Meet the Cast of Captain America: Civil War | #CaptainAmerica

Meet the Cast of Captain America: Civil War

By Erin

*I was invited as a guest of Disney*

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This Friday, May 6th comes the highly anticipated creation of Marvel Studio’s latest film, “Captain America: Civil War.” Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, the start of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 sees the Earth’s Mightiest Super Heroes divided when the government sets up a governing body to oversee the Avengers, where the team splinters into two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

Captain America-Press Conference

At a recent press junket in Los Angeles, the two sides made a grand appearance to talk about the new film. Team Iron Man was first to tell us their side of the story. This included; Director Anthony Russo, Paul Bettany, (“Vision”),  Robert Downey Jr., (“Tony Stark / Iron Man”), Don Cheadle, (“James Rhodes / War Machine”), Emily Van Camp, (“Sharon Carter / Agent 13”) although she is not on Team Iron Man, and Producer Kevin Feige.

Here are some of the fun things we learned from the “Team Iron Man” group:

*Robert Downey Jr. is still reeling from the fact that Paul Bettany was Jarvis and now he’s Vision… “If you just stop, you go ‘so here’s what’s going on with Tony,’ I go ‘waitaminute. Did he make a guy?!’ Look at him!”
 *Technological advances in film-making: Anthony Russo shared with us that, “You sort of reap the benefits and you sort of push forward every film and this movie has a very remarkable sequence I think where Robert Downey Jr. plays a twenty-year old man…which is pretty incredible.” Robert Downey Jr. added in how nostalgic it all is. Very expensive nostalgia.

Captain America Cast

*Spiderman was flawlessly brought into the film. The producers took the opportunity to create organic ways to bring new characters into the movie and to create more balance to the story.  This helped them to tell a more complicated story between captain America and Iron Man. By bringing in characters without any baggage allowed the dynamic of the movie to stay unchanged as they have not been emotionally invested into the Avengers storyline.

*War Machine doesn’t get an upgrade? War machine isn’t given any new tricks or fun toy upgrades like the other characters are. Don Cheadle commented, “Thank God somebody finally laid it bare…I think we’ll see. It’s not over…unless it is, ’cause I haven’t seen the movie. Do…I live? Does War Machine live? ”
Robert Downey Jr.

*Chadwick was the only choice for Black Panther: Kevin Feige  told us how he was the only choice to play the role of Black Panther. ” We wanted somebody who perhaps was invested but didn’t have allegiances to any one side. As these discussions were going on, we thought ‘I think we’re going to bring Black Panther into this movie. I’m not kidding when I say Chadwick (Boseman) was the only choice. His performance in ’42,’ his performance in ‘Get on Up,’ how different those performances are, and my memory is that we called him on the conference room speaker when we were developing the movie. He was in his car either about to get out or had just gotten back in and we said, ‘have you ever heard of Black Panther,’ and he went ‘Yes! Yes! Why are You asking me that??!!’ And we said ‘do you want to play the part,’ and he was very excited.”

*The girls get to kick some butt and are still good with guns! Emily Van Camp shared with us that she is out of the “rookie stage” with portraying Sharon Carter and has matured. “I think I was definitely slightly intimidated in the first one, in ‘Winter Soldier,’ just kind of getting used to it. I think that lent itself well for the character, she was sort of more in like a rookie stage, and it’s great to see her come back in a little bit more of a mature light, she’s confident and she’s still good with guns and she gets to kick a little butt in this one. It’s a great time.”

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Dory’s Story with Co-Director Angus MacLane & Story Supervisor Max Brace #FindingDoryEvent

Dory’s Story

By Erin

*I was invited on a press trip as a guest of Disney & PIXAR to share with you about the Finding Dory movie. All opinions are my own.*

Max Brace (Story Supervisor) and Angus MacLane (Co-Director) present at the Finding Dory Long Lead press day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA. Photo by Marc Flores. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Max Brace (Story Supervisor) and Angus MacLane (Co-Director) present at the Finding Dory Long Lead press day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA. Photo by Marc Flores. ©2016 Disney•Pixar.

Back in March I was a part of a magical trip to Monterey Bay to discover how Dory’s story came to be. Story is king at Pixar Animation Studios. Whether a film revisits old friends or introduces us to some new ones, it all starts with a story that needs to be told. We had the pleasure to learn all about how Dory was developed and taken from script to storyboards to screen with Co-Director Angus MacLane and Story Supervisor Max Brace. Finding Dory, swims in theaters everywhere June 17th, 2016.

Angus MacLane, Director of Toy Toons short film Small Fry, is photographed on October 18, 2011 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Angus MacLane at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar).

Animator and Co-Director Angus MacLane joined Pixar Animation Studios as an animator in June 1997 whose work includes such beloved films such as Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, WALL*E, and Toy Story 3.

Max Brace is photographed on February 16, 2016 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Max Brace at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Max Brace joined Pixar Animation Studios in July of 1996 straight out of college as a story artist on the feature film A Bugs Life. As a story supervisor, Brace leads the story team and helps directors realize their vision for the story. In addition, he casts story artists for specific sequences, reviews artists’ work, both individually and with the director, and guides the artists to understand and execute the director’s vision.

FINDING DORY – Lighting Exploration Concept Art by Visual Consultant Sharon Calahan. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

FINDING DORY – Lighting Exploration Concept Art by Visual Consultant Sharon Calahan. ©2016 Disney•Pixar

What is a Storyboard?

Basically it is a group of rough sketches on paper used to indicate an idea. Storyboards are very tiny and not too detailed. It is just enough information for the other animators, artists, actors, and writers to get a feel for the direction they want the story to go in.  This process is gone through many times until it is perfect. After completion, the storyboard goes to the directors where they will walk through the scene together and discuss any corrections or improvements that need to be made. The storyboards are reviewed by the “Brain Trust” and studio every 4 months. These storyboards create the overall blueprint for the final film. For Finding Dory, 103,639 storyboards were generated to get Dory’s Story just right.

FINDING DORY – MLI Overview Painting (Concept Art) by Artist Tim Evatt. ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

FINDING DORY – MLI Overview Painting (Concept Art) by Artist Tim Evatt. ©2016 Disney•Pixar.

It’s all about finding the story and the process of creating the story through sequencing when it comes to animation.  The story process starts with brainstorming. It was decided that they wanted part of the story to take place at the Marine Life Institute. Brace shared with us an experience he had at an aquarium with his son that ended up being inspiration for some of the scenes for Finding Dory. Seeing the touch tank with all of the kids touching, poking and prodding the poor creatures, got him to thinking, “What would it be like if Dory got stuck in the touch tank?”  The humor and horror of being in an aquarium touch pool was just too good to ignore. Hank and Dory end up in some hairy, yet funny situations that the animators created for the touch pool scene based on reality and humor. After organizing their ideas, they are handed off to the writer to write the scene. The team worked hard on the touch pool idea and went on to research and photograph the idea, then moved on to make, improve, and  create the perfect scene for the movie. It was a bit of a challenge to keep the main focus on Dory, but 240 sequences later it was accomplished.

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The Jungle Book : Movie Review | #JungleBook

The Jungle Book

By Erin

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (L-R) MOWGLI and BAGHEERA. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (L-R) MOWGLI and BAGHEERA. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Visually stunning and adrenaline pumping, “The Jungle Book” is Disney’s newest live-action movie and it is amazing. You will leave the theater humming or singing some old favorite songs that have been redone for this new version of the film. In this re-told classic epic adventure, we follow Mowgli(newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves, and now finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle. The Fearsome tiger Shere Khan(voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Man does not belong in the jungle, and Shere Khan wants to take his revenge out on Mowgli. Forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by his panther mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray), who will have you laughing with his antics. On this thrilling journey, Mowgli meets jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, like Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub. Then you have other creatures like King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to talk Mowgli into sharing the deadly secret on how to create the red flower: fire, which only man knows how to do. The Jungle Book” is based off of Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s beloved classic animated film. “We embrace the mythic qualities of Kipling in the more intense tonal aspects of the film,” says director Jon Favreau, “but we left room for what we remember from the ’67 film, and sought to maintain those charming Disneyesque aspects.” Only the latest technology was used to tell the story in a fresh, contemporary and immersive way, combining live-action performances with stunning CG environments and extraordinary photo-real animal characters that artists stylized to elevate the storytelling.

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (Pictured) MOWGLI and BALOO. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (Pictured) MOWGLI and BALOO. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

“‘The Jungle Book” is a universal coming-of-age story that everyone can relate to,” says producer Brigham Taylor. “Walt told the story through traditional cell animation and now we have the technology to actually bring these characters to life, make them photo-real and put a real kid into the environment in a seamless, believable way. The opportunity to be able to show that with today’s technology was irresistible.” According to Favreau, story is king. “I think films have to offer an emotional experience for the audience,” says the director. “The spectacle won’t mean anything if they’re not engaged emotionally with the characters. Every story needs humanity, emotion and 2 character development, as well as humor—presented in a way that doesn’t betray the stakes of the film. There are white-knuckle moments in the movie when you wonder, ‘what’s going to happen to this kid?'”

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (Pictured) MOWGLI and KING LOUIE ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (Pictured) MOWGLI and KING LOUIE ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Full of the latest in CGI spectacle,The Jungle Book” has a special charm and playful manner about it. The film can go to some dark places at times and can get a bit intense. Without giving anything away, there are some scenes with Shere Khan, Kaa, and King Louie that can get a little hairy, leaving Mowgli in some sticky situations and might be a little scary for some of the younger ones. Neel Sethi makes for the perfect Mowgli, and he truly makes the fantasy come alive and seem so real.

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