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?

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Contests and Giveaways Quiz

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!

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Contests and Giveaways Elementary School Teenagers Tweens

Body of Lies

Posted on February 17, 2009 at 7:00 am

Once movie spies were sleek and cool and impeccably dressed. They were devil-may-care, they had joie de vivre, they seemed to know everything, and they were unstoppable. The bad guys had endless money to spend on sociopathic sidekicks and elaborate contraptions. Most important, the bad guy/good guy lines were as clearly outlined as the crease in their perfectly pressed trousers.

But that was a long time ago. In Ridley Scott’s latest spy thriller everyone is tired, everyone is unsure, and everyone on both sides is morally compromised.

Back home in Washington, the CIA’s Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe with 30 extra pounds and a cell phone earpiece permanently in place) sees and hears everything through surveillance screens and computers. While top agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is dodging bombs and bullets, Hoffman calmly purrs directions. Ferris promises a frantic Arab linguist escape to America. Hoffman says no. The linguist is killed. On to the next scrimmage.

There is a brief, clumsy attempt to make a larger point here about America, but it does not help. The movie has the fungible quality of the kind of book you buy for an airplane trip and toss as soon as you arrive. Crowe’s weight gain has no purpose. It seems like a distracting stunt. DiCaprio is, as always, focused and diligent, but his character is all surface. That is convenient in a spy, who must be able to blend in seamlessly, but dull for the audience. That leaves us with some competently-staged action sequences and one electric performance that just provides further contrast with the uninspired tone of the rest of the film. British actor Mark Strong plays Hani, the local head of intelligence, with silky assurance. His expression as he talks to Ferris conveys more about what America does not know about the intricacies and persistence of Middle Eastern conflicts than all of the bluster and blow-ups of this forgettable film.

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Action/Adventure Crime Drama

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.”

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