
``He's very gracious,'' says Moore.You would think the pair have established a playful banter from their hours in the studio working together on the film, but they say the only time they really got to collaborate together was afterwards.
``We did 100 per cent more work together during this press tour than we ever did during the film,'' says Levi.
``The only time we got to work together was on the duet,'' agrees Moore.
``The whole thing was surreal,'' says Levi.
``I was in a real orchestral sound stage and I look over in the booth and there was Mandy Moore who has an incredible voice and has been recording for a long time.''

Although Moore is a recording veteran, having worked professionally since she was 14, Tangled provided plenty of challenges.
``It takes you back to being a kid because you have to dig back into your imagination - there's no point of reference,'' she says.
``It's not like the animation is done and it's playing on a big screen and you can just lip sync in with characters.
``It's sort of a blank slate so it's up to you to figure out how you view this world.
``There's an element about that that's really taxing emotionally, but it's really fun as well.
``The directors were fantastic and were happy to indulge me and read lines.
``Zach and I did the dialogue separately and Nathan (Greno) and Byron (Howard) (the directors) were roped into playing Mother Gothel and thugs.
``It was a lot of fun.''

Tangled is out Thursday, January 6.

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The toys are back in town

Finally, I’m so excited that I can share my thoughts on Toy Story 3 with you guys. I saw it three weeks ago and had to sign an embargo with Disney to hold-off on publishing, posting or even mentioning the film on social networking sites until the date was lifted a few days ago. So, here goes.

Toy Story was the first film released to use only Computer-generated Imagery, CGI and it redefined the course of movie making and animated films forever. Fifteen years later, Pixar and Disney are hoping to recreate that magic with the third film in the franchise.

Toy Story 3 sees Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the beloved characters accidentally dumped in a day-care centre after their owner, Andy, goes to college. From the fantastical opening which captures the imagination of children, to the signature wit and humour of the story, the film is a worthy entrant in the series. Other animated franchises, like Shrek, have struggled to find purpose in the later films. However, Toy Story 3 progresses, it grows up, and introduces new elements instead of trying to rehash formulas that worked previously.
There are also some colourful new characters introduced, the highlights being the flamboyant and uber metro sexual Ken (voiced by Michael Keaton), a dialogue-free security monkey, and Mr Pricklepants (voiced by Timothy Dalton) a stuffed-hedgehog who recites Shakespeare. The use of 3D technology is executed perfectly, immersing the audience in the experience rather than trying to be gimmicky.

Overall this is slower, and a little sadder than its predecessors. Even the adults will be hard pressed to hold back a tear when Andy realises that he has to grow up and leave his childhood friends behind. It feels like the writers have made a conscious effort to wrap up the series, while at the same time leaving the tiniest bit of potential for a fourth film. Only time will tell if the toys once again come out of the box.

Toy Story 3 opens in cinemas this Thursday, and already it is smashing box office records for Pixar and Disney in the US. Looks like there’s no `death by monkey’s’ for this series.

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Why YOU should know David Gould

Above: A still from Awaken

After working alongside Peter Jackson on the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong, filmmaker David Gould has big plans for the Gold Coast.
In fact, the world class director, animator, producer and screenwriter wants to build an empire on the coast, similar to how Jackson has made Wellington a base for major international blockbusters.
With his new animated short film, Awaken gaining momentum overseas and locally through the Gold Coast Film Fantastic, Gould is preparing to head to the American Film Market in a few weeks to pitch three feature film projects, all to be made at his Burleigh Heads studio.
The projects will be live-action, a combination of actors working with computer animated imagery, with sets being built in his studio and exterior's shot at various Gold Coast locations.
``The three feature film projects we will be presenting over there are different genres and different styles, but always with the main focus to make mainstream international films,'' said Gould.
``We don't make Australian films, we make international films for a mass audience but we want to shoot it all on the Gold Coast.
``You can go from the beach to the mountains, the suburbs to the city really quickly and what you can't do externally, you can build.''

Above: A still from Awaken

Gould and his team built a prison set at the studio for his short film Inseparable Coil, which he said is an "appetizer'' for the feature film that looks at the relationship between twin brothers and the events that test their bond.
The film screened at the 29th Breckenridge Festival of Film in Colorado and featured in Digital Media World magazine for its cutting edge technology.
``The film was set in Boston, but we shot it all here on the Gold Coast and you really couldn't tell the difference,'' said Gould.
``That's what we want to do with a lot of out films.
``There's a lot of potential for films in Australia and we need to attract the talent here.
``It's important to have a base, whether we shoot a film in Malaysia and do all the post production here or do the whole process from here.''

Below: David Gould

With over 15-years in visual effects and computer graphics, Gould has worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation and Peter Jackson's company Weta Digital, where he was the senior technical director on King Kong and 3D lighting technical director on Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers and Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.
Working with Jackson, arguably one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, Gould said he learnt a lot about running his own studio.
``Peter is in many ways inspirational because it's not so long ago he was working on his first film, taking four years to shoot it on the weekends and with his friends as the actors.
``He comes from a low budget film making background and has built his empire, so to speak.
``There's two sides to him, he's known as this guy-next-door-type and he would roll up to work in a jacket with duct tape on it, board shorts and no shoes and just rock in and tell us what to do.
``But at the same time, with King Kong he was the highest paid director getting $32 million to do it.
``Now he can build his whole production in Wellington from the script all the way to shooting it.
``When he took on Lord Of The Rings they wanted him to shoot in L.A, but he said `no' and made them shoot in New Zealand which was great for the sweeping landscapes and tourism.
``We could do something similar here if we perfect our production on the Gold Coast.''
Gould writes, produces, directs and does the post production on his films, and his wife also helps produce.

Above: A still from Awaken

Awaken, his latest short film has been getting all sorts of buzz, and not just from animation enthusiast like myself.
About a robot soldier that learns how precious life is when he inadvertently raises a small bird, the film shares a trait with Pixar Oscar winner Wall E; it has no dialogue.
“The idea is effectively about him coming to terms with the world around him, and the importance of life.
“There’s no dialogue at all, a lot of the emotions are all told through facial expression.
“Everyone was amazed how emotive the characters were as the robot is very simple in design, he’s just a mouth that opens and closes.
“Like a mechanical puppet in a way.
“It comes down to how he holds his head and how we position the camera.
“The fact he doesn’t speak in the movie makes the movie very personal, because the audience makes up their own mind’s about what he's thinking.
“A lot of people interpret the ending in a different way, and that’s why the film is getting a lot of great responses.
“There’s no right or wrong interpretation, I love hearing people’s thoughts on that.”

Above: A still from Awaken

Quite the interesting guy, no? You can find out more about Gould, his projects, films, past work and David Gould Studios by heading over to his website here. The biography is particularly impressive and hopefully he goes on to make as much as an impression with his cutting-edge films' as Jackson has. Fingers crossed.

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Disney + Marvel = zombies

Don’t question my headline, it’s true. Well, if your legendary illustrator Jeffrey Thomas that is. Since the big buy up a few months ago (when Disney purchased Marvel) it was only a matter of time before someone did a Disney Marvel mash-up. I personally didn’t think it would end up this awesome as Thomas has posted a seriously brilliant collection of Disney Princesses; zombified. I believe the official title is Twisted Princess but whatever. Check them out below.

My favourite is his take on Pocahontas, though the Snow White and Cinderalla are quite spectacular also. You can check out more of Thomas’ artwork on his blog The Art Of Jeffrey Thomas. While we’re on the topic of Disney, I’m so excited to hear they’re making a return to the beautiful 2D animated films they became renowned for. In January 2010 they’re releasing their version of The Princess And The Frog and you can check out the trailer below . . .it gave me goosebumps.

Disney are also busy finishing up work on Rapunzel, which is scheduled for release in January 2011 for us Aussies. The concept art looks positively magically and you can judge for yourself below.

Something stirred inside me when I heard about Disney making a return to 2D animation, after all, it’s what they do best. More than that, I grew up watching Disney animated movies and they’re a treasured, magical part of my childhood. Yeah, yeah not everyone enjoys getting lost in the fairytales, the gorgeous animation or musical numbers but I like to think there’s a large number or people who do. I get a lil’ warm and fuzzy knowing that even though I’m all grown up now *cough millions of other little girls will get to experience the magic (yes, I said it – magic) of Disney.

By popular vote I will go slap myself in the face now.

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