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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Actors Interview

Pete’s Dragon

Posted on August 11, 2016 at 5:24 pm

Disney has wisely jettisoned the songs, the plot and the cartoon for the remake of the Helen Reddy musical with live-action boy befriended by a cartoon dragon. It’s still about Pete and his dragon friend Elliott, and the entirely new story that is genuinely enchanting.

This seems to be a year for stories about children who make friends with giant, magical creatures. We’ve already had “The BFG” and have “A Monster Calls” coming up. And this reworking also owes quite a debt to another live-action 3D Disney remake of just a few months ago, “The Jungle Book.” But hey, it is a lovely fantasy — a child left alone finds a devoted protector. Pete (Levi Alexander), age 5, is reading a book called Elliott Gets Lost in the back seat of the car with the encouragement of his parents when there is an accident. The parents are killed (very discreetly handled off-screen), and Pete is left alone, like Mowgli and Tarzan, but instead of being raised by wolves or apes, he is taken in by a furry green dragon he dubs Elliot.

Six years later, Pete (now played Oakes Fegley) is living a life of Rousseauian paradise in the woods. We don’t waste time on how or what they eat or why his teeth are so white and even. It’s just racing through the Edenic forest and, in the film’s most exhilarating scene, leaping off a cliff in the sure knowledge that Elliott will be there to catch him and take him soaring through the sky in gorgeous 3D. They are very happy together.

But a logging operation is moving very close to the cozy cave where Elliot and Pete live. Two brothers, Gavin (“Star Trek’s” Karl Urban) and Jack (Wes Bentley) are cutting trees in the forest under the watchful eye of Jack’s girlfriend, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), a forest ranger who considers the woods her home. Her father Meacham (Robert Redford) likes to tell local children the legend of the dragon in the woods and boasts that he once fought the dragon with a knife. But Grace insists that she knows every inch of the forest and does not believe his story.

Gavin is reckless and greedy. When Gavin’s crew goes beyond Grace’s limits, Jack’s daughter Natalie (“Southpaw’s” Oona Laurence) discovers Pete, who has not seen another person in six years. He goes home with Jack and Grace and begins to learn about the human world. But he misses Elliot terribly. Gavin discovers Elliot and thinks he can make a fortune by capturing him.

The movie is disjointed at times, likely due to recutting, leaving unanswered questions about Grace’s relationship to Jack and Natalie and oddly having three main characters motherless. I never quite got used to the idea of a dragon with fur instead of scales. But it is thrilling to see Pete and Elliot soar together and the love between them is genuine and heartwarming enough to make this one of the year’s best family films.

Parents should know that this film includes fantasy/action-style peril and violence, sad death of parents (discreetly shown) and references to other absent parents, and brief mild language.

Family discussion: Why did Gavin and Jack have different ideas about their business? If you had a dragon friend, what name would you pick?

If you like this, try: “The Jungle Book” and “Free Willy”

Trailer: Pete’s Dragon with Bryce Dallas Howard

Posted on February 25, 2016 at 8:00 am

Disney’s remake of “Pete’s Dragon” looks more like “How to Train Your Dragon” or “The Jungle Book” than the original musical version with Helen Reddy.

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Remake Trailers, Previews, and Clips

Where You’ve Seen Them Before: The Cast of “Jurassic World”

Posted on June 13, 2015 at 3:55 pm

Of course the dinosaurs and the geniuses at ILM who created them are the real stars of “Jurassic World.” But the highest compliment we can pay the human performers is that they can hold their own next to the CGI dinos. If they look familiar, it may be because you’ve seen them before.

Nick Robinson plays Zach, a teenager visiting the Jurassic World theme park. I first noticed him in the hilarious Cox commercials, but he also starred in the terrific independent film, The Kings of Summer and on Melissa & Joey.

Chris Pratt starred in two of the biggest movies of 2014. He was the voice of Emmett in The Lego Movie and he was Peter (also known, at least to himself, as Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy. But before that he was often seen playing comic relief best friend type roles in movies like “Delivery Man” and “The Five-Year Engagement.”

Bryce Dallas Howard played a mean, racist socialite in The Help and she played Victoria in the “Twilight” series. And she wants you to know she is not Jessica Chastain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhRIKwMp0c4

Vincent D’Onofrio is familiar to fans of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” But he has had a remarkably varied career, in films from Adventures in Babysitting to The Judge, and Full Metal Jacket.

Judy Greer plays the mother of the two boys and the sister of the woman who runs the park. She has been in pretty much everything, playing best friends in rom-coms and on television shows like “Arrested Development” and “Archer.” She even wrote a book about it: I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star

Irfan Kahn plays the billionaire whose company owns Jurassic World. He appeared in “The Life of Pi” as the title character and in “Slumdog Millionaire” as the game show host. His lovely film “The Lunchbox” is well worth seeking out.

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Actors Where You’ve Seen Them Before

Jurassic World

Posted on June 10, 2015 at 5:54 pm

One problem is that we really do not know very much about dinosaurs, especially live ones, and especially genetically tweaked live ones. A bigger problem is that we keep ignoring what we do know about humans. Over and over again we see that humans are petty, greedy for both money and power, and very unclear about the line between optimism and hubris. Maybe someday we will figure out a genetic tweak to adjust that problem, but for the time being we are stuck with it, which is bad for us, but pretty good for movies. It gives us just enough of a framework for the storyline without interfering with the real purpose of the movie, which is, let’s face it, seeing people get chased by dinosaurs. And that is what happens, all right. A lot of people get chased by a lot of dinosaurs, and it is exciting and cool and a lot of fun.

Remember what Jeff Goldblum said in the first “Jurassic Park” movie? The man behind the idea of taking dino DNA from amber and re-creating creatures who died out 70 million years ago compared the delays to the opening of Disneyland. Yes, Goldblum’s expert in chaos theory replied, but “if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.” Despite the devastation inflicted on the planet in the first three movies (remember that optimism/hubris problem), things have moved on, and Jurassic World is now a flourishing theme park with 20,000 visitors at a time. Indeed, it is all a little been there-done that, the dinosaurs so tame there is actually a petting zoo portion of the park, where children can ride on triceratops. Investors want better returns and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), the director of the park, is under a lot of pressure to create more “wow factor.” The dinosaurs are no more exotic than the elephant at the zoo. “We want to be thrilled.”

She and the eighth richest man on the planet, the CEO of the company who owns Jurassic World, have decided the best way to do that is to spend $28 million to create a bigger, smarter, angrier dinosaur made up of all the scariest parts of all the other dinos. You know, Frankensaurus. What could possibly go wrong?

Making up the rest of the human cast are some disposable red shirt types whose primary job is to be clawed and/or eaten, as well as Claire’s two nephews (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) and a couple of Navy vets who have been working on an experimental program to see whether raptors can be trained, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Barry (Omar Sy). There’s also a computer guy (Jake Johnson), a scientist (B.D. Wong), and the grand prize winner of the really bad idea competition, a military type (Vincent D’Onofrio) who wants to weaponize the dinosaurs and use them in combat.

There’s a terrific opening, as powerful talons crack through egg shells, terrifying literally from the very first second. Then there’s a clever twist to remind us that we are here to have PG-13-style fun. We have about an hour to familiarize us with the characters, the layout, and the vulnerabilities, oh, yes, and the characters. And the rest is people getting chased by dinosaurs in a variety of extremely intense and exciting and creative ways, and in many different locations. The 3D effects are jump-out-at-you scary. Howard makes the best of a thankless part. Claire starts out as a caricature of a control freak, dressed all in Olivia Pope white, with perfectly groomed, razor-styled red hair. We know how inhuman she is because she barely remembers the names of her nephews and refers to the dinosaurs briskly as “assets.” And she once went on a date with a print-out of the schedule. It is fun to see her become more messy and human, though ridiculous that she never takes off her high heels and gets the vapors over seeing a Real Man do Manly things.

The real wow factor in the film is Pratt, who exhibits a natural Indiana Jones-style, all-American heroism. Not many actors can hold their own against a genetically modified T-Rex the size of Godzilla, but Pratt, whether dinosaur whispering or racing his motorcycle, is an old-school hero. Even if we don’t believe there is any chemistry between his character and Howard’s, his quiet confidence and skill are as much fun as all the CGI-asauruses.

Parents should know that this film includes very intense peril and violence involving big, scary creatures with lots of teeth, many characters (human and animal) injured and killed, some graphic and disturbing images, brief strong language, brief sexual reference, discussion of parental divorce.

Family discussion: Why did things go so wrong? Whose fault was it? How did the relationship of the brothers change and why?

If you like this, try: the earlier “Jurassic Park” movies and “Walking With Dinosaurs”