Interview: Jason Dolley of ‘Cory in the House’ and ‘Hatching Pete’

Posted on May 18, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Jason Dolley of the Disney Channel’s popular series Cory in the House stars in Hatching Pete, now out on DVD with another family-friendly feature, “Dadnapped.” He found time to talk to me between finals in his college classes, and I really enjoyed our conversation, especially his frank and sincere discussion of his faith and his description of what it was like to play the guy inside the chicken suit.

Where are you from originally?

I grew up in Southern California, Simi Valley. I’ve lived in the same house all my life. I have two older brothers who have moved away, but I still live with my mom and dad. I graduated from high school early and now I am going to college at Moorpark community college, 15 minutes away from the house.

Tell me about “Hatching Pete!”

It has me and Michael Musso and the basic story is best friends. He is normally the school mascot and he asks my character to sub in for him one night. Pete is very shy but he blossoms in the chicken suit. They don’t tell anyone it’s him, so that’s where it gets complicated.

Is it difficult to act in a chicken mascot costume?

It is tough! Even before filming began we went to mascot boot camp. The San Diego chicken from the Padres gave us “how to be a chicken” lessons. I had a lot of fun with it and that was good because my character was supposed to have fun. It was stuffier than anything, but well worth it. I had a blast! There are things you don’t think about — you have to make your movements really big because it is all in the body language. Small movements normally people would make, you had to blow it up. I did not do everything. I’m not really athletic. We had four chickens not including Mitchell, a dance chicken to do the dance routines and Ted the pro chicken would do some of the game stuff.

And how did you get started as an actor?

My first job was an AFI short film, “Chasing Daylight,” when I was 11 and I made a couple of commercials that never aired. For me, the acting bug got started when we would play dress-up. It didn’t have to be Halloween. We’d get dressed up and we’d become the people whose costumes we wore.

What was your favorite Halloween costume?

I was Darth Vadar three years in a row!

Did you study acting?

I started taking classes when I got an agent. But I learned from the best when I did a series called “Sweet Savages” where I played the youngest boy. Mel Gibson was the director, he was hilarious and kept throwing in little things for us to do. I learned a lot.

What makes you laugh?

One of my favorite comedies is Three Amigos!. Oh my gosh, me and my brother quote that all the time. Two of my favorites are Abbott and Costello, we did the “Who’s on First” routine for our school talent show and that was the first blossoming of my acting stuff.

What actors really inspire you?

Robert Redford and Paul Newman — I love seeing them in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting.”

What role does your faith play in your life?

I think faith helps me a lot. God wants you to be where He wants you to be, and that’s where I want to be. If I do not get a part, I understand that maybe I needed to be home at that time, maybe in school, there’s always a reason. My faith is also where my core friends are, at my church, a faith-based friendship. It is a major thing.

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Raising Spiritually Healthy Children

Posted on March 2, 2009 at 8:00 am

I am very pleased that one of my favorite people will be talking to parents about raising spiritually healthy children in a Tikkun telephone forum today at 6:00 PM PST (9:00 PM EST).

Rev. Debra Haffner has worked with parents and children for over twenty-five years and has written extensively about raising healthy children. On Monday’s Phone Forum she will discuss ways to nurture a child’s spirituality beyond worship and education, including exploring life’s big questions together, creating shared rituals, and promoting an ethic of action or tikkun olam into every child’s upbringing. Rev. Haffner is a sexologist and a minister, and the Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing.

If you would like to participate in the call, dial 1 888 346 3950 and ENTER CODE 11978. Tikkun Managing Editor Dave Belden will interview Debra Haffner for twenty minutes, then he’ll take questions from participants.

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Movie Mom’s Top Picks for Families

Adventures in Faith, Honesty, and Courage

Posted on August 12, 2008 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to DVD:	August 12, 2008

The great “Adventures from the Book of Virtues” animated series has three new releases today: Adventures in Faith, Adventures in Honesty and Adventures in Courage.

These are classic stories that have thrilled audiences through the ages because they are about fascinating characters and exciting adventures from history, fables, myths, literature, and the Bible. Harriet Tubman helps people escape from the cruelty of slavery. Daniel enters the lion’s den, knowing that his faith will protect him. Androcles removes a thorn from a lion’s paw and finds his kindness repaid. The good Samaritan helps a stranger who has been injured. George Washington answers truthfully when asked who cut down the cherry tree. A child is the only one who will answer honestly that the Emperor has no clothes.

Interview: Regina Hall of “First Sunday”

Posted on January 11, 2008 at 8:00 am

Regina Hall has been the best thing in many movies that were either not worthy of her talents (the “Scary Movie” series), overlooked (Malibu’s Most Wanted), or just plain awful (“The Honeymooners,” “King’s Ransom”). She has an extraordinary ability to be funny and real at the same time, always avoiding caricature. In Ice Cube’s latest film, “First Sunday,” she plays his “baby mama.” Her role is to hound him for money, but she manages to make the character touching and sympathetic. Ms. Hall spoke to me about the film, her plans for the future, and her thoughts on faith on January 4 in Washington, DC.

Regina Hall talks about her new movie with Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, and Katt Williams, “First Sunday”

Regina Hall talks about her character, Omunique

I loved the way you made Omunique sympathetic — it would have been so easy to make her shrill and over the top. This was especially important because your scenes with Ice Cube and are in contrast to the rest of the movie, which is very broad comedy, and are what really make us care about what happens to the characters. Can you tell me how you thought about her and how you create that balance?

Omunique is like a lot of single mothers who work really hard and whose partners have not shown up in an equal capacity. It can make it difficult but she loves her son, and that is what matters to her. It’s about him, not about her. There’s another scene that got cut from the movie but will be on the DVD where she sees her son talking to his father on the phone about the video game and he tries to hide it from her. She tells him that he does not ever have to sneak to call his father, and it shows you that she is protective of the father-son relationship even though they are not together. It is a comedy, but you can’t caricaturize. Her name gave it enough! Omunique is not in a lot of scenes so I only had a few moments to get what you need for comedy and still leave truth there. That’s something that every woman of every race can understand.

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Interview

Contact

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:16 am

This film, based on the late Carl Sagan’s novel about a young scientist’s efforts to make contact with intelligent life beyond our world provides a sharp contrast in tone to slam-bang shoot-’em-ups like “Independence Day” and “Men in Black.” Sagan, a scientist who consulted on the space program and hosted public television programs about the universe, raises important questions about the connection (and sometimes obstacles) between science, business, politics, and notions of God. If he does a better job of asking them than answering them, that is at least consistent with the scientists creed that the only sin is to be afraid to ask the right questions — and to be open-minded about the answers.

The movies’ heroine is Ellie, played by Jodie Foster. Devastated by the loss of her parents by the time she was eight, she yearns for contact with extraterrestrials, but shies away from contact with anyone on earth. Having been hurt by feeling, she relies entirely on science, on what can be proven. After a one-night-stand with Palmer Joss, a charismatic divinity school drop-out (Matthew McConaghey), she leaves, to continue to listen for whispers from the universe, despite short-sighted bureaucrats who cut her funding. When she finally hears something, the government steps in (including President Clinton, appearing courtesy of the same kinds of computer tricks director Zemeckis used in “Forrest Gump”). The message is to build a machine, apparently to be used to go to the source of the message.

Joss turns up as an advisor to the President who is assigned to the panel that will select the person who will make the trip. He does not believe that Earth should be represented by an atheist. And he does not want to lose Ellie again. Ultimately, she does make the trip, and finds that she is profoundly changed by it. She finds herself asking others to believe what she says without evidence, on the basis of faith. This is a thoughtful movie, and it provides a good opportunity to discuss how we know what we know, whether on the basis of faith or on what we can prove. Kids may want to talk about whether the reactions of the people in the movie to evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence are what they would expect. Why do some people object so strongly to communicating with creatures outside our world? What do scientists think about God and what do theologians think of science? What is the role of government? What do they think of the way the extra-terrestrials shaped their communications to reassure Ellie?

NOTE: Parents should be aware that there is one episode of sabotage that results in violence, in addition to the one-night-stand (Ellie and Palmer shown in bed together), and some strong language.