Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.
Get set for a rootin’-tootin’ good time with Scooby-Doo! and the gang on Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown, the all-new, original film from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, available on DVD February 14, 2017. Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages won’t want to miss this brand new, western-themed mystery in which Scooby-Doo! and his friends visit a dude ranch that’s haunted by ghastly outlaw Dapper Jack Rogers. It’s the Scooby-Doo! gang like you’ve never seen before, riding horses and living like cowboys on a real western ranch.
I grew up watching Scooby-Doo and have instilled a love for him in my young daughters. We watch Scooby-Doo a lot, and have since they were little. My 5 year old even picked out a bunch of Scooby-Doo toys with her birthday money last year. We were very excited to watch this new DVD – and absolutely loved it! It is just as good as the classics, in my opinion.
About Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown
It’s high action and spirited adventure when the Mystery Inc. gang visits the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, located in Sorghum City, an abandoned cowboy town–turned–tourist attraction. While visiting his cousin Tawny, Shaggy and his pals discover that the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, owned by Tawny’s family, is tormented by a ghostly cowboy named Dapper Jack Rogers, an ancestor who bears a striking resemblance to Shaggy!
The gang soon learns that Dapper Jack’s ghostly apparition has frightened most of the visitors from the ranch and nearby Sorghum City, forcing many businesses in the area to close. Without any tourists, the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, which has been struggling, is sure to close its doors. Unless Tawny raises enough money for the next mortgage payment, the family business will be sold. Determined to save his cousin’s ranch, Shaggy puts the Mystery Inc. gang on the case, and together they set out to solve the mystery behind Dapper Jack’s haunting. It’s an unforgettable adventure set in the wild West, filled with rodeos, barn dances and non-stop cowboy high-jinks!
Fans of the Scooby-Doo! franchise will be thrilled to learn that Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown features the familiar voice talents of Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo/Fred Jones, Grey Griffin as Daphne Blake, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers and Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley.
Bonus Episodes:
Ghastly Ghost Town
Mine Your Own Business
Scooby Ghosts West
Enter to win a copy of Scooby-Doo: Shaggy’s Showdown using the Gleam form below. Be sure to check out my other giveaways while you are here and GOOD LUCK!
This February, celebrate the season of love with adorable family TV shows on DVD from Shout! Kids in collaboration with Hasbro Studios. Three DVDs from the My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop and Transformers Rescue Bots lines are being released this February as the perfect way for kids to spend Valentine’s Day with the characters they love. My daughters and I are huge fans of all three of these shows. We enjoy family time while binge watching a few episodes quite often. Even my husband gets really into My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop! These DVDs would make a great gift or surprise for any little one in your life!
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Exploring the Crystal Empire
My Little Pony – Friendship Is Magic: Exploring the Crystal Empire is coming to DVD on February 7, 2017 in the U.S. and Canada from Shout! Kids in collaboration with Hasbro Studios. Join Twilight Sparkle, everypony’s favorite studious princess, and her very best friends – Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike – as they explore the wondrous arctic kingdom, the Crystal Empire! Old enemies return and new friends are made in this collection of episodes that will have you exploring the Crystal Empire with magical adventure!
A pet star is born! On February 14, 2017, buddy up with Blythe and her superstar pet pals with Littlest Pet Shop: Pet Starson DVD from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios. Sinister king cobras! Comedy festivals! Pet hotels! And a monkey on Mars?! It’s all here, as Blythe and her best friends – Russell the Hedgehog, Pepper the Skunk, Zoe the Spaniel, Minka the Monkey, Sunil the Mongoose, Penny the Panda and Vinnie the Gecko – share one outrageous adventure after another in The Littlest Pet Shop: Pet Stars!
Get ready for big adventures and rescues in the great outdoors! Transformers Rescue Bots: Heroes of Tech will be released on DVD on February 21, 2017 from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios. Featuring five exciting episodes that the whole family can enjoy, this DVD is priced to own with a suggested retail price of $14.93. When a mysterious iceberg is spotted off the coast of Griffin Rock, it brings both danger and the interest of an old nemesis. On a nature hike, the Rescue Bots team will have to battle escaped snakes. And when the Burns family is stranded at sea by a swarm of jellyfish, the Bots must control miniature souvenir replicas of themselves. Enjoy these adventures and more in Transformers Rescue Bots: Protect and Explore!
Two lucky winners will get a pack of all 3 DVDs from Shout! Kids! Enter to win by using the Gleam form below. Be sure to check out my other giveaways while you are here and GOOD LUCK!
My husband and I went to see Doctor Strange in theaters and were blown away. We loved everything about it. I am a huge Marvel fan, so I was really excited for this movie. To be honest, Doctor Strange is not one of my favorite characters from the comic books, so I was a little nervous going in. But after watching the movie, I have even started enjoying his character in the comics more. Benedict Cumberbatch was incredible – as were all the actors.
I am certainly not the only one that enjoyed the movie. Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange,” the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has mesmerized both audiences and critics, pulling in more than $658.3 million at the worldwide box office to date and earning a 90% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest single-character introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it also carries on Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 14th consecutive MCU film to debut at #1 at the domestic box office.
On Feb. 14, “Doctor Strange” fans can bring home the critically acclaimed blockbuster early on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere, or on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, Digital SD, DVD and On-Demand on Feb. 28. The Blu-ray and Digital releases come packaged with over 80 minutes of fascinating, never-before-seen bonus materials, including five behind-the-scenes featurettes, five deleted scenes, hilarious outtakes, part two of the comical mockumentary “Team Thor,” audio commentary, and an exclusive look at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As I already mentioned, I am a huge Marvel girl (I mean, my Twitter handle is MarvelGoddess24), so I love to watch the bonus features included on Marvel Studios’ home releases. Doctor Strange has really outdone itself with bonus features. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy and I watched the bonus features right away. The featurettes were all amazing, however my favorites were the deleted scenes and the gag reel. I always enjoy seeing what didn’t make the final cut – and who doesn’t like to laugh at the gag reel?
About Doctor Strange
Synopsis
From Marvel Studios comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident renders his hands useless. When traditional medicine fails him, he travels to the remote Kamar-Taj in search of a cure, but instead discovers the mystical arts and becomes a powerful sorcerer battling dark forces bent on destroying our reality.
The film boasts an award-winning cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game,” “Black Mass”) as Dr. Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave,” “Triple 9”) as Mordo, Rachel McAdams (“Spotlight,” “Southpaw”) as Dr. Christine Palmer, Benedict Wong (“The Martian,” “Prometheus”) as Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man,” “Steve Jobs”) as Dr. Nicodemus West, Benjamin Bratt (“Traffic,” “Piñero”) as Jonathan Pangborn, and Scott Adkins (“El Gringo,” “The Expendables 2”) as Lucian/Strong Zealot, with Mads Mikkelsen (“The Hunt,” “Casino Royale”) as Kaecilius and Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton (2007 Best Supporting Actress, “Michael Clayton”; “Julia”) as The Ancient One.
Bonus Features
DIGITAL HD & BLU-RAY:
Featurettes
A Strange Transformation – Open your eye to a new dimension of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and see how the filmmakers brought one of comic books’ greatest characters to life.
Strange Company – Find out what it’s like for the cast to work on a Marvel film, and how Director Scott Derrickson engineered one of the most ambitious, imaginative films ever.
The Fabric of Reality – Take a closer look at the movie’s extraordinary sets, meticulously crafted costumes and amazingly detailed production elements.
Across Time and Space – Explore the countless hours of dance and fight choreography the actors endured in preparation for their physically demanding roles.
The Score-cerer Supreme – Join Composer Michael Giacchino and a full orchestra during live recording sessions, and experience the movie’s mind-bending music.
Marvel Studios Phase 3 Exclusive Look – Get an early peek at Marvel’s spectacular upcoming films, including Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
Team Thor: Part 2 – See more of the hilarious partnership between Thor and his roommate Darryl in this satirical short.
Deleted Scenes
Strange Meets Daniel Drumm
Kaecilius Searches for Answers
The Kamar-Taj Courtyard
Making Contact
Lost in Kathmandu
Gag Reel
Audio Commentary by Director Scott Derrickson
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE:
Through the Keyhole: The Science of the MCU – Discover how Marvel grounds all its films in real science, and explore the connection between science, magic and imagination.
Bonus features may vary by retailer. The DVD does not include any bonus materials.
My girls and I love being creative in the kitchen, especially around the holidays. But let’s be honest, sometimes there just isn’t time to do the baking part. To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, we decided to go ahead and let Otis Spunkmeyer handle the baking part for us (because they are amazing at it) and we would have fun with the decorating part. We started with some of their mini cupcakes – chocolate and vanilla – and decided to turn them into a Valentine’s Day Cupcake Cake! We purchased some pink strawberry frosting and some sprinkles and got to work. You can do this yourself and it is REALLY easy (and delicious).
Open up your Otis Spunkmeyer mini cupcakes box and remove the cupcakes from their individual bags.
Arrange the mini cupcakes into the shape of a heart on a serving platter or plate.
Frost over the cupcakes to form a layer of frosting that connects all of them.
Decorate with sprinkles and icing however you want.
Enjoy!
This is fun and easy – and takes just a few minutes. My daughters loved helping out with some of the decorating. Parents can feel good about this Valentine’s Day treat too because Otis Spunkmeyer is made with no funky stuff! This retail line of 20+ cookies and sweet treats is made without artificial flavors or colors, high-fructose corn syrup, or partially hydrogenated oils.
No set visit is complete without a chat with the director – and James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, completely agrees with this statement. Even though we were pressed for time and all had flights to catch, he told us not to leave without a chance to talk to him. James even had assistants bring our luggage to our car so that we could have a conversation with him. We were all thrilled to work an interview with James in to our busy schedule. It had been a long day for all of us – James included. He mentioned that there were two sets running at the same time that day, one with Kurt Russell, and one with everybody else – so he had been running back and forth all day. We actually got to see both sets – we interviewed Kurt on his and watched the rest of the cast film on the other. What an experience – I still cannot believe it happened!
Family
We had been told earlier in the day that James had Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 all planned out even before Volume 1 was released. We asked him how he came up with the idea for the sequel. “A lot of the sequel is about Quill’s relationship to his two fathers – Yondu and Kurt – the character Kurt Russell plays.” At this point, we had no idea that Kurt would be playing Ego the Living Planet. As a Marvel Comics fan, I love Ego and there are so many questions running through my head that I wish I got to ask – maybe I will have the chance some day, who knows.
“The mythology of all of that was something that was written before the first movie was written. I knew basically where he was going. Basically who his father was. Basically what Yondu’s relationship was to his father. So a lot of mythology came then. Then the story started to ferment – during the first movie I was always taking notes and thinking about it. I knew this was a story – I wasn’t sure if it should be the sequel. I wasn’t sure if it should be a third movie in a trilogy. Then when it came time to actually write the screenplay, I [thought] let’s just go for broke and do that story that I had in my head, which was this one. I started actually physically writing it on the day the first movie came out – I was at a loss for what I’m going to do – sit around and wait to see how much money we make? I’ve gotta do something to distract myself and I found the healthiest thing to do was to get back in to part of the process that I had some control over – which was processing my own work as opposed to being concerned with what the results were.”
Casting Kurt Russell
Speaking of Kurt Russell, we asked James if he had Kurt planned as Peter Quill’s father. “No I didn’t. At one point Chris [Pratt] brought him up, and I didn’t take him very seriously. At another point Fred Raskin, who is our editor, brought him up. Fred cut Kurt’s last two movies. He really liked him as an actor and if an editor likes an actor, you know that the actor is good. Because there’s a lot of actors that cut together very well. You have to piece together their good performances and it’s actually difficult. Then people go and say, oh this person’s great. But it takes a lot of work to get there.”
One constant theme throughout the day was the music. Just as in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1, Peter Quill is listening to a mix tape and the songs are playing during key moments in the movie. Everyone on set assured us that the music in Volume 2 was just as important, if not more important, to telling the story. In fact, many people called the music a character of the film – James being one of them.
“I think that music is really the character of Peter Quill’s mom, so that’s his relationship with his mother – through the music. Music is an important thing in my own life so I think it’s something that keeps that relationship alive. And that relationship is very much kept alive in this second movie. His relationship with his mother, as well as his relationship with his father, and what that is exactly – that’s told through music. I think in the first movie, there’s another practical reason, which is that people were going into this movie, different planets, different worlds, different characters from other planets, and the music was a way we kept everybody grounded in something that was attached to Earth, something that was familiar in the midst of all this unfamiliar stuff. Something that was an emotional tether, basically, to Earth.”
One of my favorite questions to ask a director is what message do they hope viewers and families walk away with after watching a movie. I love movies that send a good, positive message. We asked James this question about Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and this is what he had to say.
“I don’t think so much about what’s the message of the movie, so much as what’s the effect it has on people? The reason I make movies is that when I was a kid and I saw a great movie with my family and it made me love people more when I walked out of the theater than when I walked in. So if there’s anything that this movie can do, it’s that. I think it’s a really, truly emotional film. I think the first one was emotional, and I think we take this one to a much deeper level of the emotion. The Guardians are a group of outcasts. They’re all creatures or people who don’t belong in society anywhere but with each other.”
“One of the very moving things to me from the first movie is getting messages from all the people who feel like they are outsiders – who relate to the Guardians. Whether it’s Gamora or a lot of people relate to Drax and to Groot. A lot of young children really relate to Groot. There’s been a lot of people with autism who relate a lot to Drax because he has a very different way of perceiving the world and metaphors. I can tell you countless people that have written me thank you for that, I don’t understand metaphors and Drax is like me and he’s a superhero to me. The story is a story about families that are not traditional. Peter Quill has a biological father. He has an adopted father. His adopted father is far from perfect.”
When my fellow bloggers last talked to James around the time Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 released, his favorite character was Rocket. We asked him if Rocket was still his favorite, and he said yes, but he was torn now that Baby Groot was added to the cast!
“Baby Groot is pretty awesome. There’s times when we’re shooting and it’s nothing – it’s either a little stick or I’m describing it. Baby Groot’s gonna steal the whole movie and he’s not even there. I can tell you on the first movie, we were barely aware of Groot. He wasn’t that present on set. My brother, Sean, played Rocket. So he was always there and everybody knew Rocket as a real character. But Groot wasn’t there, and then we start putting the movie together and creating Groot in post, and it was like, oh wow, the character really fills out once we started to create him. But they would just forget about him in the first movie because a couple times Groot’s like, what about me? I’m over here. I want my share of things. And that’s really what we were treating him like. So I love Baby Groot. But Rocket’s the one.”
“I just relate so deeply to Rocket and I really feel as if he’s in this movie. It’s something that we succeeded a lot at in this film – each character has their own story. I think that’s been more true for the other non-Star-Lord characters in this movie than in the first movie – especially for Gamora and Rocket. They have their very specific stories that are about them. The first story was about becoming a family and this one’s about being a family. So it makes a big difference. In this one it’s really about Rocket. You get that first flush of accepting friendship and love which he had in the first movie. This movie is about being able to continue some form of intimacy, which is much, much harder for him to accept because of where he came from.”
Drax Steals the Show
“Through that he forms a pretty tight bond with Yondu, who has a similar background – Yondu’s an older guy who never accepted people that loved him. It’s not so much about him learning to love other people, it’s about him learning to accept the love and affection of other creatures. I love him as much as ever, I love them all. Drax steals this movie. I mean he’s really, really funny. One of the great things about coming back to a second movie is you get to know the actors who play the roles.”
“Now that the roles are all tailor fit to [the actors]. Bautista probably had the least experience of everybody on the first movie so he’s grown the most. He’s gotten the most better from anyone in the first movie and the character is more tailored to him. So it’s really been great. And then Pom, who plays Mantis, it’s uncanny how she fits the role. She’s a very eccentric and strange character and she just sort of came in and did it. It was like, wow – I’d barely ever give her a note. Rarely ever. For me that’s – I give a lot of notes.”
Since we learned that Volume 2 was planned at the start of Volume 1, we asked if there is a Volume 3 in the works yet.
“I really wanted to do number two when I was doing number one. I love the people that I’m making the movie with – the actors but also the producers. The idea of three is very interesting in that way. I don’t know if I’m gonna do [Volume 3] but I come up with ideas every day for what could be future Guardians movies. Also other movies to have those individual characters go off and tell different stories. It’s just what my brain does all the time. Jonathan Schwartz, who is our Marvel producer, who’s always on set – I’m always joking about things that could happen or coming up with ideas with him.”
Well, I don’t think I am alone in keeping my fingers crossed for a Volume 3.
Peter Quill’s Childhood
The last thing we asked was if we will see more of Peter Quill as a child. “I will say that whether or not we see characters in flashbacks or as children, a lot of the movie is about their childhoods and where it has brought them. Whether we see it or not, we learn a lot more about Gamora, Nebula, Yondu, Mantis. We learn a lot about these characters and where they originated and why they have both the weaknesses and strengths that they have.”
It was very obvious how much James loves these characters and their stories. I can tell that his heart and soul went into this one, and I cannot wait to see it! The first movie was amazing, but I think this one will blow it out of the water.
Immediately before chatting with James, we had the chance to watch a scene being filmed (the picture above is actually from that moment!!!). Honestly, despite interviewing the cast while they were in costume (total fan girl moments), that was the coolest part of our day. I couldn’t believe how long it took to set up the scene – we only say about 5 seconds of a scene being filmed and we watched for quite some time. We were standing there for, what had to be at least 45 minutes, watching them set up the wires and harnesses with the stand-ins before the actors even came out. It was pretty awesome to see how they did that. Then, even after the actors were all out and in place, we waited several more minutes before seeing the shot being filmed.
We had already interviewed some of the cast, so it was pretty awesome when they noticed us hiding in the corner. At one point, Chris Pratt was jumping up and down, yelling about the scene and what was going on to get himself ready and in character. They all made sure to sat hi and were waving to us as they waited. Michael Rooker seemed the most excited to see us there (he is such an amazing guy – which I am sure you could tell when reading my interview with him). It was pretty surreal to be there and to hear James Gunn giving direction to the cast. He was incredible – and it was awesome to see him in his element. He asked Zoe to move around a few times – I cannot wait to see the final shot! It is definitely an experience that I will never forget!
Karen Gillan is one bad b*tch as Nebula in the MCU – but she is the sweetest thing in real life! I had the chance to sit down and chat with her on the set of her new film Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and she couldn’t be more different than her character. She is bubbly and enthusiastic – two things you would never say about Nebula, Gamora’s evil adopted sister.
She told us that it was so nice to be back on set with everyone.
“It’s such a line to say like we’re like one big happy family, but we genuinely are.“
We got the same vibe from the other actors we interviewed – that they were all genuinely happy to be back on set with each other. Karen told us that the atmosphere backstage is very much like what you see on the screen.
“It’s that sort of banter – that sort of nature to it. That’s what it’s like off screen – and they play music, which really lifts people’s spirits. The music is an integral part of these films. Also everyone is really nice – there’s not one person that’s standoffish or surrounded by people. It’s not like that at all. It all filters down from the top – that’s from James [Gunn]. He sets a really good tone for everyone and casts nice people.“
Karen was in full costume because we were on the set, and there was quite a bit of dirt on her. Someone mentioned that it looked like she had been though something intense because of it. She responded by saying “[Nebula] gets up to a lot of stuff in dirt with Gamora“.
If you recall, when we left Nebula and Gamora in GOTG Volume 1, they were not on the best of terms. So we asked Karen how their relationship has changed in this film.
“I think we’re going to delve much further into it. We’re going to learn about their back story which is really exciting for me as an actress to explore. We’re going to learn that they have very severe daddy issues. When Thanos is your father, of course you’re going to have those. They’re going to really talk to each other – usually they communicate quite physically. Sisters pull each other’s hair – they sort of try to kill each other.“
Karen’s costume and makeup were pretty impressive to see in person, and we asked about the process of becoming Nebula – and if the costume was comfortable.
“I mean elements are comfortable. [It’s] not what I would choose to wear lounging around the house. I mean this is not very comfortable but it looks so cool so it’s worth it. Nebula has a bit of a different look going on in this film so she gets a costume change, which is very exciting. I do love the purple though – the original. I have been able to keep half of my hair for this film, which is very exciting.
So that added an hour of just wrapping all the hair up in a bald cap. Then it takes about 2 1/2 hours to put the makeup on, which is actually quicker than the last film. The last film was around five hours for the full process. Then to get into this (her costume) is about 20 minutes. So it’s quite a long process, but it’s so worth it. Sort of does half of the job for you as an actor because you look like this.“
That particular day, Karen was able to nap through the entire makeup process. She told us she doesn’t always get to pull that off, but it is nice when she does.
Karen’s role is a very physical one, so we asked her what she does to prepare – as far as workouts go.
“I work out with the Marvel stunt team – and that is so ridiculous. Oh my God, I come out and I like to take a nap. It is with all the stunt guys and they’re jacked. I do that as much as I can. Also the stunt girl, Kelly – Nebula’s stunt double, makes me look good because I look like spaghetti.“
We learned that Kelly has to get in full makeup too when she does scenes fro Karen. But Karen does try to do as many of her stunts as possible.
“I’m aware I do not look as good doing them as Kelly, so I’m happy for her to do them – she’s going to make the character look cooler. But I do have to do most of them. There was one where she had to drop from the ceiling really fast. I didn’t do that. They want to be able to use you as much as possible just so that they can see your face in the shots. So I try to get involved. But there’s been one I was too scared to do. It was being on wires and then we had to run at the edge of a cliff. It wasn’t too high but it was swaying really high – we were jumping really far. I was a little nervous to do that because I’d never done it before. Kelly did a great job – I was watching from the sidelines.“
We asked her how she felt when she read the script and discovered what Nebula would be going through in Volume 2.
“I emailed James [Gunn] and wrote Oh My God, I can’t believe I get to do all this stuff. When I went in to the first film, it was originally an eight day shoot. I felt that that was the end of my character as well. So when I found out I was coming back for the next film up I was like what? It was really cool because in the first film they just kept on rewriting my ending. I was like okay, which one is going to be used? – I don’t really know because we shot a few of them. Then when I found out I was coming back for the next one, it was amazing. He’s given her all this back story and we understand why she is so bad. She has motivations and it’s really fleshed out which makes me really happy.“
We asked Karen if we were going to see a softer side to Nebula.
“Maybe, yes, maybe. I think so. I think we’re going to understand her more. We’re going to have a bit of empathy towards her. As to whether that makes her soft, I don’t know, because she’s still classic pissed off Nebula. But we’re going to understand why she does the things she does and understand her relationship with Gamora in much more detail. And maybe understand that Gamora wasn’t as nice as she makes out towards Nebula in their childhood.“
Sounds like classic sibling rivalry and I cannot wait to see what James has up his sleeve for us in Volume 2 with these two!
Getting in to Character
As I mentioned before, Karen is super sweet and bubbly – so we asked her how she gets in to character as Nebula, since she is clearly nothing like her.
“Honestly, this makeup does half of it for me. It feels really natural to go into this mean thing. It’s cool though because I’m getting to play something that’s just completely removed from myself and getting to explore different sides of that. When you’re acting is quite nice. And I get to do an American accent, which is fun.“
Since Karen is so different than Nebula, we asked her what it was that attracted her to the role.
“When you audition for a Marvel film, you don’t really know that much about it. All I knew is that it was a female villain – and that was enough to attract me to it because with these big films quite often a girl is the girlfriend or some sort of glamorous role. But this was totally different. My dad always told me to aim to be a Bond villain rather than a Bond girl. So that was kind of like a cool moment for me. I auditioned it felt like it was going to be a fleshed out interesting character with places to go. And she was just creepy, which is fun.“
We asked Karen if anything was challenging going from Volume 1 to Volume 2. She responded, telling us:
“just delving further into the history of the character. I am finding that balance between playing an evil villain people love to hate but trying to tell the truth and not make her likable. That’s not what I’m setting out to do, I want to serve the role in the right way. It’s just been more of an acting challenge because there’s more to play with.“
“I read the Infinity Gauntlet, which I hear is going to be in the next Avengers. Or they’re going to make them. I read that and I was like this character is really cool. It was the best one for me to read for Nebula research. And it was great.“
In Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1, we saw Nebula lose a hand – by her own doing – so we asked Karen what she could tell us about her new hand, if anything.
“Ooh, the mystery of the hand. I don’t want to give away anything but then is the hand really a spoiler? She’s definitely got something in place of the hand that she chopped off – not necessarily a hand. She goes on a mission to rectify this – it’s a whole thing. She’s on the hunt to replace whatever is there, and then she does replace it with something really, really cool.“
We ended the interview by asking her which Guardian of the Galaxy character is her favorite, besides Nebula.
“Oh, good question. The new character Mantis is pretty great and the actress who plays her is brilliant. I couldn’t imagine anybody else playing the role. But I’m going to say that my favorite is actually Drax. I think he’s the funniest person I’ve ever met on and off screen. He can make anything funny and he doesn’t try to and that’s why it’s so funny. His dry delivery – just how huge he is without dry delivery is such a funny combination to me. Everybody dies whenever he’s acting.“
Read more about my Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Set Visit:
While on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, one of the actors I was able to interview was Michael Rooker, who reprises his role of Yondu in the sequel. Michael is one of my favorite actors – I absolutely loved him in The Walking Dead as Merle – and as Yondu in the first Guardians movie. To me, he always seemed like he is an off the wall and fun type of guy. And boy was I right! The first thing he did when he walked in the interview room was look all of us ladies right in the face. He said “let me look at you – y’all are purty“. Not many actors take the time to look at you – really look at you – when you are interviewing them. He even asked us several questions throughout the interview, like where we were from and how many kids we each have. It was like he truly wanted to know about us as individuals. I think we all appreciated this, I know I did.
Yondu’s Teeth
He showed us all his eyes, which had contacts in since he was in full costume (amazing to see up close and personal, by the way). Then as soon as he sat down he told us he had a show and tell for us – his Yondu teeth! Being a Guardians of the Galaxy nerd, this was really cool for me to see. He showed us his upper teeth and his lower teeth and even put them in for us. His voice immediately changed because of the teeth – he had a slight lisp and you could tell he was talking with something in his mouth.
“That is some good looking man there. I know. I do the same thing when I [see] myself in the mirror with it. We got to learn how to talk with these. My voice is already a little bit throatal and so I just keep it back here (meaning talks with his voice in the back of his throat) – it’s better if I don’t have a regular conversation. But if I’m yelling at somebody then you can’t tell that I got anything in my mouth.”
He yelled for us, as Yondu loves to do, and wow! You really couldn’t tell he had his teeth in. Probably one of my favorite parts of the interview, because I am such a fan of Yondu, was when Micheal did his whistle for us! We asked if it was his real whistle or if they just added one in the movie and WOW – it was for sure his whistle. It was so loud! He let us know that it is harder to do with the teeth in and that they do end up enhancing it a bit for the film, but it is in fact his whistle.
The Yondu makeup was quite impressive to see in person. Michael was totally blue, right down to his hands, and so someone asked him how long it takes to become Yondu each day. “About two hours. Half of this is makeup and half of this is just me. I’m like a blue man from Kentucky. (We all laughed but he wasn’t making that up – there is a such thing, google it!) You know they have real blue people in Kentucky and they’re called the Blue People of Kentucky.”
Yondu’s Fin is Here!
By now, you all know about Yondu’s new fin – which is a nod to the comics and one of my favorite parts of Yondu. I was thrilled to see Michael walk in with it on and cannot wait to see how it is addressed in the film. “A lot of people like this fin – and it’s awesome. The fin’s not heavy – not at all. It’s hollow. I thought they were going to put lights and different things in it, but they decided not to. They just decided to keep it just natural and – well, it’s not natural. It’s a fin growing out of my head. So they didn’t put the lights in. If they’re going to do that kind of stuff, they’ll do it in post-production.”
I am interested to see if they do add in any lights. When asked how the fin will be incorporated in the story line, Michael let us know he couldn’t tell us much. “You saw my fin the last movie – it was a short little stubby thing. That worked for my ship. That’s what they told me anyways – your ship is low and with a regular big fin, you would be hitting the ceiling. I was like, oh, okay. So I fell for that. This time around, I have a little of both. I have the short fin and this fin here.”
In this movie, Yondu has now teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy – or as he put it – they teamed up with him. “They’ve teamed up with me. Please. I’m the one that can whistle and take out a whole army, okay?” Of course, we had to ask him how he felt about script and the second film – is it true to his Yondu?
“It’s a great script. [James] Gunn wrote it and it’s a continuation of Yondu in the first script. He wrote that for me. He wrote more odd things that I get to do because he knows me and he knows I’m a wee bit odd, so he just plays on it and writes some silly things. It’s not all silly, but it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun. I have a good time doing it and he’s a good writer, a great director – and I was forced by to be in this movie. If you guys can call the hostage rescue team and get me out of here – if he hears that I’ve been saying this, he’s going to come and he’ll hurt me again. He’ll make me do another scene while he’s directing. It’s so painful. He is a great guy. Great director. We have a lot of fun.”
As you can probably tell, Michael had us laughing a lot. He brought up being a hostage a few times – and each time, he looked so serious! He really was such a fun interview.
A Softer Side to Yondu?
We were wondering if the audience will get to see a different side of Yondu in this film. Since towards the end of the first one, he kind of started to show he cared. “You do see some differences from the first one. You don’t get too in depth with the first one. We get to learn a bit more about Yondu and his relationship with Quill. You [get to] experience some more cool stuff with Yondu. Definitely. It’s not too hard [to get into character] because it was really written for me. I think the thing that attracts the audiences to this film is the characters are very human-like. We have our faults. We all think [we are] better than we really are.”
We tried really hard to get more information about the film from Micheal – and so someone asked him if Yondu’s crew rebels. “Who told you that? I’m here to entertain you. I’m not here to give you any kind of information. My crew is a very violent and aggressive crew. They’re always looking for a weakness. They’re always trying to challenge me in the background and trying to figure out ways to be the leader – like any kind of rebel, skull and cross bone group of crazy maniacs. There’s loyalty going on, but there’s also a lot of rivalry. There’s this rivalry and for me, it goes on all the time because of who Yondu is. He’s the leader of this whole ravager group.”
Why Take the Role?
Micheal continued to make us laugh when we asked him what attracted him to the role of Yondu. He told us that he did not have a choice, and that James Gunn was holding him against his will to complete the filming. When asked if he had had a choice, what would have attracted him to the role, he told us the pay day. The pay day’s nice. My pay day’s not the biggest pay day, but it’s a good pay day. It’s nice for my mortgage and people like me more when I have money.” I immediately thought of when he was on The Talking Dead and was asked if he preferred to play Merle or Yondu and he said the pay day for Yondu was better.
Favorite Character
The last thing we asked him was who his favorite character in Guardians (besides Yondu) is and why. Michael went with Rocket. “Rocket’s got the attitude. He reminds me of James Gunn a lot.” Micheal Rooker was hands down one of my favorite interviews I have ever done. He was fun, down to Earth, and seemed to really care about us. He didn’t let the interview be all about him. I truly hope our paths cross again in the future – what a great guy!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is in theaters May 5th!
I think we can all agree that Dave Bautista seems like an intimidating man. I will tell you that he is bigger in person – but much less intimidating. As he walked in to the interview room on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 last year – in full Drax costume and makeup – I was a little bit speechless. What a force walking through that door – what an incredible sight! I am a giant Guardians of the Galaxy fan and to see Drax sitting in front of me was pretty amazing. But Dave is probably one of the sweetest, soft-spoken, and down-to-Earth guys I have ever met. We had a great conversation about how he felt about coming back to the set, how long it takes for him to become Drax, and he what he loves about his character.
First Reoccuring Role
When Dave was asked what it was like to be back on the Guardians of the Galaxy set, he told us it was awesome.
“This is my first reoccurring role for me, so it was weird because I got to be part of the screen testing process rather than screen testing for myself. I realized how comfortable I was in the role. When I watched the first film, I can see that I transitioned from being very nervous and very uncomfortable to being very comfortable and also being comfortable on a big set, because it was a huge deal for me. That was my first really huge film. We spent so much time together, not only on the first film, but also on the press tour. So we all got to be really close. Especially when we were in London because we really only had each other to lean on – because we were foreigners in a foreign country. Making this film, nobody really knew what to expect from it. We all got close – we’re like family.”
It is strange to watch an actor as good as Dave Bautista and realize that Drax was his first major (and now first reoccurring) role. He played Drax perfectly, my husband (who is also a huge Guardians fan) agrees with me on that. We were blown away by his portrayal of him in the first one, and cannot wait to see what he evolves in to in Volume 2. We asked him if he felt more or less pressure taking on Drax for a second time and he said way less pressure.
“I’m already so comfortable, and now I feel like I am Drax and I own Drax – he’s my character. The brain behind Drax is James [Gunn] but James has written this role for me. He knows what my strengths are now and he’s written it for me. He has a good idea of who Drax should be and he really knows how fans want Drax to be as well. He knows what they’re expecting. I feel so comfortable in the role and it’s been much, much easier and no pressure. There’s a little bit of pressure now that I watched Captain America [Civil War] and it was so well-done. I was like wow, it’s a hard act to follow – Marvel just keeps stepping it up, man. They just keep stepping it up.” I couldn’t agree with him more. It sure is a great time to be a Marvel fan!
Makeup Process
As I mentioned, Dave was in full Drax-mode because he was filming that day. It was definitely a site to see, and so we asked him to tell us a little bit about the whole makeup and costume process.
“If we got it done in four hours on the first film, it was great, it was a great day. I mean, everybody was celebrating. This one is an hour and a half at the most – because it’s a whole new system they’re using. They used to just dab on the paint and that’s how they started the process. Now they attack me with paint rollers – there’s five guys rolling paint. The tattoos were actually sheets of latex on the first [set], now they are transferred so all of these are individual. They are moldings of glue so they stick on to me, but also it’s very hard to get off. So at the end of the day I sit in the sauna for about an hour – I sit there and I start to really sweat it off – and they come and start to peel it off of me. It’s so fast now it’s not even an issue. On hot days I’ll take this off and the glue will look like string cheese. It’s really not bad compared to the first one. The first one was rough.”
We asked Dave how he got physically prepared for this role, “that’s so funny you ask because I didn’t really train for the last one. I had the luxury of the big sheets of latex. I came in and did the first makeup test for this film [and] I was like wow, I really have to be in shape for this – the makeup is unforgiving, it doesn’t hide anything. So I trained rigorously for this and I still do. I can’t train on the days that we work but the days that I’m off I work out out. I [go] to the gym sometimes twice a day. I’ve been hitting it hard because I want to deliver. I want Drax to look the part as well so I took this more seriously, diving in and training, so hopefully it’ll show.”
The Success of Volume One
I had great confidence that Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 would be amazing. I know that many people were skeptical or just had no idea how it would do, but not me. I am such a fan of the comics, I knew that it would do well – but even I didn’t know how well. We asked Dave how he felt about the success of first film.
“It’s weird. It is one of those things where we just, we didn’t know. Nobody knew, and we were not going know until after the opening weekend – then after the opening weekend everybody was sitting around in shock. Not only did it do as well as we were hoping, but it did way better than that. It was breaking records – it was great. It felt satisfying because we all believed in it – we knew it was going to be great – but you just don’t know until people actually come out. Then you start to get the reviews and the reviews are so great. I mean, out of 1,000 reviews, you might get one negative comment. But they would say all in all it was great, but one little negative comment. It was really, really satisfying.”
Mantis is a new character that is being introduced in GotG Volume 2, and Dave was asked about her relationship with Drax. He told us that he couldn’t say much, because he didn’t want to give anything away (or get in trouble). “I will say Mantis and Drax definitely make a connection. It’s probably not the connection most people are going to expect or that people might be reading into, but definitely a connection. I think that people have to remember, fans have to remember, that the heart of Drax is his heartbreak over his family so I don’t think there’s ever gonna be that next love interest for Drax. I think he had that love interest, she’s gone, and that’s what he’s driven by – that heartbreak.”
We asked Dave if there was one thing he would like to see for his character, and the answer had us all laughing! “Well I’d like to see my character in The Avengers. This is wishful thinking. Otherwise, I’m pretty satisfied with the character. He’s actually more than I ever thought he could be or really wished that he could be. I have to give a lot of credit to James for that. He’s been the creative mind behind Drax. I think he’s really created an incredible character.”
Drax’s Humor
I personally love so many things about Drax, like how literal he is, but we asked Dave what he loves about his character.
“You know what I love most about him is that he is not what people expect. When I did the first one, I think people expected Drax to be a certain way, and James went the totally opposite way with him. If you take a big guy and he looks menacing and he looks terrifying, it’s easy to be that guy on screen. You growl a lot, you snarl a lot, you cut people’s heads off and it’s easy – [but] there’s nothing challenging about it. To be that guy and look that way, but then to make people laugh, I think is the challenge. I think that’s the fun part – and that’s what I love about Drax.”
“I think it’s fair to say that there’s a lot more of that in this film. Drax has a bigger role in this film – I think he struck a chord with people in the first film. James [Gunn] get a real kick out of writing for Drax. I know that he does because we will sit there and we read and he just laughs and laughs and laughs. When I deliver the lines that he’s written, I can hear him laughing. I know he’s amused by it, so I know he really loves the character.”
Playing off the comedy of Drax, we asked Dave if there was one scene in particular that it was hard for him to keep a straight face. I go back to the scene from the first film, where he says “Nothing goes over my head, my reflexes are too fast.” I am even laughing just typing that – I love that scene. Dave told us that there was more than a few that were hard for him. “There’s been quite a few. A lot of times when I will do my close-up and I have to deliver these lines very straight-faced but they’re funny, funny lines, and Zoe will just start laughing at me off camera or Chris will start laughing. And I have to say stop laughing because once I get the giggles, everybody gets the giggles. But there’s a lot of that in this film because the script is so funny – just so well-written and so funny.”
The last thing we asked Dave about was his stunts – does he have a stunt double, does he do a lot of his own stunts? “I have the same stuntman from the first film. I met him on that film. It was really hard finding a stunt double for me for a while. They found him for me on that film and I’ve dragged him around the world. He’s been on three other films with me since then because he’s great. It’s hard to find a big guy who’s super athletic but also really experienced. He just, he fits the bill and I’ve dragged him around – as long as I can continue to drag him around the world with me, I will because he’s just such a great stuntman. Many people may think that I’m a professional wrestler and I can do my own stunts.”
“Sometimes I don’t want to do my own stunts, you know? There was a part where they set the character on fire and I was like stuntman, please, I don’t want to be set on fire. I did my 10 years in WWE – I’ve proved that I’m tough enough. I don’t have anything to prove. Nothing out of the ordinary for myself. When it’s an exceptional stunt – Rob is his name – I say Rob, would you mind? He’s one of those guys who will check out something first, and he’ll give me an honest opinion and say I just don’t think you should do this – I trust him completely.”
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is in theaters May 5th!
While on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 last year, I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and talk with Zoe Saldana. This was a live set and because she was so busy filming, we only had a few moments with her (she was in full Gamora garb and looked AMAZING, by the way). Even though our time with her was short, my interview with her was one of the most inspirational few moments of my life. She stressed how important women’s health is and how we have to take care of ourselves, which is easy to forget when you are a busy mom. Ladies, we should come first!
Zoe and Chris
Immediately before we interviewed Zoe, we got to watch a scene of the movie being filmed. We all noticed that her and Chris Pratt were joking around and talking a lot. So of course, we brought up how it looked like they had a great relationship. She filled us in on why their relationship is what it is (and it warmed my heart a bit that they connect on a parental level).
“We’re parents of wonderful little kid boys. We’re constantly bouncing back ideas. He shares with me how Ana is handling being part of a family that’s a traveling troop – and she has to also work. I share that experience. My husband and I have to make these ultimate sacrifices because one of us has to travel with work and the other one is like okay I’m working remotely with you – because at the end of the day [the goal is] to not be apart. Then [Chris and I] also compare what kind of fitness things we’re doing lately to what we ate.” Anyone can see that the two of them are in amazing shape. They both take great care of themselves, which is definitely important.
Zoe Saldana has been in a lot of movies recently, and she takes on a lot of different types of roles. When asked which types are her favorite, she stated that she likes sci-fi (like Guardians of the Galaxy) but then went on to make me proud to be a woman. “I think that for females, we need much more diverse examples of professions – [so] it’s not so internal and dramatic. I think that as women, we need to be a little more physical. It’s better for our health. It helps our sanity, too. I know I was a little girl starving to have more female heroes and I held on to the very few that were out there. Then I just had to become one because that’s what we do for our little girls, you know?”
When she said that, I wanted to immediately go home and show my daughters what a true female hero is. I want them to not only look up to Zoe and her characters, but to me as well. Zoe lit a fire under my butt and really inspired me to be all that I can be, guys. And I don’t think I was the only one – I think all of us in that room were inspired by her, it would be hard not to be!
Just like all of us that were there with her, Zoe is a working mom. She seems to really be rocking it, so we asked her for some tips on finding balance with work, travel, and marriage. she didn’t hesitate.
“Talk – talk about everything. No assumptions, no reserved feelings. Just last night – and I love sharing this because I know this is reaching good and insightful sources where people can get information and feel identified through all of our similarities when it comes to the challenges that we face, trying to live in one world where we get to have it all. Because why not, you know? We should. Anyways, just last night Marco [says] okay, I understand we’re super busy but let’s practice still connecting – conversations. I don’t care what we’re talking about. If you’re in the bathroom while I’m in the shower, let’s just share five things. It could be five anything – and I love that. You just have to constantly keep it open.”
That tip has helped me in so many ways. Every day, I share five things with my young daughters, and five different things with my husband. At first, I had to make him share things with me too, but now it has become our routine, and I really do feel like we are staying connected and strengthening (or at least maintaining) our relationship by doing it. So thank you Zoe – you have no idea how much you truly helped!
As I stated above, Zoe looked incredible. She just had twins guys – twins – and she looks amazing! Of course we noticed – and being moms ourselves, we had to ask her about her fitness routine. Zoe jumped at the chance to discuss it with us.
“Not easy. It requires determination and a lot of discipline. I did not want to hate myself. I did not want to start fantasizing of what I used to be. I wanted to work with what I have. I gained 65 pounds. I’m not comparing myself to everybody but if my experience can be inspirational for you guys – I’m a killer. I don’t approach [it] like I’m going to start on Monday because Sunday we’re having the barbecue. No way, because to me it’s scarier to look at myself while I’m brushing my teeth and have 10 things to say about myself that I hate. I don’t want to live like that. We’re gifts. We’re unique. We’re special. We’ve got to work – we work for everybody else every single day. You work for yourself. Be self-focused – don’t compromise.”
Eating Habits
She went on to explain that before family parties and get-togethers, she would be sure to eat a healthy dinner. That way she is not hungry and snacking on unhealthy foods. Her husband was also very supportive of her routine. “It helps a lot when you have a partner that is super supportive and understanding of the ups and downs – and compassionate and empathetic about the fact that you just went through a life changing transformation. It’s like you’re in the future and you’re going back to the past and you can’t get back to the future. You’re [screwed]. To have somebody that’s going yeah, but what do you want to do now that we’re here? It helps. So, find fountains of support. It’s very important.”
Zoe also let us know that she has a mostly gluten-free diet which she highly recommends for health reasons. “We’re having a lot of problems with our hormones ladies, our thyroids, it’s what we eat. It’s not in products that we’re using. The enemy can live within – it’s about cleaning gut – it’s about fixing hormone levels – getting blood panels once a year after we become mothers – because we’re having very lethal reactions to gluten more and more. Our children are being born with celiac and I don’t know if there’s a correlation but I read everything. I have, I have Hashimoto’s – I have an under-active thyroid. I’m on medication for the rest of my life. I want to be ahead of it. I don’t want to victimize myself. We’re 80% gluten-free. If I eat better, in that one moment where I get to cut loose – [I] realize also that [I] don’t go to the extremes.”
Unfortunately that is where our interview had to end because Zoe was needed back on the set. I could have spent hours and hours talking to her. She was so sweet and nice – but also tough and inspiring. I have taken her advice to heart and am using it to improve my life and my health every day, and I hope you do too.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is in theaters May 5th!
Last May I was totally blessed with the opportunity to check out the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. I was able to watch part of a scene being filmed, check out the wardrobe and props departments, and oh yeah, interview some of the amazing cast. So of course, I go to interview Mr. Chris Pratt, Star-Lord himself. I have been a fan of Chris’ for a long time – The O.C., Parks and Recreation, Delivery Man – and more recently Jurassic Park and Lego Movie. I follow him on Snapchat (and if you don’t, you should). He is hilarious – and an incredible actor.
Being a huge Guardians of the Galaxy comic book fan, I was very anxious for the first one to come out. I was nervous because these are some of my favorite characters – ones that I have been reading about for years – and to see them portrayed on the big screen could be hit or miss.
Not to mention that many were skeptical. Those who did not know how amazing this group of misfits are – they didn’t get it. I went in with a completely open mind and was totally blown away. All of the actors were fantastic, but Chris Pratt in particular did an incredible job of becoming Peter Quill, Star-Lord, my favorite guardian of the galaxy.
To say I was impressed was an understatement so I was thrilled to be able to meet with him and talk to him about this character that we both love.
Chris was in a great mood when he walked in the interview room. We asked him what it was like being back on set and he said it was great.
“I mean that too. This movie is coming at the end of a long run of jobs that I’ve had – I’m fortunate to have three movies back to back. This is the third one and so I will have been on the road for 13 or 14 months by the time this is over. It feels like the perfect movie to have as the third movie – I don’t want to compare them, they’re all different, and I love them all – it’s just James is so good, he knows exactly what he wants. We all know the characters, everyone’s gotten better since the last movie. We really had to pick up right where we left off and it feels like everyone’s on their A game. Days are totally manageable and the story is spread out enough to where I have days off, which is really nice. I’ve been able to actually get home to LA and Anna and Jack will be able to come out and visit me. It’s like getting a nice warm up for the reentry period for when I go back home.“
Chris told us an adorable story about one time that his son, Jack, came to see him on set.
“He was behind the monitor with a ComTech on, watching the monitor, and he just turns around and he goes, can I get a coconut water? And I was like, whoa, somebody needs to go sweep something up. He’s getting a little too comfortable. Just to no one in particular – can I get a coconut water? Like who are you talking to first of all? Obviously you’ve seen somebody do that.“
Chris Pratt really loves his wife – and I love that. At one point, after talking about Anna for a few minutes, we mentioned we got to talk to Kurt (meaning Kurt Russell) and Chris thought we said her. His face lit up and he looked around the room for his wife. I could see in his eyes how much he loves her, and that is beyond sweet. We asked about how it was to work with Kurt.
“Man, it’s been awesome. Not every actor whose been around as long as he’s been around is a joy to work with. Essentially anyone who has a bad reputation – they earned it by great careers that expand over the years and it’s anyone’s right to be an a-hole on set. Kurt Russell is not, he is so great. He’s really tough. A lot of people don’t know everything about Kurt Russell – he’s a professional baseball player, he broke a World Record as a racecar driver as a teenager, he was a pilot for 25 years, he has horses and breeds them – he’s such a man. I was like, I wonder if I could ask him if he would be my real dad.No offense to my father – rest in peace dad, but you’ve been replaced by Kurt Russell.”
He even compared Kurt and Goldie to himself and Anna when we asked him about working with Kurt.
“I’m talking to Kurt about his life growing up, and what it was like for he and Goldie Hawn, and their relationship. A lot of people make that comparison of Anna to Goldie Hawn after The House Bunny – ditsy blonde comedic actress who self-defecates but is also good looking at the same time. These big eyes with blonde hair, really a similar kind of vibe. And then, Kurt is this guy who, at the time, people were like, what’s Goldie Hawn doing with that guy? I’m like, hey I’ve been there, I know a thing or two about that, I’ve heard that about me a few times.“
When we asked Chris what it is like being on set, he said there is a lot of down time. A lot of boring moments but some great ones as well.
“There’s a great amount of surreal moments looking at the monitor. I was spinning in circles yesterday, opposite Kurt Russell on wires, and we’re flying through the air. We’re doing these stunts, we’re just being superheros, which makes it super awesome. Then I’m looking at him and he’s looking at me, and even he’s having a ball – and I was like, this is cool. So the work part is really fun – but truly the best part is just getting to know people, because that time when you’re sitting around being bored, you actually just start getting to know people. You spend 10, 12, 13 hours with somebody and so we just get to talk about our life. You just never know who you’re going to work with. The work part will be good, and the movie hopefully will be good, but the experience, the journey, you hope that will be everything that you want it to be.“
Family is a BIG Theme
We had been told throughout the day that family was a major theme of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. We asked Chris what he thought about the script when he first saw it, and the family theme.
“When I was first introduced to the story, it was with James. We were sitting and smoking a cigar in his living room, and he was like, okay, here’s the story. So I didn’t read the script, he told me exactly what was going to happen. It was before the script had been written and when he told me I was captivated – I’m so moved and impressed by this story. It’s completely different from the first movie, but similar in that’s it’s really going to surprise people and I think be really good. It’s not going to be one of these sequels that’s just a rehash of what they did in the first movie. It’s taking a big leap forward. For me, hearing that story for the first time, I just felt so lucky that he’s the dude in charge of this franchise. Because he has such an awesome idea and is the only one who could bring that idea to the big screen without screwing it up.“
Another theme we know is reoccurring is the music in the film. James Gunn described it as an actual character in the movie, and Chris had a lot to say about it too.
“You know sometimes how they put songs in movies, just because, hey, this would be really cool song to accompany this scene. That’s fine, but with James, the way he’s done it, he’s always allowed the tape to be a narrative tool. You know, to get you in the mood, to get you pumped up and heighten the excitement of the scene or emotion of the scene. He justifies it because it’s a prop in the movie – it didn’t just come out of nowhere. Quill gets it at the end of the first movie. I’m telling you, his mom had even better taste and probably a little bit more money in volume two. The songs are primo and expertly used without being distracting in this movie. Once you see the movie, you’ll understand more of what I mean – they are used even more as a narrative tool than the first one.“
Favorite Song from the First Film
We asked Chris what his favorite song from the first film was, since we knew he couldn’t reveal anything about the new soundtrack. His answer definitely had me laughing a bit.
“The one thing that’s really beautiful about this volume versus the first in the first movie I listened to the first soundtrack every time I worked out for that movie – I don’t know what I was thinking. By the time the movie rolled around, I hated every song. I did. I guess I would have to rank them from my least favorite one. There are some great songs but what’s great about this second volume is I didn’t do that. Also it makes sense because Peter Quill just got this tape two months ago, because we’re picking up just a couple of months after the events of the first movie. So it doesn’t have to be ingrained in my psyche the way a take would be that I’ve listened to over, and over, and over again, and have come to hate – and then again, learned to love. Which is really where I’m at now. I might not be quite to the point where I’ve learned to love them again, but I know Peter Quill would have been. It’s like the pulse of his childhood is this tape, he’s listen to it all the time. I don’t have to do that with the second tape because I’ve only had it a month. There are some songs that are – oh I can’t wait for you to see them.“
Chris got in ridiculously good shape for the first movie, and looked amazing when we saw him I might add, so we asked him if he still works out for his role.
“Maybe not as much as the first one, because I didn’t have quite as far to go. I kept in good shape for the last couple of movies. So for this one, I am more maintenance than like a big like deadline, you know what I mean. We already shot the shirtless scene – that was pretty early on and you really plan for that. After that, I’m like long sleeve shirts and a leather jacket, so I will go have a little sandwich or something.“
Yup, you read that right, a shirtless scene! I know we all can’t wait for that one.
Speaking of the leather jacket, we let Chris know that we got to check it out in costumes – the long duster was so heavy! We asked him how much it weighs and he guessed around 50 pounds when it is wet.
“There’s different various jackets. I have the long duster and the short jacket as well. In fact, the first time I ever put that jacket on, that was the first time I really felt like the character. They say that clothes make the man. For me, at least as an actor, when I’m in the wardrobe and I’m looking at myself, and it’s something that I as a person would never really wear – certainly with a long red leather duster, I don’t have one of those in my wardrobe – other than the one that I stole from the first movie…but when you see yourself in the clothes, all of a sudden, the weight of that jacket, the way it moves when you walk – I found my walk and I found the feeling of this character for the first time. Anna says the same thing about her shoes that she wears as a character. It’s like she’ll put on the pair of shoes and that’s the first time she really feels it, when she’s literally walking in that person’s shoes.“
I laughed when Chris Pratt mentioned he stole the jacket from the first film – and we asked him if there was anything he would like to steal from this set. He said there were a couple things, that he is the best at stealing, and had already stolen something. He wouldn’t say what, but said he will tell us when they wrap filming.
We let Chris know that we all loved watching the first movie with our families. We asked him what he would like families, and kids in particular, to take away from Volume 2.
“When you’re a kid, a movie can be pretty terrible and you’ll still love it. There are a lot of them that I remember loving as a kid that I’ve watched since I’ve become an adult, and I’m like, oh boy, that doesn’t hold up. Good thing I was seven when I watched it. I wasn’t real critical then. But with Marvel, what they’ve done is they’ve made movies that kids are going to love because it has all the elements that kids love. But also, really great compelling stories that adults will watch and want their kids to see. What I want kids to walk away with is an experience. It’s less about what they think about us, but more about who they got to go see that movie with. What they will always remember – the time they went to go see Guardians of the Galaxy with their dad, or their mom, or their uncle. That’s what I think about, it’s not so much about what’s happening in the movie as much as what’s happening for that kid that day. Where did you go to eat before you went to the movie theater – the experience of doing it. That’s probably what I would want them to take away – a great memory, one of their first memories.“
As comic book readers know, this past summer Marvel Comics started Civil War II, and Star-Lord joins the battle. I asked him what side he would like to see Star-Lord join in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
“I don’t want to say – it’s hard for me. I have to let Marvel make the decision for me. I really do because if it was me, I love Chris [Evans], but I also love Robert [Downy Jr.]. I can’t take the subjectivity out of having to choose one of my friends over the other, you know what I mean? So I’ll let Marvel make that decision and then once they’ve made it, I will go hard with it. I will cut that other dude out of my life – tell them to hold my calls. I’m going hard core, dead to me. One of them will be dead to me. I’ll just have to let Kevin decide for me.”
Relationships
When did the walk through of the art room, we were told there would be a love story in volume 2, but were given no details. We asked Chris about it to see if he would drop any hints and this is what he had to say
“Anything that you felt in the first movie, in terms of relationships – we’re not going back to where we started. We’re picking up where we left off. Some characters are going to be drawn towards others. I think that’s just a natural consequence of having male and female in the same room together on a movie – I wonder if they like each other? So there was an element of that in the first movie and like I said, we pick up where we left off. But there is also a lot of new characters. So without spoiling it, I will say that you’re likely to get that element, but I won’t say with exactly who or how that comes about. I want you to see it.“
The last question we asked Chris, was if playing Star-Lord has rubbed off on him at all. During the interview, he definitely gave off a Star-Lord vibe, but it could have just been that he was in full costume.
“Like I said, the clothes make the man. When you’re an actor, you get the freedom to change who you are – whether you put on the clothes, or the persona, or the personality. I think it’s something inherently we do as people anyways. We just don’t get credited for it and no one really notices it. When you hang out with a certain friend, you might act one way, or with another group of friends you might act another way – like a member of your family, or when you’re with grandma you become another person.
By nature, to survive socially, we’re chameleons. I think it does change me to be here – my personality having played this character. Now when I go home, I’m a completely different person that I am even right here in this interview. But I don’t think I’m making a consciences choice to do that. I think it’s just a natural thing that happens because walking around with guns on our hips, wearing cool galactic boots – I come across as a cocky confident guy.“
This interview with Chris was one of my favorites to date. He was so funny, charming, and just an all around great guy. I loved learning about him and how he feels about one of my favorite characters, Star-Lord.
Read more about my Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Set Visit:
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