Behind the Scenes: Lady and the Tramp
Posted on February 3, 2012 at 8:00 am
In honor of the release of Disney’s Diamond edition of the classic, “Lady and the Tramp,” here is a glimpse behind the scenes:
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Big Miracle
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 6:00 pm
B+| Lowest Recommended Age: | 4th - 6th Grades |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for language |
| Profanity: | Brief strong language |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | Alcohol, character gets tipsy |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Human and animal characters in peril, references to hunting and eating whales, sad animal death |
| Diversity Issues: | Diverse characters |
| Date Released to Theaters: | February 3, 2012 |
| Date Released to DVD: | June 18, 2012 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B005LAIGQ4 |
“You’re not as easy to hate as I thought,” an oil man tells an environmental activist in “Big Miracle,” the heartwarming true story of a 1987 effort to rescue three Alaskan whales. It could just as well have been said by any of the more than a dozen lead characters who find themselves part of a “cockeyed coalition.” People who viewed each other with suspicion, if not downright animosity, are brought together to save a family of whales affectionately named after Flintstones characters.
The obstacle for the whales was five miles of ice that had to be cut away in sub-zero temperatures so the whales could get to the ocean. The bigger obstacle was the struggle for the humans to try to find a way to work together.
“Big Miracle” is the story of a rescue operation put together by people who each wanted something different. Native Inupiat whale hunters wanted to “harvest” (kill and eat) the whales. Environmentalists wanted to protect them. The US military did not want to ask for help from a Soviet ice cutting ship. An oil developer wanted to improve his reputation. Two Minnesota entrepreneurs wanted to show off their ice melting machine. Politicians wanted to look good or look innocent. And journalists wanted a story.
Director Ken Kwapis and screenwriters Jack Amiel and Michael Begler deftly keep the multi-character story from getting too cluttered with the help of appealing performances that give us an instant connection to the humans who are literally trying to save the whales. Standouts in the cast include John Krasinski as a television reporter who is tired of being stuck in a backwater where nothing exciting happens, Kathy Baker as an unexpected supporter with inside information, Dermot Mulroney as a frustrated military officer, and John Pingayeck on his first movie role as a grandfather trying to teach his grandson to listen to the world outside his earphones.
When the reporter’s story is picked up for a national broadcast, the first to arrive is Rachel (an earnest and believably bedraggled Drew Barrymore). She is an environmental activist with no resources but a good story. One by one, those who resist getting involved revise their positions when they are in the spotlight. No one wants to risk bad publicity–or pass up the chance to look heroic.
Even as the people come together, the logistical challenge becomes overwhelming and — parent alert — the ultimate rescue is bittersweet, not entirely triumphant.
The people stories, especially a trumped-up romantic triangle, are not as intriguing as the portrayal of pre-Internet news media. With only three network news broadcasts just half an hour each evening, everyone from school children to White House staffers watched the same stories. The archival footage is like the hub that holds all the parts of the story together, and there are some pointed jabs at media focus on the sensational over the significant.
A turning point comes when White House aide Kelly Meyers (based on Bonnie Carroll) persuades President Ronald Reagan, at the end of his term, to call on his counterpart in the USSR for help from a Soviet ice cutting ship. (Be sure to watch for photos of Carroll’s real life wedding to the military officer she met at the rescue over the closing credits.).
Meyers sets up a “Hello Gorby, this is Ronnie” phone call that serves as a literal ice breaker for the whales and a metaphorical one for two nations in the very earliest stages of post-Evil Empire relations. The people saved the whales, but the real miracle was that they learned their differences were small compared to what they had in common with each other and with the giant mammals who needed their help.
Parents should know that this movie includes animal and human peril and references to hunting and eating whales. One of the whales dies (off-screen).
Family discussion: How many different reasons did the characters have for helping the whales? How did the risk of bad publicity or the benefits of good publicity change their behavior? What is different now from the era when this took place?
If you like this, try: “Free Willy” and “Whale Rider” and the book about the real-life rescue by Tom Rose
The Real Story: ‘Big Miracle’ and the Alaskan Whale Rescue
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 3:59 pm
This week’s “Big Miracle” is about the real-life story of the 1988 rescue effort to save three trapped whales in Alaska. The film is based in part on Big Miracle
The film focuses on the challenges of the arctic conditions and the bigger challenges of finding a way for the humans to set aside their differences for a common goal. It also touches on some ot the darker themes Rose addresses more extensively in his book, as indicated by its original title: Freeing The Whales: How the Media Created the World’s Greatest Non-Event Rose points out that the Soviet ice-cutting ship portrayed in the media of the time and the movie of today as the whale-saver was actually in Alaska as a part of the USSR’s whale-slaughter industry, the largest in the world at the time of the rescue and for many years after. Rose’s book explores the role of the media in what a cynical character in the movie calls “cat up a tree” stories. The rescue of the three whales had enormous public appeal, but all around it were stories the media overlooked that were more important by any measure. Rose calculated that the cost of the rescue and media coverage was more than $5.7 million.
“e came to tell the world about a common occurrence,” he wrote “the routine stranding of three whales under a patch of ice. The only thing that made this stranding extraordinary was that it happened just 20 miles from a satellite uplink earth station. Had the facility been located far away, these whales, like dozen of others each year, would have died ordinary deaths.”
The movie shows how all of the participants in the rescue used or tried to use the media for their own purposes, including Greenpeace, which had to bring in more people to answer phones as calls came in from all over the world and the oil man portrayed in the film by Ted Danson. Rose writes:
The $500,000 ARCO spent on Operation Breakout was one of the best investments it ever made. A $20 million public relations campaign couldn’t have bought a tenth the goodwill ARCO earned helping free the three trapped whales. It seemed to be perfect timing. ARCO cashed in at a critical juncture in the history of the slumping Alaskan oil industry. No oil company in Alaska ever received more favorable press coverage than ARCO did during its two week investment in Operation Breakout. Usually the rich whipping boy of the environmentalists, ARCO now worked side by side with Cindy Lowry and Greenpeace. In the game of P.R. Pac-Man, ARCO swallowed any hint of criticism by pouring tremendous resources into a rescue destined to save three animals endangered by nature, not man’s insatiable carving for fossil fuels.
Of course, ARCO’s work on behalf of the three whales stranded in Barrow did nothing to clean up its share of the more than 11,000 acres of North Slope Arctic tundra the Environmental Protection Agency said were ruined by oil drilling.
We don’t know what happened to the whales who made it out. We do know that the media has changed in many ways since 1988 but still focuses on cute, upbeat, human (and animal) interest stories instead of big, complicated, less upbeat stories. The same could be said for “inspired by a true story” movies, but this one has enough respect for its audience to include a witty coda that is sure to spark some worthwhile conversations.
Happy Groundhog Day!
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 10:00 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_yDWQsrajA
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Ali Arikan has a brilliant assessment of “Groundhog Day” at Slant Magazine.
Interview: Ali Landry of ‘Me Again’
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 8:00 am
Have you ever wished you had taken another path? We all wonder what our lives would be like if we had made a different choice and movies like “Me Myself I,” “The Family Man,” and “Sliding Doors” feature characters who get a chance to see the road not taken. The latest film to explore this idea is “Me Again
I spoke to the beautiful Ali Landry about her role as the preacher’s estranged wife and her faith as a sustaining force in her life and her relationships.
Why was this film something you wanted to do?
Me Again is a great little family film and very witty and funny and I liked the topic it tackled.
Is it important to you that your work be family-friendly?
Yes. There are a lot of things I consider when I look at a project, but the most important is the takeaway for the audience. Does it inspire them to take action? What is the message behind it?
What is the takeaway for this film?
They say it several times in the film — happiness is a choice and before you start looking outside the place you are in, think about the blessings that you do have in your life. My husband and I talk about it all the time. We don’t understand how a marriage can survive without having God in it. All you have to do is reach out and He will answer. He is there for you.
What do you and your husband do to keep God present in your marriage?
We go to church of course. We have a Bible study we go to — that’s where we met. We surround ourselves with like-minded friends. And we like to do business where everyone is on the same page. My husband knows that his producing partners will hold him accountable and have his back in every situation.
Tell me a little about your faith journey.
I grew up Catholic and I was practicing to a certain extent but I was not walking the walk. I was going through my life with blinders on. I am very clear on the changing moment. Before I met my husband I was in a relationship for six years. There was infidelity and it really caused me to re-evaluate and change my entire life. That was the moment I began seeking out God and needed Him to help me put one foot in front of the other.
Do you have a favorite Bible verse?
I didn’t have a favorite verse at the time when I was seeking God but I would pray before opening the Bible and ask a question and the passage I would read would give me a wave of peace and I always thought, “My questions were answered.”
How do you balance your home and work life?
That is the big question. Every day I try to figure it out. I go into every day with the intention of being the best I can be for my husband, for my children, for my work, for my friends. But I try to give myself a break. As a mom there’s the overwhelming guilt you always have about not doing enough but the next day is a new day and I will start fresh and try again.
Do you, like the character in the movie, sometimes wish you could see what your life would be if you took another path?
I don’t even go there. I honestly feel like in that situation I told you about I heard God’s voice more clearly than I ever had in my life. That’s where I was seeking Him out the most. Even with the choices I’ve made since then I’ve felt I was swimming against the tide and out on my own. I had a lot of pushback from my agents and managers when I gave them limitations on what I would and would not do. But it gave me strength and I know I am doing exactly what I need to be doing in my life. Any time I see a glimmer of “what if” or “I wish,” it’s about switching the gears in your mind. I know I am where I am supposed to be and I’ve never been so happy and content. That’s the difference in having the Lord in your life. It keeps you in check.
Is it difficult to be a person of faith in show business?
Absolutely! I have to say no to a lot of projects. Thank goodness my husband and I are on the exact same page and he encourages me. I was working working working for ten years with no breaks. As soon as I took a stand, everything stopped and that was shocking. But he encouraged me to take on my own projects and and I am working very hard and very excited and happy.
Tell me about your newest television project.
It’s called “Hollywood Girls Night.” It was originally “Hollywood Moms Night.” Alison Sweeney and I started it about 18 months ago. We would invite our friends, other girls in the business and celebrity moms once a month, pot luck at each others’ homes, to be a support system for each other. On television you see women so many times tearing each other apart. One of my friends is actually on one of those shows and they pull her into meetings and say, “There’s not enough drama, you need to confront each other!” We wanted to do something where we just showed up for each other, a support system both professionally and in our home lives. People really responded to that and said they wanted to start their own groups. So we decided to create a television show, and it premieres on March 5. And I have another project called Spokesmoms, where every mom is a spokesmom, giving moms that really strong voice about the products they love.