Kate Hudson Stars in Kung Fu Panda 3 as Mei Mei! #KungFuPanda

Kate Hudson Stars in Kung Fu Panda 3!

By Patrick &  Erin

*We were invited as media to attend a sneak peek of Kung Fu Panda 3 and interview with the lovely Kate Hudson.*

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Dreamworks has done it again! Returning with its biggest comedy adventure yet, Kung Fu Panda 3 returns, staring Kate Hudson as the voice of Mei Mei. The film will tell the story of Po’s (Jack Black) discovery of a secret panda village, including his long-lost father Li (Bryan Cranston).  Kate voices Mei Mei who is an aspiring ribbon dancer. On January 29th, Kung Fu Panda 3 is coming to theaters across the country.  Whether you want to see it with your kids or were a fan of the previous films, there are a ton of reasons to be excited about this movie.  We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Jack Black’s latest romp during a trip to Dreamworks Studios.  After the screening, we caught up with Kate Hudson (who does the voice of Mei Mei, a new character) in a round table interview to talk about the movie.

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“Mei Mei” the character that Kate Hudson is the voice for.

This was Hudson’s first time doing an animated film, and she was excited about the opportunity to try something different.  “Anybody who’s an actor or performer, you know, that’s what we love,” she said.  “The whole point is trying new things.”  She said a large difference between live and voice acting is the amount of hyperbole you’re allowed to put into the character, especially since you read lines alone in a room: “We just had to be so big and so huge.  And it was so much fun to do in a booth where you just to go there, and you go so far that you end up cracking yourself up.”

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Her character, Mei Mei is a fellow panda who shows up in the movie when Po final finds his native town.  She is vibrant with a big personality that screams girl power.  “It’s sort of like I had that kind of confidence sometimes,” she said about Mei Mei.

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This latest installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise promises to offer a larger, grander experience than the previous two movies.  We get to meet Po’s biological father, and see a new panda village full of new, vibrant characters.  It will bring a whole new dimension to Jack Black’s lovable character.  This also means a bunch of A-list actors that will be added to the cast for this movie.  “The cast is insane,” said Hudson.  “Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons, it’s amazing!  It’s such a cool thing to be a part of.”  The cast also boasts Seth Rogan, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman.

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Group shot with Kate Hudson.

In Theaters on January 29th! 

Kung Fu Panda 3 Official Site 

‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ on Facebook

Follow DreamWorks Animation on Twitter 

Instagram 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens! The Cast, Costumes and More!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

By Erin

*I was invited as press by Disney to the Global Press Day for Star Wars: The Force Awakens for purposes of this post.*

The wait is almost over. The most anticipated film of the year; Star Wars: The Force Awakens is about to blast into theaters everywhere. Die-hard fans have been camping out for days in the cold and the rain, awaiting the arrival of the next installment of Star Wars. Everything for this film has been kept top-secret, in order to keep it fresh and new for everyone to enjoy without any spoilers. This included the press junket for Star Wars and its location. I’ve done a lot of press junkets now, and this was by far the most secretive and under wraps one yet! We were even instructed not to Geo-tag any of our posts, or we would be asked to leave. Usually there are signs once we get to the location telling us which way to go to get to the correct room for the junket, but not this one! Everything was secret. In the email it said to go upstairs and look for a white curtain. No signs anywhere, nothing. Just this white curtain, so unless you knew what to look for, you’d never know by just walking by, what was behind this very magic curtain.

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This junket was very different from the rest, as usually we are able to see the movie before the junket. This one we didn’t. We didn’t get to see it until just yesterday. Everything was top secret! So I will be giving you a little different perspective on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens than in other junket posts. This is more what my experience was and some information and thoughts from the cast on creating this masterpiece. So don’t worry, no spoilers here about the actual film! 😉

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The set for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Global Press Day! We wait in anticipation for the cast to walk out!

Mindy Kaling

Eeek! Mindy Kaling (From The Office & Inside Out) was the moderator for the press conference! The conference was in two groups. The first group she introduced us to interview was: Carrie Fisher (“Leia”), JJAbrams (Director/Producer), Daisy Ridley (“Rey”), Adam Driver (“Kylo Ren”), Lupita Nyong’o (“Maz Kanata”), Lawrence Kasdan (Screenplay By).

Star Wars- Daisy Ridley-Rey-Adam-Driver-Kylo-RenSince we did not talk about the film directly (as no one had seen it), one of the things we did discuss that really caught my interest was about the costumes. We asked the cast how long it took them to get into costume.

Daily Ridley (Rey): “Twenty minutes. Does that seem long or short? Cause putting the arm things on and everything takes a while, and the wraps and everything. Had a wonderful woman called Callie helping me.”

Adam Driver (Kylo Ren): “The first time took like an hour and a half. Then we got it down to like 20 minutes, I think.”

Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata):For me it took about – well, I didn’t have a costume because I was a motion capture character, but to get suited up it took about – in the beginning it took like two and half hours, maybe three. And then by the end we had it down to about an hour or an hour 15.”

Lawrence Kasdan (Screenplay): “I was ready like that. Show up ready to go.”

Carrie Fisher (Leia): “How long did it take to get into costume? About 10 minutes for the 20. I’m older and I do it faster. No, really, 20 minutes. I have a kind of classy gas station attendant look. So that doesn’t take long to put on.”

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They had many of the costumes on display for us to see just how detailed and intricate each one was. From left to right you have: Captain Phasma, Rey, and Poe. What does each character have to put on to complete their costume?

Captain Phasma

  • Helmet – Chrome vacuum-plated 3D printed nylon
  • Cape – Cotton canvas and painted with binder
  • Armor – Chrome vacuum-plated molded polyurethane
  • Undersuit – Cotton lycra
  • Gussets – Molded rubber and cotton lycra
  • Collar – Neoprene and rubber
  • Belt – Rubber
  • Gloves – Chrome painted 3D printed fingers over leather
  • Boots – Chrome vacuum-plated polyurethane armor over leather

Rey

  • Wrap Dress-viscose
  • Head Wrap-cotton
  • Top-hemp and cotton jersey
  • Trousers- silk
  • Backpack-leather
  • Wrist Cuff and Belt- leather
  • Pouch-canvas
  • Arm Wraps-cotton
  • Gloves-leather
  • Boots-wool and leather
  • Staff-3D print

Poe

  • Flight Suit-Orange Nylon Canvas
  • Boots-Rubber Nylon
  • Gloves-Leather Gauntlet with padded detail
  • Belt-Grey webbing with nylon and metal
  • Vest-Off white life vest with plastic clip fastenings and alliance detail on the left shoulder
  • Helmet-Molded Polyurethane Helmet

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Welcome to the World of Zootopia!| @DisneyZootopia #Zootopia

Welcome to the World of Zootopia!

By Erin

*I was invited as a guest of Disney to the early press day of Zootopia for purposes of this post*

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The other month, I had the pleasure to meet a few friendly critters… like Judy and Nick here—who are a rabbit and a fox—natural enemies by definition, so they don’t exactly get along at first. They come to the relationship with ideas about each other—beliefs that aren’t informed or accurate. They’re a little pushy… but definitely *NOT* camera shy! 😉 They both live in a magical place called Zootopia, which I was able to get a first look at while I was visiting.

Erin-Miller

Zootopia isn’t like any other city you’ve ever been to before. It is made up of neighborhoods that celebrate different cultures. There’s ritzy Sahara Square for desert animals, Tundratown for the polar bears and moose, the hot and humid Rain Forest District, Little Rodentia for the the tiniest mice, and Bunnyburrows for the millions and millions of super adorable cute little bunnies. The downtown area, Savanna Central, is a melting pot where a wide array of mammals from every environment come together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. When Rookie Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she finds out that being the first bunny on a police force that is run by a lot of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Having a deep desire to prove herself, she jumps at the chance to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve a mystery…

So what do these different neighborhoods look like exactly in Zootopia? Before going into more depth of the characters (in a future post), you’ll want to have a better understanding about the layout of the land! 😉

THE BIG SIX

Filmmakers had endless possibilities to explore when it came to creating different lands for Zootopia. They needed to narrow down the districts of Zootopia. Ultimately, six key areas were agreed upon, giving each a specific color palette and details.

ZOOTOPIA - Concept Art by Matthias Lechner (Art Director, Environments). ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

ZOOTOPIA – Concept Art by Matthias Lechner (Art Director, Environments). ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Sahara Square: The glitz! The Glamor! The lights! Sahara Square is made up of sand dunes and buildings that are shaped like sand dunes. “The heart of Sahara Square is inspired by Monte Carlo and Dubai,” says Matthias Lechner, art director of environments. “We learned that desert animals are mostly nocturnal because it’s too hot during the day. So we built lots of nighttime activities—casinos and a giant palm-tree hotel with an oasis surrounding it.”

ZOOTOPIA - Concept Art by Dave Goetz (Production Designer) & Matthias Lechner (Art Director, Environments). ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

ZOOTOPIA – Concept Art by Dave Goetz (Production Designer) & Matthias Lechner (Art Director, Environments). ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Sahara Square is filled with a warm palette of reds, oranges and yellows.

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