Interview: Bryce Dallas Howard of “Pete’s Dragon”

Posted on November 28, 2016 at 3:09 pm

Bryce Dallas Howard stars in “Pete’s Dragon,” out on DVD/Blu-Ray this week. I had a lot of fun talking to her about making the film.

Your character’s deep love for nature is a very important part of the film. Tell me about her.

I play a woman named Grace and she is a Park Ranger. You don’t really know exactly when it takes place but it takes place before cell phones were around certainly, maybe in the early 80’s. And I find a little boy in the forest who inexplicably is alone. And he looks like he has been living there for a long time and it is my character’s job to figure out what happened and to simultaneously protect this boy. And what was amazing about shooting this film kind and the tone of it overall is that because it did take place a while back before we all were so attached to devices and because so much of it was shot in the woods, it was a really healing experience for me personally and I think when folks watch it it’s soothing. It is a very emotional film and a beautiful film but it is very soothing as well and I think it is because so much of it takes place in nature.

Talk to me a little bit about working with Robert Redford. That must have been pretty magical too.

Oh my, it’s awesome. He is the real magical creature of this movie. Okay, Elliott is magical and Robert Redford is maaaaaagical. I’m always going to think back to and kind of pinch myself. He is a very cool guy and I would’ve been super intimidated being around him but he is just so chill and pleasant that you are immediately put at ease in his presence. And he himself is, as you would imagine, an incredible storyteller and so it endless fun talking with him because he’s the most interesting person I’ve probably ever met.

In that early scene, where he is telling the children that story, I thought you couldn’t find a better way to completely captivate the audience.

Exactly right! I know. I know. When I first started watching the movie I had kind of that same reaction. I was like, “Oh my gosh it’s Robert Redford telling a story to the children!”

I know you spend a lot of time on movie sets when you were growing up. What did you learn from that that really has helped you as an actress and. now that you are directing too, as a director?

Honestly everything. Because in most art forms there is some system of kind of mentorship, and apprenticeship and that is how it’s been going on for thousands of years. When it comes to a medium of arts. I think that tradition is — not that it’s lost but it’s not something that’s a huge part of this industry anymore. And I feel like I am so lucky, given that this is now what I do for a living, when I act and direct and write, I feel so grateful that I got to just spend all this time growing up on set, doing odd jobs, watching and learning, asking questions. I had over 20 years of that before I was in a movie and I remember all of it. So, it was something that I feel so lucky about because there is so much trial and error when anyone is creating anything. And to have been able to observe my dad at work and the folks that he worked with and see such a great example of collaboration, teamwork and work ethic, that is something that I definitely apply to everything that I do. At the end of the day that is what a director’s role is, to see the big picture and to create an environment where everyone is going to be able to bring all their talents and abilities to the table and then they go away and they kind of build the house. And I think that is part of what is so exhilarating and exciting about the creative process. As it’s coming together you don’t necessarily know what the end result is going to be like and yet you’re with a group of people you trust and admire and look to to contribute. That’s what is so electrifying and that’s the magic of the creative process.

So, you were in two movies this year where you were essentially pretending to interact with imaginary green lizards. What have you learned from “Jurassic World” and “Pete’s Dragon?”

What I took away from both experiences is that technology is getting better and better, more and more rapidly, especially visual technology. It’s so exciting to get to be privy to these huge strides forward. The first “Jurassic Park” was game-changing in a world of visual effects and practical effects and really ahead of its time, but nowhere near what we can do now. We are in such an exciting place right now because there are these leaps like that being taken all of the time and new technologies that are getting integrated into the creative process and new approaches. For someone who is curious and likes to learn new things, which is who I am, this is the best time to be around. I am so excited.

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No Small Parts: Learning More About Character Actors

Posted on November 27, 2016 at 8:00 am

I love character actors — from the silent era through the present, they are some of my favorite performers. I’ve written about the outstanding documentaries, That Guy…Who Was in That Thing and That Gal…Who Was In That Thing, which show the dedication, talent, and frustration of roles where you have to provide all the exposition and you have to be perfect every time so they can use the one take where the star was at his or her best.

So I was delighted to find Brandon Hardesty’s “No Small Parts,” a web series devoted to these outstanding actors. Short versions appear on the Internet Movie Database, but the full-length episodes are really worth watching.

Tribute: Florence Henderson

Posted on November 25, 2016 at 9:19 am

We mourn the loss of singer/actress Florence Henderson, the iconic Carol, mother of three very lovely girls (the youngest one in curls), who married Mike Brady, father of three boys, and created television’s most beloved blended family. Her shag haircut and unquenchable cheer were a highlight of the Brady home, which became a home for kids who watched it in reruns after school. It is still running, almost half a century since its premiere in 1969.

She was a talented singer who toured as Maria in “The Sound of Music” and the title role in the stage production of “Fanny,” and she starred in a legendary movie musical flop, “The Song of Norway.”

She was much more game than her sugary image, with a raunchy appearance on the Friar’s roast for Jerry Stiller and participation in “Dancing With the Stars.” May her memory be a blessing.

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Interview: Eddie Redmayne, Star of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

Posted on November 16, 2016 at 8:00 am

Eddie Redmayne stars in the first film from the Harry Potter universe to be set the the past, the first to be set in the United States, and the first with a screenplay by author J.K. Rowling, who has promised that this film will be followed by four sequels. In an interview, Redmayne talked about creating his character, Newt Scamander, a Magizoologist. “One of the things I love is Newt, perhaps at the beginning of this film is certainly more capable of interacting with creatures than he is with human beings. A lot of that is about observing and listening and there is an empathy that comes in life through really listening rather than just sort of cosmetically listening that is super important. But sometimes life is so noisy and there is so much distress, everyone is shouting to be heard. Those people that truly listen, of which Newt is one, it’s an amazing quality.” His wife is an expert on antiques, so I asked which of the century items in the film she would like to bring home. “There was kind of a wizarding antique in there, in the Magical Congress of America, as Newt and Tina walked in there, there is a wand shiner which is a kind of feather-boa-ed antique machine that polishes wands and she had her eye on that.” As for him, he said he “thought long and hard” about which of the magical creatures he would like to bring home and “I couldn’t possibly say anyone other than Pickett who is the bowtruckle stick insect that has attachment issues and Newt knows he shouldn’t have favorites but he sort of can’t help it.”

While the first film in a series is often an introduction with a lot of exposition, “whetting one’s appetite, but what I loved about this script is it always stood alone for me. I found it very moving and cathartic and a whole piece. I love the character of Newt and I would love to get to re-visit him again but I suppose that will only happen if people enjoy this film so hopefully we’ll get to make more.”

He was especially grateful for a chance to work with costume design legend Colleen Atwood, and consulted with her “massively. I loved all of my wardrobe. Colleen Atwood is extraordinary. I think it was Newt’s coat that is my favorite. It was an amazing color and also I thought it was amazing how the coat could look very kind of sort of eccentric and English but then also when he whipped up the collar, he could turn into a bit of an action man. So I found that kind of cool. It’s always something that I use as part of the process of discovering who a character is. Often when you go and meet a costume designer they will have whole pages of inspiration, of photos from the period, of people’s different items of clothing. Sometimes it can be one little thing that makes a difference. In fact, in this film Newt has a little pocket watch that sits in his waistcoat that you never even see in this film but on the chain hangs a tiny little thing that Colleen found which has a little bird on it and somehow that clock, that little watch became a key into who he was, I don’t quite know how, but it was really wonderful. So I love that process and I find it a massively important part of discovering who a character is. We spoke quite a lot about the character, how the clothes would frame Newt. What I love is he hides quite a lot and it is almost as if everything is a size or two too small for him and that really affected his physicality. So when I first put the clothes on fully, I was sort of playing with his physicality and the two things merged in a good way, so that was quite reassuring.”

He had just made two period films, “The Theory of Everything” and “The Danish Girl,” and loved going back in time again. “Because of ‘The Danish Girl,’ which is also set in the 1920’s, I was kind of familiar with that period. I listened to some jazz and I got some amazing books. David Heymann, the producer of the film, give us a book of New York over the years from the 19th century into the early 20th century, sort of as photographs arrived, and so that was source material that was really useful.”

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Anna Kendrick Memoir: Scrappy Little Nobody

Posted on November 13, 2016 at 9:38 am

No matter what character Anna Kendrick plays, you can’t help wishing you could just hang out with her, having some tea and laughing at the world. Now she has written a memoir called Scrappy Little Nobody, and her wry, self-deprecating, razor-sharp take on the world is the next best thing. My friend, movie critic Susan Wloszczyna wrote about it for The Buffalo News.

For the precocious Kendrick, who defines that p-word as meaning “this kid is annoying,” it arrived rather early. This diminutive dynamo with rafter-rattling vocal abilities made her Broadway debut at age 12 and got a Tony nomination for efforts in the musical “High Society” as well as earned an Oscar nod at age 24 for ”Up in the Air.” Turns out she not only possesses a well-honed humorous perspective on her all-too-human foibles – just one reason why her witty Twitter account has amassed more than 5 million followers. But this down-to-earth young lady has also collected a reasonable supply of insider showbiz anecdotes and observations about growing up in limelight as well.

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