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Tag: petes-dragon

Movie Review: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’
Jude Law as Captain Hook in Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

On Disney+ now, ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is the latest attempt by the studio to transform one of its animated classics into live action. And thankfully, despite being pushed straight to streaming, this reveals itself to be far better than the much-maligned ‘Pinocchio’ conversion job that (dis)graced screens last year, even that had Robert Zemeckis directing and Tom Hanks starring.

And that’s largely thanks to director David Lowery, who finds a lyrical, visually lush approach and ups the emotional ante to give the story more meaning.
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What’s the story of ‘Peter Pan & Wendy?’

Given that author J.M. Barrie’s original play premiered back in 1904 and it, and the novel spawned from it have been adapted many, many times through the years, it’s hard to imagine anyone doesn’t know the narrative for this one. But just in case…

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ introduces us to Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), a young girl on the verge of leaving her family and childhood home behind to attend boarding school. One night, Wendy and brothers Michael (Jacobi Jupe –– yes, the younger brother of ‘A Quiet Place’s Noah) and John (Joshua Pickering) meet Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), a boy who refuses to grow up.

Alongside her brothers and a tiny fairy, Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), she travels with Peter to the magical world of Never Land. There, she encounters an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook (Jude Law), and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.

Alexander Molony as Peter Pan in Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Danger Pan

Even with a seemingly failsafe story, Peter Pan has offered mixed blessings to filmmakers through the years. Disney famously made a successful animated version way back in 1953, but in more recent times, it has become something of a third rail for directors who dare to go near it.

It has provided flops for ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ filmmaker P.J. Hogan, whose 2003 traditional ‘Peter Pan’ boasted Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook but could only wrangle $121 million worldwide from a $100 million budget (not counting advertising etc.) ‘Atonement’s Joe Wright tried a punkier, revised version in 2015 with Hugh Jackman playing Hook. That did even worse, losing money. And even more recently, ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Benh Zeitlin turned the focus to Wendy Darling with, well, ‘Wendy’, which was made for $6 million and has so far returned less than $300,000 on limited, pandemic-impacted release after it landed in 2020.

Yet Lowery has pulled off something that feels like it both channels Barrie’s original story and does interesting things with it that make it feel fresh.

Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily in Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Related Article: Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult Starring in ‘The Order’

This is, of course, not Lowery’s first ride on the Disney rodeo either –– he previously brought the world a fine adaptation of ‘Pete’s Dragon’. With that movie there was a lot more scope for change, the director swapping the live action/cartoon musical story for a more grounded (aside from the whole dragon thing), story of a lost boy who finds solace in a giant winged creature.

Lost boys –– and girls –– are, of course a big part of the ‘Pan’ story (Peter has a group he’s collected through the years), and in finding his young cast, Lowery has tracked down some authentic (and authentically diverse) actors to bring the roles to life.

Ever Anderson, daughter of Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson, brings charm and a soulful quality to Wendy and also does well on the stunt front when called upon (the apple not falling far from the tree there). As her brothers, Pickering and Jupe aren’t called upon to handle too much, but what they bring is kids who are appealing and never precociously annoying.

Ever Anderson as Wendy in Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Molony as Peter initially feels smug and arrogant, but those are a slightly in keeping with his base character. And as the movie probes deeply into his reasons for being the way he is, he warms up.

Law as Hook is a fantastically preening villain at first, but the actor is also talented enough to handle the deeper origin story that Lowery and co-writer Toby Halbrooks hand him. And he’s ably supported by Smee (Jim Gaffigan, who unveils a solid British accent), who is also handed more of a character than the usual comedy sidekick.

Lowery kicks off with a very theatrical feel, upping the fantasy levels and, if there’s a problem to be found, the earlier scenes (which take place at night) are a little muddy with the digital filming. And Molony, for one, sometimes looks like he’s been crafted with CGI, even more so than Shahidi’s Tink.

Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell in Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

But once the movie gets to Neverland, sunshine arrives and the canvas expands, the movie becomes much more watchable. And the effects –– such Hook’s ship going flying and the infamous ticking-belly crocodile (to whom Peter fed Hook’s hand once he cut it off years ago) –– are effective, even if they sometimes stretch the more limited budget offered by a movie produced for the streaming service as opposed to ‘Pete’s Dragon’s lush theatrical look.

The music, meanwhile, both in score form from musicians Daniel Hart and Oliver Wallace (who channels John Williams at times) and the pirate songs from the original animated movie given fresh treatment, really help to enhance the experience.

This is Lowery bringing his carefully crafted indie sensibility to the film, once again putting his stamp on it rather than feeling like it rattled off of a construction conveyor belt. It might not appeal to fans of his more esoteric work such as ‘A Ghost Story’, but it’s a perfectly fun story for family audiences, especially with young children who have yet to see their first ‘Pan’ adaptation.

You won’t feel like a codfish for catching this one.

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

A scene still from Disney’s live-action ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Other Movies Similar to ‘Peter Pan & Wendy:’
- ‘Peter Pan‘ (1953)
- ‘Hook‘ (1991)
- ‘Peter Pan‘ (2003)
- ‘Finding Neverland‘ (2004)
- ‘Pan‘ (2015)
- ‘Cinderella‘ (2015)
- ‘Pete’s Dragon‘ (2016)
- ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ (2017)
- ‘The Lion King‘ (2019)
- ‘Mulan‘ (2020)
- ‘Wendy‘ (2020)
- ‘Cruella‘ (2021)
- ‘Pinocchio‘ (2022)
- ‘The Lost Girls ‘(2022)
Where to Stream and Watch Online: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’

Buy ‘Peter Pan’ Movies on Amazon

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is set to premiere on Disney+ April 28th, 2023.
April 29, 2023
Why Bryce Dallas Howard Isn’t Afraid to Go ‘Weird’ & ‘Extreme’

Bryce Dallas Howard‘s star rating just keeps going up.

After an increasingly high-profile movie career that includes standouts like M. Night Shyamalan‘s “The Village” and “Lady in the Water,” “Spider-Man 3,” the “Twilight,” saga and “The Help,” in 2015 Howard appeared in “Jurassic World,” which became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time and solidified her status as a full-fledged movie star.

This year, the actress demonstrated her continuing appeal, first headlining Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” the engaging, critically praised reimagining of its ’70s-era live-action/animation hybrid (the new film debuts on Blu-ray and DVD on Nov. 29), as the kind-hearted small town sheriff confronted with an orphaned child apparently raised in the wilderness alongside a not-so-imaginary friend in the form of a dragon.

Howard then followed it up with a downright bravura performance in the not-too-far-futuristic “Black Mirror” episode “Nosedive,” playing a woman whose increasingly consuming obsession with her own popularity rating on her society’s dominant — and sometimes domineering — social media platform threatens to take it — and her — on a precipitous plunge.

The actress joined Moviefone to reflect on her recent string of successes, consider the evolution of her career, and even look back on what it’s meant to her to see performances by her acting dynasty family — including her father, actor and filmmaker Ron Howard — captured on film and video forever.

Moviefone: You’ve had an unabashed love of the source material, Disney’s 1977 film “Pete’s Dragon,” since you were little. It must have been especially cool to reinvent it so dramatically and have people fall in love with this version.

Bryce Dallas Howard: Yeah. Whenever you do anything where there is a source material like an original film or a novel, or it’s a sequel of something, there’s always that element of pressure. But even more so, when it’s something that meant something to you personally as a child, I don’t know why I keep putting myself in these situations. I’m very lucky too, honestly.

But yeah, what I loved about it when I read the script — and I’m so happy that people have seemed to have similar reactions to this — is that it didn’t step on the toes of the original movie. We’re not doing the same music.

It’s taking the central idea of that first film and keeping that intact, that it’s a story of a boy and his best friend who’s a dragon. And it’s a live-action film with an animated character, and it’s a Disney film. But other than that, there were so many different things, new storylines. I was nervous about that, but I appreciate that as well. So I’m glad that folks seem to appreciate that.

I met you when you were first starting out doing this, and I was first starting out in my field. Now you have this amazing body of work that you’ve been able to build. When we met, you were, I’m sure, an actress that was just excited to have opportunities.

Exactly, yeah!

Now, you’ve got these great collection of films that you’ve made, films that people love and have embraced. Tell me what that aspect of your professional life means to you.

Thank you. It’s really amazing. I think because I’m a third-generation actor, I really knew to not expect success at all. I knew the statistics. I knew how difficult it is. When I was a teenager, my grandparents — my dad’s parents — brought me to Vegas when I was 16 years old, because I could walk the floor, and my grandmother loved to play the nickel slot machine. And she knew I was doing high school plays, I was going to apply to NYU. They knew that I was definitely going to pursue it in some capacity.

And my grandmother said to me, “Do you know what the rate of the average working actor in SAG is, in terms of how many auditions it takes for them to get a job?” The average working actor, which means they’re making a living as an actor. I thought maybe one in 10. It was one in every 64 auditions.

So, going into my career that way, knowing the very real odds, having seen the ups and downs with my family, and also knowing that theirs was actually a success story, I hedged my bets like crazy. I was always working side jobs and saving as much as I could. When I first started working in theater, but in particular when I got my first break in film with M. Night Shyamalan, and that being my first movie, I was like, “Oh my goodness — this is crazy!”

Then getting to continue to work — while also I’ve had times away, during pregnancies and after giving birth, and all of that — and the fact that I’ve been able to continue to work is really a serious privilege, and exciting, and moving to me. It’s incredible. It’s really, really incredible.

Yeah, to get to be in a movie like a Disney film, that I know that my kids enjoy and that they’ll grow up with, and providing those memories for my kids — as well as the same experience that I had growing up on film sets, that they’re able to do that, it’s really something that I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted.

Potentially your work is, like so much of your dad’s work, immortal. It’s with us for generations now.

When it works, when it’s working, it’s a euphoric experience in so many different levels. Because, like you said, there is that thing. That’s not the goal for any of us: immortality. But I know what it means having been a child and being able to watch my dad as a kid in “The Andy Griffith Show.” I know what that meant to me. I know what it means to me getting to see my dad at different ages of his life, and what his work was like, and what he sounded like.

So, for me, all of my family who have worked in creative fields, I have that forever, and that’s something that’s priceless. So to think that that’s something that my kids could, when I’m long gone, that my relatives — even relatives that I don’t meet down the road — could maybe see that, that’s wild and surreal! I actually have never thought about that specifically until you just mentioned that. That my great grandkids and stuff … Oh, I’ve got to stay on my game!

You are most certainly on your game in your episode of “Black Mirror,” “Nosedive.” Let’s talk about the response to that. People are just going nuts for that, and deservedly so.

Thank you. Oh man — that job was amazing. I said yes to that without there even being a script. It was just Joe Wright, “Black Mirror”? “Yes, please!”

It was just one of those really freeing, collaborative, sort of idyllic working experiences. It was great because it was also weird, and we were allowed to be weird — and I gained 30 pounds for it. I felt that the nature of the piece, and the subject matter of the piece, it was an extreme circumstance. Therefore, I felt like I had permission to go to extreme places.

That isn’t always the case. I feel like sometimes with films, you not only want to look smaller, you feel like you need to act smaller, you feel like you need to not step on certain things within the scene. Whereas, that story was this person. It was like bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. And to get to be that was really awesome.

That concept — once I got what was happening in this episode, I realized it’s something that you, as an actress, have lived in — “How big is your following? What do you bring to a movie as far as audience numbers?” But now we’re all doing it with our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

Absolutely.

Tell me about your thoughts on just seeing that culture go from your occupation specifically to include everyone, around the world?

That’s another thing that I only kind of recently realized. I think it was just in talking about “Black Mirror.” When I first started doing social media, which was only not even a year ago, I was like, “What should my line be? Who am I? What kinds of photos do I post?” People are like, “Just be yourself.” I’m like, there’s folks who are going to be seeing this. I need to keep that in mind.

And I think that there’s a certain amount of awareness of self that as someone who has any kind of a public life, you fight it a little bit, you accept it a little bit, you don’t want to be aware of it, but then you are aware of it, and you don’t want to be weird about it. That is something that I think has been very specific to folks in a public life, and that now everyone experiences.

Everybody now is like, there’s that filter for everyone. Or there’s no filter, but there’s consequences, in a way that there wasn’t consequences before. So in a way, in talking about social media, I feel like everyone can relate a little bit to that experience of being like, “Whoops, I said something.” And it’s not just a one-on-one thing now, or just in your work place, or in your family. It’s global. Your words, your images, for everybody, are global.

And, as of right now, even more relevant than ever.

Absolutely. Absolutely. We’re seeing how technology is rapidly affecting our lives. “Black Mirror” in a way, each episode is a cautionary tale. We’re definitely seeing how fast our world is changing and what can result from that.

November 29, 2016
What’s New on TV, Netflix, Digital, and DVD/Blu-ray This Week: Nov. 28 – Dec. 4

At a loss for what to watch this week? From new TV, we’ve got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

“Pete’s Dragon”
Disney’s reimagining of the magical 1977 family film arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, Disney Movies Anywhere, and On Demand November 29. The 2016 movie — starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Oakes Fegley, Robert Redford, Wes Bentley, and Karl Urban — comes with multiple special features. The DVD has “Making Magic,” with fun facts about what went into designing the lovable dragon; the Blu-ray and Digital releases have that featurette, plus director David Lowery narrating the personal diary he kept during filming; audio commentary; a “Welcome to New Zealand” featurette on the filming location; bloopers; music videos; and more.

Check out this exclusive deleted scene featuring Robert Redford:“The BFG”
Take The Big Friendly Giant home with you when director Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl book arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, Disney Movies Anywhere, and On Demand November 29. (This is a change from the previous release date of December 6.) Blu-ray and Digital bonus features include “Bringing ‘The BFG’ to Life” with Ruby Barnhill (Sophie) hosting a phizz-whizzing journey through the making of the movie; “Giants 101,” with Jemaine Clement (Fleshlumpeater) and Bill Hader (Bloodbottler) introducing the loathsome giants in the movie; “The Big Friendly Giant and Me,” a charming in-world short; “Melissa Mathison: A Tribute” (which is also on the DVD); and “Gobblefunk: The Wonderful Words of The BFG” (which is also on the DVD).

“Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie”
Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Jennifer Saunders) are back, darlings, in their boozy big-screen debut, which finds them in a media firestorm when they’re blamed for the accidental killing of Kate Moss at a fashion event. The comedy — which includes cameos from Jon Hamm, Joan Collins, and of course Kate Moss — arrives on Blu-ray and DVD November 29. Special features include outtakes, deleted scenes,”On Set with Dame Edna,” “Have A Look, Sweetie Darling,” and featurettes on the locations, legacy, cameos, drag queens, fashion, characters, and making of the movie.

New Video on Demand, Rental Streaming, and Digital

“Southside With You”
Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers play young versions of Michelle Robinson and Barack Obama — aka the future First Lady and POTUS — in this inspirational romance following the famous couple’s “first date” back in the summer of 1989. The movie is out on Digital HD November 29 and on Blu-ray/DVD/On Demand December 13. Special features include commentary with writer/director Richard Tanne, and original art and animations.

“Florence Foster Jenkins”
In this comedy based on a true story, Meryl Streep plays a New York socialite who dreams of being a great opera singer — despite not being able to sing — with Hugh Grant as her protective husband. The film arrives on Digital HD November 29, before the DVD, Blu-ray, and On Demand release December 13. The Blu-ray includes 50 minutes of bonus content, including a Q&A with Meryl Streep, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, “The Music and Songs of Florence,” and more.

“Bodyguards: Secret Lives from the Watchtower”This new documentary — out on VOD and in select theaters December 2 — explores the little-known lives of real-life bodyguards, showcasing Nelson Mandela’s bodyguards, Justin Bieber and his director of security, Whitey Bulger’s protector, 50 Cent & Lil Wayne’s bodyguard, and ambassadors under Blackwater.

“Morgan”
Kate Mara, Paul Giamatti, Toby Jones, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rose Leslie, and Anya Taylor-Joy star in this sci-fi thriller, blurring the lines between what is human vs synthetic. Catch it on Digital HD Friday, December 2. Special features include “Modified Organism: The Science Behind Morgan,” deleted scenes, director Luke Scott’s short film “Loom” (precursor to “Morgan” shot on 4K 3D), and more.

New on Netflix

This week marks the start of a new month, and you know what that means: Heaps of new titles are coming to Netflix as of December 1, and many are leaving as of the same day. But don’t rush November out the door quite yet, ’cause it still has at least one promising title left.

“The Jungle Book”
Forget about your worries and your strife and stream Jon Favreau’s live-action Disney blockbuster, starting November 30.

“Fauda” Season 1 (Netflix Original)
This Israeli TV series was the most watched in the history of the Israeli satellite network YES, and earned the trophy for best drama at the 2015 Israeli version of the Emmys. Netflix picked up the series, which Variety described as “nail-biting,” following “a close-knit unit of mista’arvim, the commando unit of the Israel army whose soldiers are trained in the language, dress and mannerisms of Palestinians, and whose undercover work is hailed in Israel for scuppering terror attacks and guiding military operations.” A second season is now in production, but first watch Season 1 on Netflix starting December 2.

“Pacific Heat” Season 1 (Netflix Original)
According to Netflix, “In this animated satire, a covert squad of operatives short on smarts but long on confidence tackles crime on the glitzy Gold Coast of Australia.” Yeah, many fans have noted that it looks like it wants to be the Oz version of “Archer,” but judge and stream for yourself starting December 2.

TV Worth Watching

“The Great American Baking Show” (Thursday on ABC at 9 p.m.)
The holiday season is officially in full swing, and that means it’s time to bake — or at least hover in the kitchen while others bake — delicious treats! This American holiday version of the “Great British Baking Show” returns for its second season with judges Mary Berry and Johnny Iuzzini on December 1. In Week 1, the new bakers prepare bundt cakes inspired by winter flavors; apple almond cake and multi-tiered holiday celebration cakes; bar cookies; biscotti; and 3-D iced cookie scenes.

“Top Chef: Charleston” (Thursday on Bravo at 10 p.m.)
More food! “Top Chef” Season 14 features a cast of 16 chefs — half newcomers and half returnees — and takes them to Charleston, South Carolina, which is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the nation. In the premiere, “Something Old, Something New,” the rookie chefs serve up as many dishes as possible using a whole chicken, and the veterans revamp a classic shrimp-and-grits meal. Find out who Tom Colicchio glares at first when the new season begins December 1.

“Incorporated” Season 1 (Wednesday on Syfy at 10 p.m.)
This new drama takes places in a dystopian year 2074, when many countries have gone bankrupt from various crises, and powerful multinational corporations have become de facto governments, controlling areas called Green Zones. The remaining territories are called Red Zones, where government is weak or non-existent. Sean Teale stars as Ben Larson, a manager at the largest corporation in the world, working for Elizabeth (Julia Ormond) the estranged mother of his wife, Laura (Allison Miller). In reality he’s a sleeper agent embedded in the company by Terrence (Ian Tracey) who holds power in the Red Zone. Watch the season begin November 30 with Episode 1, “Vertical Mobility.” Or, since Syfy posted the premiere early, just start watching here:“Vikings” Season 4 (Wednesday on History at 9 p.m.)
The 20 episodes of Season 4 were split, with Episode 10 airing back in April. This week, the second half of the season begins on November 30 with Episode 11, “The Outsider.” Here’s History’s synopsis: “Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) arrives in Kattegat where he devises a plan to return to Wessex to right past wrongs, but he discovers his closest allies may have other plans.”

“Westworld” Season 1 (Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m.)
Somehow it’s already time to say goodbye to “Westworld” for the year — and maybe two years, since Season 2 isn’t meant to premiere on HBO until probably some time in 2018. If you’re new to the series (“not much of a rind on you!”), please do yourself a favor and binge the nine episodes to date, get caught up on all the theories out there, and expect serious answers in the December 4 finale.

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November 28, 2016
‘Moana’ Star Auli’i Cravalho Talks Breaking the Disney Princess Mold

One may say that Moana was a role newcomer Auli’i Cravalho was destined to play. After hearing about the auditions for Disney’s first Polynesian princess, “Moana,” at her all-Hawaiian school, Cravalho didn’t think she was good enough to audition. Luckily, a casting director in Oahu discovered her at a charity competition and had her audition on the very last day of casting. The rest is history.

Moviefone sat down with Cravalho to chat about her first acting experience, representing a new heroine, and how far she’ll go on her own journey.

Moviefone: How filming “Moana,” considering it was your first role and you headed straight into a booth where you had to act against a microphone?

Auli’i Cravalho: Yes! That was interesting, there was major learning curve for that. I didn’t know what to do, but I just kind of worked with it. Plus, I had the best people directing me — Ron [Clements] and John [Musker], so I felt right at home. I think it was just finding that pocket of getting comfortable, because I remember being nervous. And I remember being nervous because I was nervous, and I thought that my voice was going to change because I was nervous. All of these thoughts swarmed in my head and I’m trying to digest butterflies as I walk into this booth and when the directors are there, they’re like ‘Ok, we’re going to try it a few times,’ and then Ron’s like, ‘Oh maybe we’ll try it only once though, we think you’re doing great.’ And I was like ‘I haven’t even said a single word, thank you,’ and from then on it just got better and better.

The chemistry between Moana and Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is so on point. Did you ever get a chance to actually act against Dwayne?

Thank you! I thought that I was going to be rubbing elbows with Dwayne Johnson in the booth, but no. He’s the busiest man in Hollywood, so I suppose I can forgive him. We met on the Miami shoot though, and we had a lot of fun. But, the way our voices play off of each other, it really does sound like a true conversation, and that’s where I swear some Disney magic becomes involved. I don’t know how they do it, I really don’t. It’s incredible that I can do a line forty times and they can tell which ones they believe will work just from hearing Dwayne’s voice and remembering how the scene plays out.

I’m old enough to actually remember when Disney princesses looked a certain way and they were all the same with different stories. I was part of the ‘please give us a cultural princess,’ and here you are. You’re fifteen years old and this is your responsibility to carry on. How does that responsibility feel considering that it is your first job and how do you intend to move forward with that?

I feel so incredibly blessed to be voicing this character, who is inspired by my culture, who is rocking a beautiful tan, whose body is athletic and strong, and whose hair blows freely with those curls. I love my character, and I think she’s so incredibly important in this day. We put Moana in the Disney heroine category. I think it’s hit the major media that Moana doesn’t have a love interest, and they’re like, ‘Oh no!” But it’s like, ‘Oh, yes!’ Moana doesn’t need a love interest. Her journey — finding herself — is something she does all on her own. I’m so excited for young girls and other women and everyone else to see this film because finding yourself should never be compromised.

You sing a gorgeous song in this film. Can you talk a little bit about the vocal training you did to prepare?

I didn’t have formal voice training before this.

Really?

I sang in my school choir and my church choir.

You have a stunning voice.

Thank you! I credit my singing voice to my mom, because she didn’t give me a binky when I was a child, so I screamed and I developed wonderful lungs. So thank you mom, for that. I love our music, I think it encompasses so much of what I’ve heard growing up. Opetaia Foa’i and his band just brings the Polynesian vibe to it. Lin-Manuel Miranda, his lyrics just blow my mind. I remember when I got the lyrics for the first time. I was on cloud nine. Mark Mancina as well, his score just takes it to a new level of emotion. Our music team rocks.

How are you handling going from being a regular island girl to Disney royalty now?

I still see myself as a normal fifteen year old. That’s the thing. People come up to me in the store and they’re like ‘Oh my god, are you Moana?’ I’m reaching for the peas, and I’m like, ‘Uh, yeah…’ I’m still quite normal in that sense. I am in love with my character, and I know how special she is. I feel honored that anyone would think of me as a role model, or think of me as someone they would look up to. But quite frankly, I have a lot to learn. I have so many things that I have yet to do and yet to see, and it blows my mind that someone does think of me as a role model. I haven’t quite wrapped my mind around it just yet.

So, you’re joining the ranks of the Disney heroines of the past, Jodi Benson, Lea Salonga, Idina Menzel… where do you see your career going?

I don’t know. This film has truly broadened my horizons. I wasn’t planning on auditioning for this role, because I had seen many wonderful auditions for “Moana” on YouTube and I thought, ‘Oh my god, her voice is stellar, it’s so much better than mine. I wouldn’t get chosen anyway, so why should I try out.’ Then, this beautiful blessing happens upon me. I want to try everything that this film world has to offer because this is exciting and I don’t want to limit myself. I think that something that at least I’ve done is think, ‘Well, I’m comfortable where I’m at.’ I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to expand and I want to try television, I want to try live-action, I want to try Broadway if I can. I don’t know what life has in store for me, so whatever it brings me I’m thrilled to try it.

Disney’s “Moana” opens everywhere November 23.

November 23, 2016
Must-See Fall Movies, Dragon Love Never Dies: CAN’T WAIT! Podcast Ep. 1
The Moviefone podcast you never knew you wanted has finally arrived! Say hello to “CAN’T WAIT! A Movie Lover’s Podcast.”

In the premiere episode, Tim Hayne (Executive Editor), Phil Pirrello (Senior Editor), Rachel Horner (Social Media Editor), and Tony Maccio (Producer) try their very best to stay on topic and tackle some current events, including a “Murder on the Orient Express” remake casting announcement, the latest “Inception-y” TV spot for “Doctor Strange,” and the new, chock-a-block fulla beasts trailer for “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” For our main course, we dig into the fall movies we can’t wait to see, and — SPOILER ALERT — we don’t agree on everything. After some random bouts of tomfoolery — and an impassioned proclamation of love for Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” — we finish things off with some recommendations for what to watch at home in the worlds of TV and movies. Bless you for listening.

More episodes are coming soon. We’ll start off with new shows every two weeks, and then move to a weekly schedule. To subscribe to the podcast, click on the links below.

Note: We had some technical difficulties our first time out, so forgive the intermittent audio issues.

CAN’T WAIT! A Movie Lover’s Podcast Ep. 1

Here’s the rundown:
- Intro – 0:00 – 1:40
- News – 1:40 – 6:24
- Must-See Fall Movies – 6:24 – 23:00
- Recommendations – 23:00 – 27:38
Total runtime: 27:38

Subscribe to the “CAN’T WAIT!” podcast:
- iTunes
- Google Play
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October 4, 2016
8 Reasons Why ‘Sausage Party’ Crushed ‘Pete’s Dragon’

It must be back-to-school time already because the kids have apparently cleared out of the multiplex. This was a weekend for grown-ups — as Disney discovered, thanks to the underperforming family movie “Pete’s Dragon.”

Then again, we’re talking about grown-ups of varying degrees of maturity — as evidenced by the successes of Seth Rogen‘s raunchy-humored “Sausage Party” and Meryl Streep‘s more upscale “Florence Foster Jenkins,” as well as the failure of “Pete’s Dragon” to draw nostalgia-minded adults.

Going into the weekend, the more pessimistic pundits predicted the R-rated “Sausage Party” would gross as little as $20 million; after all, adult animation has a poor box office track record, and Rogen’s movies have been hit-or-miss lately. Yet “Sausage” outdistanced even the most optimistic projections to debut with an estimated $33.6 million. It landed in second place, behind the plummeting “Suicide Squad” (which fell 67 percent from last week’s record-smashing premiere to an estimated $43.8 million).
“Pete’s Dragon,” Disney’s remake of its 1977 hybrid live-action/animated musical, was expected to open in second place with as much as $35 million. (It’s playing on 3,702 screens, 599 more than “Sausage.”) Instead, it was third, with a meager $21.5 million. Clearly, family audiences failed to show up, but grown-ups old enough to remember the original didn’t come either.

How did “Sausage” get such overstuffed sales, while “Dragon” failed to catch fire? Here are eight possible lessons from this weekend’s results about how to draw older audiences, and how not to.

1. There Haven’t Been Enough R-rated Comedies Lately
Yeah, “Bad Moms” opened just three weeks ago, and it’s still doing well (it came in fifth this weekend, with an estimated $11.5 million). Otherwise, we haven’t seen one since Rogen’s flop “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” three months ago. In fact, there’s been only a handful of wide-release R-rated movies all year. Apparently, there’s room in the marketplace for more than one adult comedy at a time, especially since “Bad Moms” has more obvious appeal to women, while “Sausage Party” — um, look at the title.

2. Audiences Ran From “Suicide Squad”
Where else were the disappointed fanboys going to go this weekend? Not to “Pete’s Dragon” or “Florence Foster Jenkins,” that’s for sure.

3. Seth Rogen Does Well When He Calls In His Pals
Yeah, “Neighbors 2” was a bust; maybe it would have done better if Rogen (who co-wrote and co-produced that film, as well as “Sausage Party”) called in some favors from the pals who helped make such past Rogen projects as “Superbad” and “This Is the End” into hits. “Sausage” only cost a reported $19 million to make, so the all-star cast he rounded up — frequent colleagues like James Franco, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson, as well as Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, and Salma Hayek — must have participated for love, not money.

4. Marketing Matters
“Sausage” scored with its trailers, especially red-band clips that made it clear the movie was not for kids. It also did well on social media. “Jenkins” had very little social media presence, but then, it was going for an even older crowd that doesn’t spend as much time on Facebook.

But marketing for “Pete’s Dragon” seemed nearly invisible. This wasn’t “Finding Dory” or “The Jungle Book” — movies that cost upwards of $100 million to make and similar amounts to advertise. “Dragon” cost just a reported $65 million, and if the marketing budget matched (as it usually does), then it appears Disney didn’t lavish the kind of attention it usually does on getting the word out.

5. Streep Owns August
Not the way Will Smith used to own July, but she’s done well with her older-viewer-targeted movies in recent Augusts, including “Julie & Julia,” “Hope Springs,” and “Ricki and the Flash.” Whoever markets her films seems to grasp that, by this time of the summer, the blockbuster crowds have cleared out, and older fans of classier movies are ready to return, having been ignored by Hollywood for the last several months.

6. Reviews matter
Older audiences still care, at least a little, what critics think. Their approval of a Streep movie is almost a given, but they also surprised many by raving about Rogen’s lowbrow food fight as well. “Sausage” earned an 82 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, not far below the 86 percent for “Jenkins” and “Pete’s Dragon.”

Among actual ticketbuyers, word-of-mouth more or less matched the reviews, with “Sausage” picking up a B grade at CinemaScore, “Jenkins” earning an A-, and “Dragon” scoring an A.

7. Not Every Old Title Sparks Nostalgia
Then again, even the greatest reviews and word-of-mouth can’t draw viewers to films they’re just not interested in. “Pete’s Dragon” was never the most obvious choice for a remake, anyway.

The 1977 feature wasn’t one of the more beloved Disney classics of the sort the studio has been remaking lately as live-action features, from “Alice in Wonderland” to “Cinderella” to “The Jungle Book.” The things about it that people did like — the songs, the surreal blend of live-action actors and an obviously cartoon dragon — didn’t really survive into the remake. So viewers over 35 — those old enough to remember the original film — weren’t drawn to the remake, and according to Disney polling, they made up just 27 percent of the audience.

8. Timing Matters
True, it’s been six weeks since the last major family film, “The Secret Life of Pets.” But kids have had more than enough talking/magical animal movies to choose from this summer, and they appear to be burned out — as the failure last week of “Nine Lives” suggested.

Maybe “Dragon” could have succeeded earlier in the summer, or even before the summer.

Or maybe Disney realized the film was not a draw for either critter-loving kids or adult fans of the original film, and the distributor decided it had little to lose by dumping the movie into theaters during the dog days.
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August 14, 2016
Box Office: ‘Sausage Party’ Scores $33.6 Million, ‘Suicide Squad’ Plummets

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Sausage Party” scored at the box office this weekend, debuting to a meaty $33.6 million and providing a much needed win for struggling Sony Pictures. In a summer dominated by spinoffs and reboots, the story of a gang of grocery items grappling with the dangers of the kitchen, was an antidote to sequelitis and a reminder of the power of original ideas.

“It was the something different that adult audiences have been craving,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “When comedy pushes the envelope, that’s when it works best.”

In the case of “Sausage Party,” which liberally deploys sex jokes and four-letter words, it’s a foul-mouthed affair that more than earns its R-rating. The $19 million animated comedy was also backed by Annapurna Pictures. Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, and Jonah Hill are among the sprawling vocal cast members.

“When you have something so fresh, it just stands out to audiences,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution chief. “People were blown away by the movie. It’s outrageous, off-the-wall fun.”

Sony has had a bruising period at the multiplexes, with flops such as “Ghostbusters” outweighing hits such as “The Shallows” and “The Angry Birds Movie.” The studio released “Sausage Party” in 3,103 locations, and “Sausage Party” now holds the record for the largest August opening ever for an animated film. It gives Sony momentum as it tries to put its recent bad run behind it and prepares for a fall and winter that will bring the debuts of “The Magnificent Seven” and “Passengers” with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.

And then there are victories that feel more like defeats. “Suicide Squad” topped domestic charts with $43.8 million, bringing its stateside total to a hefty $222.9 million. However, that represented a punishing 67% slide in the superhero movie’s second week business, nearly equaling “Batman v Superman‘s” 69% sophomore plunge. It’s a signal that the deplorable reviews are catching up with the film and is unwelcome news for Warner Bros., which is trying to launch an inter-connected series of cinematic adventures based on DC Comics characters, but is still struggling to make movies that people like, as well as attend.

The weekend’s other major new release, Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” faltered, mustering roughly $21.6 million from at 3,702 locations, despite scoring with critics. The remake of the 1977 family film about a boy who befriends a dragon stars Robert Redford and Bryce Dallas Howard. “Pete’s Dragon” snagged third place on the charts. It cost $65 million to make, but Disney believes that it could ultimately make a profit when its foreign grosses are factored into the picture.“We’re going to come out of this having made money,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief. “People who are coming out of the theater are just loving it and their advocacy is going to help us put together a nice solid run.”

Coming in fourth, Universal’s “Jason Bourne” added $13.6 million to its haul, pushing its domestic total to $126.8 million. STX Entertainment’s “Bad Moms” rounded out the top five with $11.4 million. The raunchy comedy has been a breakout hit for the new studio, earning $71.5 million to date on a $20 million production budget, and holding well on a week-to-week basis despite the presence of summer tentpoles.

Paramount debuted “Florence Foster Jenkins,” a comedy about a horrific opera singer and heiress (Meryl Streep) who rents out Carnegie Hall for a public performance, in 1,528 locations. The film did a muted $6.6 million worth of business, and appealed primarily to older audiences, with 97% of its opening weekend crowd clocking in over the age of 25.

“Word-of-mouth is definitely going to be our friend,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount’s president of worldwide distribution and marketing. She added that the studio is confident that Streep and possibly her co-star Hugh Grant could end up in the hunt for awards, something which could goose revenues.

“This is very much in line with the Academy’s sensibilities,” said Colligan.

In limited release, Bleecker Street launched the World War II thriller “Anthropoid” in 452 theaters, earning $1.2 million.

CBS Films scored with “Hell or High Water,” a bank heist picture that earned critical raves at the Cannes Film Festival. The thriller picked up an impressive $592,000 from 32 locations for a per screen average of $18,500. The studio partnered with Lionsgate on the distribution. It expects to keep expanding the film in the coming weeks.
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August 14, 2016
‘Pete’s Dragon’ Star Karl Urban Loves a Great Villain

If you think you’ve heard the name Karl Urban a lot this summer, you are correct.

Not only is Urban co-starring in the August 12th Disney live-action release, “Pete’s Dragon” as Gavin, the villain trying to capture the titular friendly beast, but, earlier this summer, he reprised his role as Bones in “Star Trek: Beyond,” and was confirmed to star in “Thor: Ragnarok” as the villainous Skurge. To say he’s been busy is an understatement.

In fact, when we caught up with Urban to chat about his role in “Pete’s Dragon,” he had just wrapped the first Los Angeles press day for “Beyond,” after having flown in from New Zealand the night before. With his feet up on the coffee table, relaxing on a couch, Urban talked a bit about his role in “Thor: Ragnarok,” what it like working with director David Lowery on “Pete’s Dragon,” and what Robert Redford is really like.

Moviefone: You are a very busy man! “Star Trek” and “Pete’s Dragon,” and and you’re about to start working on Thor: Ragnarok. And, you’re also a dad! Do you find it a little bit hard to juggle everything?

Karl Urban: Yes, it’s tough. That’s the important thing is to try and find that balance and make sure that my family is included in aspects of my career as much as they can be. I just took both of my boys to Sydney to the premiere of “Star Trek” and they had a great time. They both came to the set in Dubai and one of them came to Vancouver, so it’s just about going to lengths to make sure that that balance is maintained.

Did you grow up with “Pete’s Dragon.” Does it have as big a fan base in New Zealand as it does here in the States?

I did not, actually. I never saw it as a kid and I still haven’t seen the original today. It bears no relevance to the film that I made, if it did, I would have watched it but this is a complete re-imagining.

You’ve been involved with major franchises, even in your early work, that have such huge fan followings: “Hercules,” “Xena,” “Star Trek”… What is the difference between going from those big franchise-type stories with a huge fan base to something like “Pete’s Dragon,” which has a bit of a smaller, more intimate feeling to it? How do you approach the character?

The approach is just the same, there’s no difference. Film-making is film-making, and character is character. The only difference I guess is how well that property is known before it’s released. For me, it’s about character, it’s about story and it’s about who I’m working with and where I’m working and those are the things that I concern myself with when I’m making a decision about what I’m going to do.

How different was it working with David Lowery, who comes from more of an independent movie background?

The medium is irrelevant. Every director is different. Every director has their strengths, and, for lack of a better word, their weaknesses. I found David to be a great director. He’s very specific about what he wanted and at the same time he was very willing and open to collaborate, welcoming of ideas, and he was just such a lovely positive guy. You wanted to please him and help him realize his vision for this film. He had a wonderful creative team around him; the writer Toby [Halbrooks] was constantly on set, and it was a rewarding experience.

Can you tell me also a little bit about working with Robert Redford? He’s such an icon in Hollywood.

It was incredible. To tell you the truth one of the appeals of joining this film was the prospect of getting to work with Robert Redford and indeed when I did get to work with him it was so surreal. You’d be in a scene with him and he would smile and you’d have a plethora of classic Hollywood films flashing [in front of you]. And he’s such a warm, generous guy. He shared stories about many things, from Santa Fe to his love of automobiles and bikes and horses — and it was just an incredible honor to be able to work with such an icon.

Speaking of horses, Bryce and David mentioned when they did the trailer launch that he saved a horse on the way to the set — do you have any other stories like that? They said he did plenty of stuff that made them go ‘Wow! He’s really doing that!’

Yes, I think that’s probably the one that I know the best. He was on the way to work and saw an emaciated horse in a paddock and stopped and basically saved the horse. He went and got a trailer and they rescued the horse and then he had it checked out and stabled it and put on a proper regime of feed to try and build some condition back up in this animal and that’s just a real testament to the man that he is.

What does it mean to you to become part of this whole Disney universe? I know you’ve named your son after Indiana Jones, which is part of Disney now, and now you’re in “Pete’s Dragon” and you’re going into “Thor.” So what does it mean to you, personally, to be part of that now?

Well to me … what I personally cherish the most out of any experience are the people who you get to meet and work with, and that to me is the most rewarding experience out of everything. And in both cases of “Pete’s” and “Thor” there are some really wonderful people and it’s my hope that they remain a part of my life from this point forward. I loved working with David Lowery — I’d work with him again in a heartbeat — the same obviously with Wes Bentley and a bunch of the other guys that worked on that, and Mr. Redford. On “Thor” it’s the same thing with Taika [Waititi]. I’m pretty fortunate.

We know you’re playing a villain in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Can you tell us a little bit about what’s going on? Anything we can expect from your character?

I can’t say too much under the bounds of confidentiality, and I haven’t actually started shooting yet; I’ll start in a couple of weeks. So, that being said, it’s a wonderful opportunity to work with Cate Blanchett and Chris [Hemsworth] and Tom [Hiddleston] and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Villains are so much fun to play and you play somewhat of a villain in “Pete’s Dragon.” Do you take any extra … have a little more fun with the villainous characters as opposed to the straight ones?

The villains are always the fun characters to play because, of course, they can get away with saying and doing things that we never can in real life. My favorite villains are the villains that are fun and naughty and the character of Skurge isn’t cut-and-dry in the same way that Gavin isn’t cut-and-dry. The character has his motives and his reasons for doing what he does and I think as long as you imbue your character with that then you’ll avoid being some carbon copy 2D bad guy.

“Pete’s Dragon” opens in theaters everywhere August 12th.

August 11, 2016
‘Pete’s Dragon’ Star Wes Bentley Can’t Imagine a World Without Disney

When you see Wes Bentley‘s name, you wouldn’t typically associate it with a family movie — much less one made by Disney — yet, opening on August 12th is “Pete’s Dragon.”

Bentley stars as Jack, the fiancé of Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who happens to find a forest-dwelling boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley), who claims to have a dragon for a best friend. Along with Grace’s dad, Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford), and daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence), they must stop Jack’s brother, Gavin (Karl Urban), from capturing Pete’s dragon.

We sat down with Wes recently to talk about being part of his first family-friendly film, filming “Pete’s Dragon” and “American Horror Story: Hotel” back to back, and what he would tell his younger self.

Moviefone: This movie is a completely different from the “Pete’s Dragon” most of us saw growing up. What drew you to this version?

Wes Bentley: David Lowery [the director] drew me to it. I was a fan of the original, but I knew that didn’t have anything to do with it, really. So I put that out of my mind right away and I had met David before and knew his work, and I really wanted to work with him. I also wanted to do a family film. Those two combined, that’s as much as I knew at the beginning and then I got to see how much more they were going to do. It’s Disney, they’re going to make something special, and they did.

So this is actually, I believe, it’s your first family film.

Yeah, it is.

What is that experience like? Especially because you get to share it with your kids.

My son is almost six, and he’s going to come with me tonight to the premiere. This will be the first time he can really watch me in a film. He’s seen bits of stuff, you know, we freeze framed a moment from “American Beauty” and he stood by it, because he has my eyebrows, so we were trying to catch a freeze frame. So, he knows I do this, but he’s never actually seen anything.

What do you think he’s going to think of dad being up on the big screen?

I don’t know. That’s going to be interesting to find out. You know, I did bring him to the set one time, he was much younger, three, and he was sitting behind the monitor and he kept seeing me on screen and then I would see his head pop around and then he would look at the screen and then his head would pop around. He couldn’t figure out how I could be in both places at once. He couldn’t picture it. Imagining passed a 2D image. I think he just couldn’t see me.

What does it mean for you to be part of the Disney family now? I mean, it’s such a legacy that goes back to our parents, grandparents, and now our children are getting taken by their films.

My wife I were — I think someone brought the question up — we were contemplating it one night. What would the world be without Disney? It’s hard to — that’s how big it is — you can’t really imagine. It’s hard to imagine even in the toughest places on Earth, where things are at their worst, Disney films are still there. They’re a part, in some way, of that — or it’s in there somehow. I can’t imagine what it would be like. I have no idea. It’s big for me, “Alice in Wonderland” and all of the musicals when I was a teenager. They were all big for me.

This is actually pretty different from what you are doing on TV: “American Horror Story.” How was it going from filming something like that, which is meant to induce nightmares. to this, something meant to uplift and give you hope?

Not just “American Horror Story,” a lot of my career has been playing in the dark side of human nature and even the non-genre-esque characters were still dealing with darker elements. So I was excited to do this because it’s a tap into that lighter side. Also, I have children. I got to tap into that and that side of myself. But it was tricky. I actually shot this before shooting “American Horror Story: Hotel.” And the set of “Pete’s Dragon” was a really loving, warm set. We had a great time doing it. New Zealand was beautiful, my kids were there and it was just like — my son was sort of “working” on the film and the ladies had him helping them out in the trailer.

Then I went to shoot “American Horror Story” and it’s also a lot of fun to work on that, but it’s a grueling shoot. We work a lot of hours trying to get a lot in a little amount of time. There are psychologically tough elements to those, definitely. Definitely different from “Pete’s Dragon.” It was definitely tough to jump from that to that. I didn’t want my kids to come to the “American Horror Story” set.

You would be paying for therapy bills, right?

Yeah, exactly. So it was quite a leap.

Speaking of that a little bit, when I spoke to David Lowery last month, he did say that he likes that this film kind of makes kids a little bit uncomfortable, a little bit scared — it makes them feel things you don’t normally want kids to connect to, but at the same time, it’s necessary. How do you feel that is necessary as a parent and also as a storyteller?

I think, in my opinion, as a society we have become afraid to let our kids feel tough feelings at an early age because we think they are going to have psychological problems. I think the opposite. I think dealing with somewhat heavy issues or feeling heavy, deep emotional feelings let you learn how to deal with it, cope with it. Kind of like, in a physical way, falling off the monkey bars teaches you that you need to be careful on the monkey bars. So you sort of learn that about emotions. So I really appreciate David’s opinion about that and the way he made the film because I think a lot of times, children’s films now — the one’s made recently — they have, for the most part avoided that.

We grew up with some pretty serious stuff like the “Secret of NIMH” is not soft, “The Last Unicorn” and “Dark Crystal,” these were the things we grew up with and they touched on some heavy elements with some dark imagery. Not dark meaning like “‘American Horror Story’ dark,” but gothic sort of feeling, literally dark imagery. I feel like it would be nice for our kids to grow up with that. I feel elements of it in some cartoons and some movies, but I don’t think it’s enough. So I am glad that “Pete’s Dragon” doesn’t shy away from some things and some of the emotional difficulties of being five and 10. The reality of life that can come knocking at your door.

It also has a lot messages. There’s the family that chooses you or the one that you choose. There’s some adoption and friendship. What was the most touching element to you about the story between Pete and Elliott?

It’s that love passes through every boundary. That love and friendship, love and life, can bridge those difficult feelings and difficult moments in our lives. It’s so strong, the image of five-year-old Pete. What happens in the beginning and then his first encounter with Elliott being so delicate, but immediately he feels loved. And if immediately he feels loved, things go well for him. Also, as he’s moving on in life and he’s 10 and it’s time to be with, maybe, other people and a family, as he is finding that family feeling the love and what he is leaving and then going into what’s coming next. It’s just about love and how much love can mean when you share it with each other. And support, support is not just, “I’ll be there for you” but, you know, it’s loving somebody.

So I think that’s a huge element here. I think that there’s hidden — there’s one here, too, but I don’t know if it’s an intentional theme, but you’re 10 years old, you have a child who’s turning nine. That’s a big change. There are a lot of changes that happen between eight and 10, you know? Mythologically they call it “losing the golden ball” and that’s something that happens around eight or nine, and it’s big for everyone. We’ve all had, if we look back at our lives, something happen to us at eight or nine or 10 that truly changes you and starts to point you toward adolescence and, I think, the movie, in a strange way, kind of touches on that.

You’ve been very open in the past that you have had some drug issues, and I’m glad to see you’ve overcome them and you’re succeeding. If you were to go back and give yourself advice, knowing what you now know, what would you tell yourself?

Relax, man. Don’t take everything so seriously. I think I got scared because I knew I still had a lot to learn as an actor and as a person. So I got very tense. I tightened up and into all that confusion. So I think if I saw myself again I would just relax and just take it one step at a time. I was afraid to make a mistake because it was so perfect in the beginning in some ways. That movie was so good and people really loved it so much, I just didn’t want to mess up and show who I really was in the next one, which was that I’m not that good of an actor. You know what I mean? It was that fear. Fear is the problem in just about anything. Fear will always lead to trouble. So if you can learn to not be afraid or at least learn how to deal with fear, then you will be fine. I think that the way to deal with fear is to relax and not — just let things happen and be okay with it.

Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” opens nationwide Friday, August 12th.

August 10, 2016
‘Pete’s Dragon’: 10 Things We Learned at the Sneak Peek for Disney’s Reboot

For many, “Pete’s Dragon” was a huge part of their childhoods, so it’s no surprise Disney chose to make it their next live-action reboot. But don’t expect this “Pete’s Dragon” to be a simple recycling of the original; it has its own unique, grounded take on the fan-favorite story.

Recently, Moviefone was privy to an exclusive preview of footage from the movie, with writer-director David Lowery in attendance. The scenes we screened emphasized the film’s grounded tone and, of course, everyone’s favorite Disney dragon: Elliot. Following the screening, Lowery and select members of the cast participated in a Q&A, revealing how they brought Disney’s beloved tale to life.

1. The first decision when it came to designing a CG Elliot: He had to be furry. Lowery revealed that he is obsessed with his cats (same) and he used them as inspiration for the lovable dragon. He really wanted Elliot to remind audiences of a cute and cuddly pet, which the footage definitely delivered.

2. Karl Urban plays the villain, Gavin. He wants the dragon and will do anything he can to get it.

3. Bryce Dallas Howard loves the original “Pete’s Dragon” and immediately said yes when she was offered a role in the reboot. She loved that this movie wasn’t just a copycat; it took the core of what the live-action/animated film did and made it its own.

4. Don’t look for any callbacks to the original. While Lowery gets why reboots and remakes give a wink and nod to their source material, the filmmaker didn’t want to take the audience out of the movie. The reboot also does not feature any songs from the original.
5. To ensure that they could use a green screen only when necessary, they drove two hours into the woods to film every day. Lowery wanted the movie to feel as grounded as possible, and having a big, furry dragon is enough to “unground” it.

6. Robert Redford once hitchhiked to the set after being dropped off at the wrong spot. Classic Redford.

7. On the way to set one day, Redford spotted an injured horse and came to its rescue. What a guy.

8. Howard said Oona Laurence, who plays Pete’s fierce BFF, Natalie, was “a little Meryl Streep.” She would be playing in between scenes, come to the set, do her scene, nail it, and leave.

9. To find the perfect Pete, the casting director auditioned thousands and thousands of people worldwide. She eventually winnowed it down to about 150 kids, and, from there, Lowery chose one.

10. To land the role of Pete, Oakes Fegley was asked in his audition to build something out of the chairs in the room and to sneak up on someone. Lowery wanted to make sure that the actor cast in the role had the genuine qualities he saw in Pete.

“Pete’s Dragon” hits theaters Friday, August 12.

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June 14, 2016