Contest: Mary Poppins!

Posted on February 18, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Are you ready for a jolly holiday with Mary Poppins?

Take this quiz about everyone’s favorite nanny! Send your answers to me at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Mary Poppins” in the subject line before midnight on February 25 and three random entries will win a copy of the new 45th anniversary edition DVD. Good luck!

Mary_Poppins_large.jpg

1. Who is the author of the original book about Mary Poppins?

2. When the children sing about their requirements for a nanny, what do they say she mustn’t smell like?

3. What is so unusual about Mary’s uncle?

4. What does Michael want to do with his money instead of putting it in the bank?

5. Dick Van Dyke plays another role in this film in addition to his appearance as Bert. What is it?

6. What does the measuring tape say about Mary Poppins?

7. What animal does Bert dance with in the film?

8. What are the two things you can do with a chimney sweep to get good luck?

9. What happens to the other nannies who are applying for the job?

10. What helps the medicine go down?

Related Tags:

 

Contests and Giveaways Quiz

Interview: Keshia Knight Pulliam of ‘Madea Goes to Jail’

Posted on February 18, 2009 at 8:00 am

Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Rudy, the littlest child on The Cosby Show and now plays Miranda on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, stars in Perry’s latest film, “Madea Goes to Jail.” I was thrilled to get a chance to interview her about the movie.

What can you tell me about working with Tyler Perry?

It’s wonderful! I’ve worked with him in “House of Payne.” He has everything at once — drama, comedy, romance, and it is so classic, so funny, and such comic relief. That’s what real life is — comedy, suspense, romance, all at together. Tyler has a formula of his own and proved that he could create his own genre. He is so honest and so true to life.

Is it like working with Bill Cosby?

Mr. Cosby is hilarious and wonderful. Like Tyler, he did it all — producing, writing, everything. Mr. Cosby gave all of us the foundation of being a great actor. He taught us about comedy, honesty, a work ethic, professionalism. A lot of people don’t learn at such a young age, and I am glad I did and did not have to correct bad habits later on.

Tell me about the character you play in this film.

I play Candy, a heroin addict and prostitute, who meets Madea in jail. Her arc is very much about someone who has made choices but they don’t define her. She has to learn to take ownership of her choices. Madea comes to her rescue and she learns to stop being a victim. Madea says things others are thinking but might not say, and Candy needs to hear them.

This character allowed me to do something out of the box and it stretched me as an actress. To prepare for the role I did research and I spoke to someone who had similar experiences and turned her life around. But I think most people can identify with the feelings of desperation. Even if you haven’t had the experience, you can correlate your own history with the character and understand that the behavior can be a symptom of a greater issue and a greater cause.

What are you working on now?

I’ve started a production company. I’d like to do it all and studied at Spellman so I could have the skills to produce as well as act, maybe direct, too.

What was it like to co-star with Derek Luke?

He is a tremendous talent, someone really willing to give it to you. He completely embodies the character and that gave me so much to respond to. I would love to work with him again.

What do you hope people will take from this movie?

I hope they enjoy it and come away thinking that the characters are not “those people” but people who struggle they way they do and have the same challenges they do. Everybody struggles with those demons. And I hope they like my work in it!

Related Tags:

 

Interview

Behind the Scenes with HSM3!

Posted on February 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Disney reveals the bloopers and accidents behind the scenes at “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” It’s fun to see how the young stars bounce back from their mistakes with such good spirits and good humor.
Get ready to giggle as the stars of High School Musical 3 reveal their biggest bloopers and on-set slip ups. Which cutie gave her co-star a black eye? Who sweated through three prom dresses? And which HSM fella fell over the most on camera? The shameful secrets are all here… Oops!
FOOT FIASCO!
Zac Efron: I don’t know how it happened, but my foot slipped through a theatre seat during a scene and I couldn’t get it out! It was so funny because they had to take the seat apart to rescue my foot. The cameras had to stop rolling and people were brought on set to unscrew the bottom of the chair. I was mortified!
FALL OUT BOY!
Corbin Bleu: Whenever you’re dancing with an ensemble, something is always going to go wrong. Tons of the cast would fall over or trip over each other’s feet – but it was me who fell over the most. The camera would always catch me, which was really embarrassing. Look out for the falls on the DVD’s blooper reel!0031_HSC-56533.JPG
TUTU MUCH!
Olesya Rulin: During the prom number, I was wearing a ballet tutu – but I didn’t have the right boy shorts underneath for the first take. When I twirled, my tutu went up and it looked like I wasn’t wearing any underwear because the shorts underneath were flesh-coloured! I was so embarrassed…
HIGH-HEEL HORROR!
Jemma McKenzie-Brown: I feel down the stairs on stage loads of times during my dance scene because they were so slippery! I had these high heels on, but luckily there were 10 boys below to catch me. I guess it wasn’t too bad being caught by 10 lovely boys – but I still went bright red with embarrassment!
SWEATY BETTY!
Monique Coleman: I had to have three copies of my High School Musical 3 prom dress because I sweated a lot on set – and it would show through three layers of clothes! I’d have to run to the room next door to change, which was pretty embarrassing. But by the end of the first day, everyone knew I was really sweaty, so I didn’t bother running next door. I would just stand in the corner of the room with a blow dryer drying out the dress!
BLACK-EYE BUDDY!
Vanessa Hudgens: I’m so clumsy. It’s terrible! I managed to hit Ashley several times by accident on set – and I felt awful about it. At one point, I hit her in the eye and she had to put ice on it. Another time, I whacked her in the face with my elbow. I was always bashing her – but it was completely by accident. Oops!
WATER WOE!
Matt Prokop: There was a hilarious wipeout during the scene where I run around wearing just a towel! The crew sprayed water on Justin and me to make us look wet, but I guess they forgot to wipe it off the floor because Corbin went flying. We came running around the corner in our towels to find Zac crying with laughter – and the camera got all of it! It was hysterical.
MODEL MOVES!
Zac Efron: We had a lot of fun with a mannequin’s hand on set. I think it fell off a prop, so I picked it up and made full use of it. I’d put it in my sleeve and place the fake hand in my pocket – but then had my real hand would be hidden underneath the front of my shirt. When people least expected it, I would punch out my real hand – and they would think there was an alien popping out of my chest! It was hilarious. People were screaming out loud in terror!
DANCE DISASTER!
Monique Coleman: On the very first day of filming, Kenny Ortega insisted that the floor was sparkling clean. The crew diligently polished away for hours, but they cleaned it so well that it became a slippery nightmare. During the first dance scene, everyone went flying! It was like we were dancing on water as we slipped and slopped all over the room. We were cracking up all over the place!
HELICOPTER HIGH JINKS!
Vanessa Hudgens: One of the funniest bloopers happened during Can I Have This Dance. A helicopter kept flying overhead and when that happens, you lose the sound so you can’t continue a scene. The helicopter wouldn’t go away, so in the end Zac just looked at me and said, “That’s actually my helicopter… Do you want to go for a ride?” We both ran to the edge of the building and pretended to jump off the balcony, but we were only joking. It was like Mission Impossible and we couldn’t stop laughing at the crew who thought we were being serious!
OOH, THE SHAME!
Olesya Rulin: I embarrassed myself constantly on the set of High School Musical. I’m so awkward! I was always tripping over on set – and I would also somehow trip into my trailer. I’d always be hoping that no-one would be around to watch me fall – but there would usually be one or two people or loads of cameras catching me goof up!
ZAC ATTACK!
Jemma McKenzie-Brown: Zac was a huge practical joker on the set of HSM3. He loved to throw water bombs on people, which was really funny. He never got me, but Vanessa tried to at one point. She ran into my trailer with a water bomb, but she fell over and it went all over her!
SURPRISE GIVEAWAY! The first five people to send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with HSM3 in the subject line will get a copy of the new DVD! When you write, let me know why you love HSM!

Related Tags:

 

Contests and Giveaways Elementary School Teenagers Tweens

List: NR’s Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years

Posted on February 17, 2009 at 10:00 am

The National Review has updated its 1994 list of the top conservative movies with selections from the best conservative movies of the past 25 years, including films like The Incredibles, 300, Forrest Gump, and Braveheart. As with their last list, I have more of an argument with their interpretation of the movies’ politics than with the movies’ quality. As can be expected with a list that reflects the views of several contributors, the definition of conservatism seems to vary — and at times seems to encompass every possible virtue. But all of the films are well worth viewing and discussing.
NOTE: The list is not consolidated so the best way to see it is to go to The Corner blog and search for the term “movies.”

Related Tags:

 

For Your Netflix Queue Lists

The Best Political Movie?

Posted on February 16, 2009 at 10:57 am

This Week with George Stephanopolous is conducting a poll on the best-ever movies about politics. Visit the site to vote — and I’d like to hear your picks as well.

Mine would include “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “State of the Union,” “The Candidate,” “All the President’s Men,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Amazing Grace,” “Thirteen Days,” “All the King’s Men” (original version), “Advise and Consent” (with a brief cameo appearance by my mother!), “The Best Man,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Great McGinty,” “Bulworth,” and “Alias Nick Beal.”

Related Tags:

 

For Your Netflix Queue Rediscovered Classic
THE MOVIE MOM® is a registered trademark of Nell Minow. Use of the mark without express consent from Nell Minow constitutes trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws. All material © Nell Minow 1995-2024, all rights reserved, and no use or republication is permitted without explicit permission. This site hosts Nell Minow’s Movie Mom® archive, with material that originally appeared on Yahoo! Movies, Beliefnet, and other sources. Much of her new material can be found at Rogerebert.com, Huffington Post, and WheretoWatch. Her books include The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies and 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and she can be heard each week on radio stations across the country.

Website Designed by Max LaZebnik