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  • ‘Goodrich’ Interview: Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis

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    Opening in theaters on October 18th is the new dark-comedy ‘Goodrich’, which was written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer (‘Home Again’), and stars Michael Keaton (‘Batman’, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’), Mila Kunis (‘Black Swan’), Carmen Ejogo (‘Alien Covenant’), Kevin Pollak (‘A Few Good Men’), and Andie MacDowell (‘Groundhog Day’).

    Related Article: Michael Keaton’s Best Movies

    (L to R) Mila Kunis and Michael Keaton star in 'Goodrich'.
    (L to R) Mila Kunis and Michael Keaton star in ‘Goodrich’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis about their work on ‘Goodrich’, Keaton’s first reaction to the screenplay, Kunis’ approach to her character, working together, collaborating on set with director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, and how the movie has similar themes to Keaton’s 1988 classic, ‘Clean and Sober’.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Keaton, Kunis, and director Hallie Meyers-Shyer.

    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in 'Goodrich'. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.
    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in ‘Goodrich’. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Michael what was your first reaction to Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s screenplay and playing this character?

    Michael Keaton: I knew I was halfway in already once I read it because I thought, “This is really good writing. I just really enjoy this.” I also hadn’t played anything like that for a while, which was not a big stretch as they say. It’s not that terribly far from me. I mean, on one hand, this is totally unlike me for the most part, not that big a deal. After a couple meetings with her, maybe even truthfully, after one meeting with her, I was even more inclined to do it. Then it was a question of is this going to work out in my schedule, and then all those practical things. But being able to shoot in LA was a huge thing for me. I liked what it was about, too. It’s universal and it’s a contemporary comedy/drama. I knew what her taste was like. She has good taste, not just in comedy, not just in movie making, but in life. We were talking about it earlier. She’s very stylish, but in a kind of clean, classic kind of way for a woman her age. She’s young. Normally, that comes later.

    MF: Mila, can you talk about Grace’s relationship with her father, the resentment she has and how she masks it from him?

    Mila Kunis: I think that that’s one of the things that I found to be the most intriguing about the character was the idea of playing her with, you almost have guilt over the resentment because you have the resentment, but you also know that in this world that your dad was probably busy doing other things and you can’t really hold him accountable for doing the best that he could with what he had at the time, but you can’t argue your own feelings and your end result. So, I love the idea of playing the push and pull of her own wanting to accept the dad for who he is, and still resenting him for who he used to be, even though who he used to be was still a pretty okay guy. He wasn’t that bad. He just wasn’t who she wanted him to be or who she needed him to be. I think sometimes, it’s fun to play characters that have their own set of expectations that aren’t always met.

    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in 'Goodrich'. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.
    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in ‘Goodrich’. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.

    MF: Michael, what was it like working with Mila to create this complicated father and daughter relationship?

    Michael Keaton: She played it in a way that she wasn’t, she never, and this is her, too, in life, there’s no element of whining about anything. Everybody has the right to complain and state your case and tell people how you feel. But I grew up in a house where, oh, boy, whining, that wasn’t going to go down too well. And her character and the way she played it, there’s never that sense. She’s the best, this one. She’s just ridiculously down to earth, refreshingly, frankly. It’s fun. Just easy, and a lot of laughs. I always thought it’d be nice to have a daughter. This one would be a great one to have.

    MF: Mila, what was it like acting opposite Michael?

    Mila Kunis: Every night I would dream about Michael. I was like, “Is he thinking of me the way that I’m thinking of him?” I love working with Michael. Everybody loves working with Michael. Find one person that’s ever going to be like, “Michael’s awful”. Find one. I dare you. It’s not going to happen. One of the loveliest, most fun humans to work with.

    'Goodrich' director Hallie Meyers-Shyer.
    ‘Goodrich’ director Hallie Meyers-Shyer.

    MF: Michael, can you talk about collaborating with director Hallie Meyers-Shyer on set?

    Michael Keaton: Hallie makes for a really nice atmosphere. She stayed really calm for this when you think back because that’s a lot of pressure. I think it’s only her second feature. Then you must live up to the “mom and dad” thing, and that’s a lot, and she never really seemed under pressure. Because when you direct a movie, it’s pressure from the time you start until now, and finally going out and promoting it because that’s just life. That’s how it is. But it was never freak out time at all. She’s ridiculously organized.

    MF: Mila, what was your experience like working with Hallie?

    Mila Kunis: She’s very young. She’s younger than me. But she’s very calm, very cool and she knew what she wanted. Some directors shoot endlessly because they don’t have the movie edited in their head yet, so they don’t really know what they’re going to need. She had the movie edited, so it was all very structured. Her and the DP had everything outlined. When they knew they got it, they got it, and they moved on.

    Michael Keaton in 'Clean and Sober'. Photo: Warner Bros.
    Michael Keaton in ‘Clean and Sober’. Photo: Warner Bros.

    MF: Finally, Michael, one of my favorite performances of yours was in ‘Clean and Sober’. While I was watching ‘Goodrich’ it struck me that this is really the other side of that story. Instead of playing someone with an addiction, you are playing the husband of a person dealing with addiction. Did that ever cross your mind and what was it like playing the other side of that?

    Michael Keaton: Wow. What a great observation/question. Yeah. Boy, that’s interesting way to look at it. I can’t honestly say. No, I didn’t think of it like that specifically, but I have a fair, everybody these days has an experience with addiction to some degree now. After I did ‘Dopesick’, someone made a statement, I hate to even talk like this, but “It’s the new cancer, everybody’s been touched by it”. It’s like at that point now. So, when I did ‘Clean and Sober’, I did a lot of research and asked a lot and had seen it. My grandfather, my mom’s mom was an alcoholic. So, I didn’t think about it like that, but how it affects families, or addiction, and how easily it happens now, and how you deal with that. This guy, by the way, what I loved about the beginning is how for a person living today, how clueless he kind of was about it. How does a guy not go, “Whoa, I think we might have a problem here”. It was just right over his head. He never saw it. I mean, dark is often funny. It’s dark, but kind of fun. I love that scene, and I just watched it recently when I was watching the trailer, where I immediately call (Mila’s character) being kind of a baby in a way if you ask me, depending on her again, going to her again. She’s going, “How could you have not seen this?” She’s probably been watching it for years going, “Oh, boy, there’s a problem”. Sometimes I love stupid people. That’s another thing I like to play because it’s easy for me to play stupid.

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    What is the plot of ‘Goodrich’?

    After his younger second wife (Laura Benanti) leaves him and enters a 90-day rehab program, Los Angeles art dealer Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton) seeks out his adult pregnant daughter Grace (Mila Kunis) for help with raising his nine-year-old twins.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Goodrich’?

    (L to R) Mila Kunis and Michael Keaton in 'Goodrich'. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.
    (L to R) Mila Kunis and Michael Keaton in ‘Goodrich’. Photo: Ketchup Entertainment.

    List of Michael Keaton Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Goodrich’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Michael Keaton Movies on Amazon

     

     

  • ‘The Girl in the Pool’ – Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter

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    Opening in theaters on July 26th is the new thriller ‘The Girl in the Pool’, which was directed by Dakota Gorman (‘All About Sex’). The film stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (‘Scooby-Doo’), Monica Potter (‘Con Air’), Kevin Pollak (‘A Few Good Men’), Tyler Lawrence Gray (‘Wolf Pack’), and Gabrielle Haugh (‘Jeepers Creepers III’).

    Related Article: Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’

    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'The Girl in the Pool'. (Right) Monica Potter in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’. (Right) Monica Potter in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter about their work on ‘The Girl in the Pool’, their first reactions to the screenplay, working together again for the first time since 2001’s ‘Head Over Heels’, their characters’ complicated marriage and working with director Dakota Gorman.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Freddie, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the themes you were excited to explore with this movie?

    Freddie Prinze Jr.: I was easy to say yes. This character was the opposite of every character that I’ve ever played, so it’s what every actor who gets known for doing one thing and they only want to try something else, and they want to show you what else they can do. This was that opportunity. I had made a movie called ‘Christmas with You’, with German Torres, and he brought this script to me and said, “Hey, man, this is super weird. I think you’re going to like it. It’s nothing you’ve ever done before, so check it out.” I read it and I loved it. I met with Dakota, the director, and we sat and talked about this guy, Thomas, and how much I hated him, how I didn’t like anything about him, and I didn’t find him loving or anything, but I did find a way to connect with him through vulnerability in that third act. So that’s really what attracted me to the role and made me want to show people what I could do with it.

    MF: Freddie, how did you get Monica involved in the project?

    FP: She got the script three days before we shot, and her kid said, “It’s Freddie, do it.” She said, “Okay, I’m going to,” and she called me on the phone, or I called her, I can’t remember which one, and we talked about it, and I told her how thankful and grateful I was that she was going to come and play again. That we would kick and how much I needed her and would depend on her in scenes. She laughs at that, but it’s the truth. So, she just came in and played. I love getting to answer that question.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter in 'Head Over Heels.'
    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter in ‘Head Over Heels.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

    MF: Monica, what was it like reuniting with Freddie for the first time since ‘Head Over Heels’?

    Monica Potter: The running joke while we were filming was, I didn’t really read the script at all. I don’t know what it was. Maybe there was a reason because I love reading. I think also, I don’t like a lot of lines for myself. I wanted to be there for him because this movie is all about him, and he has this talent that no one has seen. I mean, I know it because I’ve worked with him before, but I just wanted to show up and be there and have fun and be there for him. I had the best time. It was awesome. I was blown away by his performance. For real. So, I just wanted it to be there for him. Because of where I was at my life a year ago, it was like a restart for me, like starting over in a personal way, and being with him and remembering what it was like twenty years ago.

    MF: Freddie, what was it like for you to work with Monica again?

    FP: I love Monica a lot. I told her how much I would depend on her in scenes. I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about any scene that her and I were in, no matter what. I really wanted to knock this out. There were certain scenes that required more time than others. Any scene that Kristen and Thomas had together, I kind of just put on the side and was like, “We know how to do this. We can do this in our sleep, so let me really try and knock this other stuff out with the son and really try to focus on that relationship,” because I haven’t done that ever, or dealt with that as a character or as a human being either, when you watch the movie. But to have her in those scenes, it’s just easy. She really keeps me on my toes. I’ve said this before, but I can get caught in my own head and kind of lock into a performance. When you have someone like Monica and Kevin Pollak as well, they can bring you different angles. They can show you different looks, which can completely change the way you want to do something for the better. It just makes the whole scene kind of flow a lot more, and that you’re not just looking at it through your perspective.

    Kevin Pollak in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    Kevin Pollak in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    MF: Freddie, can you talk about Thomas and Kristen’s marriage, what he does to jeopardize it and the actions he takes to try and save it?

    FP: He’s like a beaten dog, you know what I mean? His spirit’s been broken, and there’s no real coming back from that. If you look at the three personality types, the alpha, beta, and omega, he’s a beta. He’s very susceptible to compliments and criticism. You can see the Hannah character, his mistress, sort of pushing and pulling and playing with him whenever she wants, and he really doesn’t have any sort of defense for it at all. He never really defends himself. As far as the second part of your question, him trying to fix it. Dakota, the director, describes it best. It’s like the dog in the meme where the fire’s going on behind him, and he’s like, “No, no, no, everything’s okay.” That’s Thomas. He’s like, “No, no, no. I’m going to fix this.” The son even says, “You’re not good at that. You can’t fix anything.” So, it’s a burning house, and he’s trying to put it out with a little bucket of water, basically. It’s just constantly saying, “Everything’s going to be fine.” What a ridiculous concept. He’s saying, “I just have to get through the party and everything’s going to be fine,” when we know it’s not.

    MF: Finally, Monica, what was it like working with director Dakota Gorman on set?

    MP: She was amazing. She would just come up to me and we made a joke, because we’re all water signs. She would just walk up to me and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I go, “Got it.” So, it was like telepathic. The same thing with Freddie. I would look at him and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I would squeeze his finger. I was in awe watching him, and she was great. They’re both awesome.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?

    A well-to-do family man (Freddie Prinze Jr.) must get through a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife (Monica Potter) shortly after he has hidden the corpse of his murdered mistress.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?

    • Freddie Prinze Jr. as Thomas
    • Monica Potter as Kristen
    • Kevin Pollak as William
    • Tyler Lawrence Gray as Alex
    • Gabrielle Haugh as Hannah
    Freddie Prinze Jr. and Gabrielle Haugh in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    (L to R) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Gabrielle Haugh in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Freddie Prinze Jr. Movies on Amazon

     

  • ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2 Interview: Producer Jason Winer

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    Premiering on Disney+ November 8th is the second season of ‘The Santa Clauses,’ which is a continuation of ‘The Santa Clause’ movies and once again stars Tim Allen (‘Toy Story’).

    Tim Allen in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses' Season 2.
    Tim Allen in Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/James Clark.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with executive producer and director Jason Winer about his work on the second season of ‘The Santa Clauses,’ where the new season begins, expanding on the Santa Claus mythology, Scott Calvin’s quest to find a replacement, the sets, new characters, returning favorites, Christmas themed amusement parks, working with multiple directors, and the chance of a third season.

    'The Santa Clauses' Season 2 Executive Producer and Director Jason Winer.
    ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2 Executive Producer and Director Jason Winer.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about where we’ll find the characters when the new season begins?

    Jason Winer: Well, if the audience recalls, Betty mentions in the first season the darkest time in North Pole history, and that was the reign of the Mad Santa. When the second season begins, events have transpired to bring the Mad Santa back to life. He was never actually dead. He was frozen inside of a nutcracker as part of a spell to incapacitate him. So, with Mad Santa back in the mix, our lovable Claus family is in trouble, as is Christmas itself. I think the second season is funnier than the first. We wanted a more formidable villain for the second season, and we have found that in the Mad Santa, played by Eric Stonestreet.

    MF: Can you talk about expanding on the Santa Clause mythology?

    JW: Well, just to be clear, the idea that Santa is a mantle that can be passed and not just to a singular person is the central idea of the franchise established by the movies back in the ‘90s. That was what was so kind of cool and innovative. When Santa slips off Scott Calvin’s roof and essentially passes his jacket along to him, we are suggesting in that action that Santa is this mantle passed on from Santa to Santa. So that central idea is so rich because it suggests a whole history of Santa’s that have reigned over the North Pole. It suggests the idea that Santa can retire and pick a successor, and how is that successor chosen? Having fun with both the history of the role of Santa and the idea of passing it along is essentially the heart of the series.

    Related Article: Tim Allen and Elizabeth Allen-Dick Talk Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’

    Tim Allen and Austin Kane in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses' Season 2.
    (L to R) Tim Allen and Austin Kane in Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/James Clark.

    MF: In the first season, Scott Calvin was not successful trying to find a Santa Claus replacement. How is that working out in season 2?

    JW: Well, Scott’s son Cal and a lot of people say, “Hey, at the end of the third movie, Mrs. Claus had a baby, and they called that baby Buddy. Why is his name Cal?” Well, we’ve said it a couple times in the show for careful listeners. His name is Buddy Calvin Claus, and they call him Cal for short. So, for those thinking that we’ve made an error in the chronology or the mythology of the show, we have not. It’s a nickname. But Cal is a guy who loves the real world, and that was established in the first season. He has a lot of curiosities about what college and relationships might be like in the real world. He meets a girl in the first season and is obsessed with her even more in the second. So, all these reasons make him a questionable choice to be the next Santa because he’s not sure he wants to stay at the North Pole, though he wants to please his dad. He’s also a bit of a klutz, which makes him not a great Santa choice. He’s deathly afraid of heights, which also makes him a very difficult choice to become the next Santa, which is why the legendary figures from the movies are back, worried about Scott Calvin choosing his son as the next Santa.

    MF: Can you talk about your use of green screen versus practical sets this season?

    JW: We have a tremendous amount of fun designing this world. The residence of the North Pole, which by the way is based on the residence of the White House, that’s the design of it. The long central hallway, the two grand rooms at either end with semicircular windows, that’s all based on the residence of the White House, which was a question we asked ourselves season one. Like where else does the family, a whole family live upstairs from where they work? The White House was a grand notion for our inspiration. But that said, that is a practical set, the hallway, the living room, the bedroom at Santa’s office and Betty’s office. When we go to the workshop, the size of the workshop is like two football fields, and it was established as being that big in the movies. For the series, we couldn’t possibly afford that. So, we’ve used technology to compensate and designed the workshop virtually on the volume. We do that on the volume. Now this season we’ve expanded to be able to use the balcony of the workshop as a play space that overlooks the whole elf village. It’s a cool environment and we designed that under the volume as well. This season, we get to go home with Betty and Noel. We designed their cottage, which we see the exterior of in some of the digital shots. But we go inside of it and that’s a set designed by our incredible production design team.

    Marta Kessler and Eric Stonestreet in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses' Season 2.
    (L to R) Marta Kessler and Eric Stonestreet in Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/James Clark.

    MF: What new characters can fans expect in season 2?

    JW: La Befana is such a great character. Obviously, there’s truth to her existence as a legend. She is the Italian Santa Claus in a way and has existed in legend for a long time. But the way Laura San Giacomo plays her is just with such fun and glee. It’s so great to see Laura in a role like this where she can just kind of go nuts. She’s really featured this season being a mentor to Sandra’s character and teaching her how to be a witch, Spoiler Alert. So, in terms of the other characters, obviously we have Mad Santa. We’ve talked about him. Eric’s goal with Mad Santa was to make him oddly lovable despite being occasionally evil. He wanted him to be the type of classic Disney villain that kids aren’t sure whether to run from or to hug. So, I think he’s achieved that line. He’s so much fun to watch in this role. Of course, his sidekick is a gnome. Her name is Marta Kessler, and she plays this feral, evil, angry gnome, although she’s only 10 or 11 herself. But she has such fun with this character. It’s hard to say this with Eric Stonestreet, who’s a grown man, and an 11-year-old actress, but they had tremendous comedic chemistry together. They had so much fun playing together and playing off each other. So not only is it fun to see her as a character, but it’s also fun to see the gnomes in general. They’re referenced in the first season as the annoying adversaries of the elves. They always mention them, and they complain about them. So, in this season, we get to meet them. It was fun to design what they look like. Of course, they’re played by kids the same way the elves are, and that makes them fun too. Other characters, of course, we have Gabriel Iglesias who we’re so excited to have in the season. He plays Kris Kringle Moreno, a real-life Santa, a real-world Santa enthusiast. He owns a Santa themed amusement park with a dusty, crusty Santa Museum. He just happens to be the owner of the Mad Santa nutcracker, where unbeknownst to him Mad Santa has been trapped for centuries.

    MF: Are Santa Themed Amusement Parks a real thing?

    JW: There are things like it. There are Christmas themed amusement parks and or play spaces that pop up around Christmas that open for the season. In fact, Disney is opening a winter wonderland to promote the show in New York City this season. They did it last year on a small scale, and it was such a hit that they’re bringing it back this year on a much bigger scale. That is a set. We built it here on the outskirts of Los Angeles and put Chicago in digitally.

    Tracy Morgan in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses' Season 2.
    (L to R) Tracy Morgan in Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/James Clark.

    MF: Will there be any characters returning from the movies that did not appear in the first season?

    JW: Well, there’s some incredibly fun cameos from the legendary figures. We have Kevin Pollak returning as Cupid from the original movies. We have Michael Dorn returning as Sandman. Since the original actor who played the Easter Bunny (Jay Thomas) unfortunately passed away, we have Tracy Morgan capably filling the shoes of the Easter Bunny. We have a fun tiny cameo. We love referring to the original movies. People love them and they’re considered such classics that we like to tie in the action of the series every way we can, and that includes this year a cameo from Paige Tamada. This is a deep cut for fans of the movies. Paige played little Judy the elf who gives Santa the cocoa when he first arrives at the North Pole way back in the original movie. She plays the proprietor of Judy’s cocoa stand that they get cocoa from. It’s unacknowledged, but it’s just an example of the lengths we go to, to tie our series together with the original movies.

    MF: As a producer and a director, what is it like collaborating with the other directors on a series like this?

    JW: Well, the job of a pilot director, myself in this case, is to establish a style visually that can be copied, and to make a clear set of rules so that, visually, incoming directors can make it their own certainly, but make sure that it’s still connected and consistent. It’s also my job to establish a tone amongst the actors so that everybody feels like they’re in the same show and connected as an ensemble. Hopefully, by the time I’m done doing that with the first two episodes when additional directors come in, the whole thing kind of functions well, and of course I’m around. Even when the other directors are directing, I’m still there in a producorial capacity overseeing, though I don’t want to give short shrift to our amazing ensemble of directors, who also directed the other episodes of the first season. So, we really got on the same page as we were thrown into the fire of the crazy schedule of the first season and just figuring it all out together. So, the chance for everybody to return, and for us all to work together collaboratively the second season, I think, guarantees the tonal consistency of the show.

    Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses' Season 2.
    (L to R) Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell in Disney+’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/James Clark.

    MF: Finally, has there been any talk about a third season?

    JW: There’s a lot of talk about a season three, and we’ve got ideas percolating. I think there’s a lot of new questions that get asked in the second season that would be fun to dive into in a third season. Not only that, but there’s of a wealth of cameos, people from the original movies that the fans are clamoring to see. Some of them appear in the second season, but there are yet more that we’d like to deliver in the third.

    The cast of 'The Santa Clauses' season 2, which begins on Disney+ November 8th.
    The cast of ‘The Santa Clauses’ season 2, which begins on Disney+ November 8th. Photo: Disney.

    What is the plot of ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2?

    In the second season, the Calvin family is back in the North Pole as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after retirement plans were thwarted when failing to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Calvin (Austin Kane) to eventually take over the “family business” as Santa Claus.

    Who is the cast of ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2?

    'The Santa Clauses' season 2 begins on Disney+ November 8th.
    ‘The Santa Clauses’ season 2 begins on Disney+ November 8th. Photo: Disney.

     Movies Similar to ‘The Santa Clauses’:

    Buy Tim Allen Movies On Amazon

     

  • Disney+’s ‘Willow’ Interview: Producer Jonathan Kasdan

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    Premiering on Disney+ November 30th is the new Lucasfilm series ‘Willow,’ which is a sequel to the 1988 movie of the same name created by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard.

    The new series picks up over 30-years later and stars Ruby Cruz and Dempsey Bryk as Kit and Airk, respectively, the children of Queen Sorcha (Joanne Whalley), and Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), who is currently missing.

    When a member of the royal family is abducted by evil forces, the Queen dispatches an unlikely group of heroes to save them and defeat the evil including Kit, her best friend and knight-in-training Jade (Erin Kellyman), young scholar Graydon (Tony Revolori), a thief named Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel), a kitchen maid named Dove (Ellie Bamber), and Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), the sorcerer that helped Sorsha and her husband many years ago.

    The series will also include returning actors Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton as Rool and Franjean, respectively, while Christian Slater joins the franchise as Allagash.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and producer Jonathan Kasdan about his work on ‘Willow,’ his love for the original, why now was the right time to bring it back, working with Warwick Davis, the new characters, adding to the mythology, and the show’s unusual use of rock music.

    Producer and writer Jonathan Kasdan talks Disney+'s 'WIllow.'
    Producer and writer Jonathan Kasdan talks Disney+’s ‘WIllow.’

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Kasdan, Ruby Cruz, Dempsey Bryk, Tony Revolori, Ellie Bamber, Joanne Whalley, Christian Slater, and Warwick Davis about ‘Willow.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, it seems like ‘Willow’ has been the forgotten child of Lucasfilm for some time. Can you talk about your passion for this franchise and why now was the right time to bring it back with this series?

    Jonathan Kasdan: Well, you said the magic word. I mean, it is the forgotten child. It was an idea that actually really appealed to me, which is like, I’m a great lover of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ I love that final scene when the crates are being rolled in. You think, “Well, there’s potential for story in every one of these.”

    ‘Willow’ occupies this funny place in history of having been this very special thing to a lot of people. Then having been crated away and put in the warehouse. We literally wanted to embrace that idea and have the show open with an old dusty volume being pulled down off of a shelf. We get to read the part of the book that we didn’t get before. That was what really attracted me to doing it.

    The reason that it’s now is because, simply, Disney+ exists. It’s the way that we were able to make this story, continue it, and actually take it in a direction that was exciting and surprising to all of us. Which was really to build into character and expand.

    MF: What was Warwick Davis’ reaction to the revival series and what was it like for you to work with him on set?

    JK: Warwick’s reaction was, “Bring it on. I’ve been waiting for 31 years,” I believe it was at that point he said, “And I’ve been ready all that time.”

    He kept his wand close at hand. He was as enthusiastic and passionate about returning to this role that so many people loved from him, as anyone could hope their leading man could be. It was incredible.

    Warwick Davis in Lucasfilm's 'Willow,' exclusively on Disney+.
    Warwick Davis in Lucasfilm’s ‘Willow,’ exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &; TM. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Can you talk about expanding the ‘Willow’ universe and the new characters on the series?

    JK: I mean, that’s a big part of it for me, I’m a fan of sequels more than I am of prequels. I love stories that move it further. I want to know what happens next. One of the things that requires is a bigger, darker force somewhere out in the world. We thought there was a way, and it would be fun to integrate the legacy of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) into a mythology that’s much larger and much scarier.

    That was always a big part of the appeal to me, was like there’s a next stage to how things might go and where they could progress to that it would require Elora Danan (Kate and Ruth Greenfield and Rebecca Bearman) to come into her own as a sorceress.

    MF: For fans of the movie, the series is filled with Easter eggs. Which one was your favorite to include?

    JK: I mean, there’s so many, and they’re so specific. I think my favorite one is that in the role playing game of ‘Willow,’ there’s a casual reference to a book of evil magic called The Malatrium. On the show ‘Willow,’ we were able to make that book a reality. It is a hard copy thing that exists, and that they work with in the show to conjure some dark magic and to try to save their friend.

    So, I’m the biggest nerd for that kind of thing in the world, and I was looking for any opportunity and anyone that I could bring back and repopulate the universe with.

    Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Amar Chadha-Patel and Tony Revolori in Lucasfilm's 'Willow.'
    (L to R): Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Amar Chadha-Patel and Tony Revolori in Lucasfilm’s ‘Willow.’ exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &; TM. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about the creative choice to end each episode with a contemporary rock song?

    JK: Well, it’s a funny one, because it’s something that we sort of all held hands together on very early. It feels like there’s a world of people and of diehard fans to which that’s sacrilegious.

    Then there’s a world of people whom are looking for these things to move forward and to have fun with themselves and be adventurous. For us, ‘Willow’ was the perfect experiment in that, because the show has so much youthful energy to it. It’s rebellious, it’s rock and roll, as I think the first ‘Star Wars’ was.

    So, it felt like a really natural fit to give it a little of that punk quality in the most literal, possible way. We love doing it, and it gave us all a lot of joy when each episode came to an end and promised more and more feelings.

    Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Warwick Davis and Erin Kellyman in Lucasfilm's 'Willow,' exclusively on Disney+.
    (L to R): Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Warwick Davis and Erin Kellyman in Lucasfilm’s ‘Willow,’ exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &; TM. All Rights Reserved.