Gary Rydstrom Brings 'Strange Magic' to Life

As part of our whirlwind trip to Skywalker Ranch (She's at it again!) we had the privilege of interviewing the director of the film, Strange Magic.

Director Gary Rydstrom may not have a household name like George Lucas, but the man has some serious film credits to his name. 

Gary Rydstrom's name is practically synonymous with Skywalker Sound. He has won 7 Academy Awards along with other various and sundry awards in his field. You will find his name on the credits of such films as Finding Nemo, Saving Private Ryan, and Minority Report.  

Strange Magic is Gary’s first feature film as a director. And we bloggers had a great time talking to him about what that was like.

I loved Gary's sense of humor and the laid back ease with which he talked about doing films and his career.

You’ve had an incredible career. You’ve received seven Academy Awards for sound design and editing.

"And if I win three more, I can open a bowling alley."

See what I mean?

About what attracted him to Strange Magic. 

"I was really attracted to the use of song to help tell a story. This was such a great idea to tell a love story.  And if you think about the songs in the movie that are love songs, there aren’t that many positive love songs because love is hard, it’s not always happy." 

About love. (Did I mention that this film is a love story?)

"If you think about it, it, we are really surprised I think by how we fall in love and with who, it comes at us as a surprise.  When you reveal your true self, then the other person falls in love with that true self.  

Often we try to hide that true self, because you think it’s odd or different or just not in the norm. you hide it because you think, who would fall in love with that.  But then we fall in love with that what makes you unique."

About the voice cast.

"Casting is pretty key for a movie like this – you have to find people who both act and sing. Alan Cumming, both actor and singer amazing, Evan Rachel Wood is as good a singer as she is an actress. Sam Palladio who plays Roland is an amazing singer, as well as a very funny actor. And then Kristin Chenoweth – I was in the room with her as I was with all the actors when they were singing their songs and when she hit some of those high notes in Love Is Strange, it was like my glasses broke – it was amazing."

About the songs and karma. (Did I mention this was a musical?)

"The karma and the irony of this movie for me is that I did have a long career, in this building mostly, a career as a sound designer, doing sound effects for movies. And then by the end, I found that I often felt at odds with the composer, so it was kind of a fight between the composer and I to have our stuff heard. So I thought of it as karmic revenge from the universe that I get to direct a feature film here and it’s a musical.

But I was really attracted to it as George is.  And American Graffiti is one of my favorite movies.  The use of song to help tell a story was really attractive to me and this was such a great idea to tell a love story. If you think about the songs in the movie that are love songs, there aren’t that many positive love songs, which I always like to point out. Because love is hard, it’s not always happy. But I love that part of it and making a musical was really fun."

Gary Rydstrom is so prolific and talented as a director. Not only that, he obviously has a history of making George Lucas happy. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Strange Magic opened in theaters everywhere on January 23rd.

{I was invited to pre-screen the movie by Disney and Touchstone Pictures. All opinions are my own.}

Movie Review: Strange Magic

Last week during my visit to Skywalker Ranch (Is she ever going to stop talking about that? Umm...no.) I got to screen the new film from the mind of George Lucas, Strange Magic.

We had the unique privilege of watching the film in Skywalker Ranch's state-of-the-art Stag Theater with George Lucas himself.

Insufferable. I told you. Also, please notice the familiar head of shock-white hair right at about the center in the photo below. I know. Shut up.

So, first of all, it's a musical. Deriving, it seemed to me, partly from Lucas' 1973 American Graffiti and Marius De Vries' arrangements for Moulin Rouge. That was a surprising and pleasant surprise. 

The songs are everything from oldies like "Tell Him" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" to a couple from Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" becomes a pretty funny running gag throughout the story.

It's a (very) loose adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, mostly because there are love potions and star crossed lovers and weird infatuations happening. Strange Magic tells the story of sister fairies Marianne (Evan Rachel Wood) and Dawn (Meredith Anne Bull).

I don't doubt that Marianne was so named to make good use of the Four Season's song of the same name, but that's not important right now.

A comic fairy tale that mostly takes place in the Dark Forest over which the Bog King (Alan Cumming) presides and has made it his life's mission to eradicate the primrose flowers from which a particular love dust is created. Of course, as you can already guess, the elf, Sunny (Elijah Kelley) is tasked with breaking into the Dark Forest, finding the Sugarplum Fairy (Kristin Chenowith) and talking her into making some love potion that things start to get a little nutty.

Truthfully, I didn't love the film for the first half. It wasn't until Marianne sheds her fairy princess daydream about the caddish and handsome boy-fairy, Roland (Sam Palladio) and takes on a tough punk-rockery-warrior-fairy look that I was fully engaged. 

And I was happy that most of the action took place in the Dark Forest because the creatures there were much more fun than the humanoid fairies.

The characters in the Dark Forest are just what you'd expect from the mind of George Lucas. A cross between the inhabitants of the Mos Eisley Cantina (<--see Star Wars, Episode IV A New Hope) and Jaba the Hut's palace. The un-named mischief-making-rodent-thing reminding me strongly of Salacious Crumb (again from Star Wars, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back). I don't know if that was director Gary Rydstrom's intent, but the striking comparison between the two made it much more fun for me, personally.

Favorite character? Hands down, Sunny the Elf. That may or may not be because I'm kind of smitten with Elijah Kelley right now.

The soundtrack keeps the movie flowing and there are enough funny bits - the mushroom telephone line, especially - to keep youngsters engaged. 

Strange Magic was nothing like I expected. Visually and technically beautiful. The songs helping to carry the plot to a wonderfully romantic twist at the end.

However, it's the moral of the story: that true love trumps infatuation every time, that makes it worth the price of admission. 

"The course of true love never did run smooth." ~Shakespeare

Strange Magic opens today, January 23rd in theaters everywhere.

{I was invited to pre-screen the movie by Disney and Touchstone Pictures. All opinions are my own.}

Elijah Kelley Shares the Love in Strange Magic

I told you I couldn't stop talking about my visit to Skywalker Ranch and everything to do with Strange Magic and today is no exception.

To recap, I was invited by Disney and Touchstone Pictures (along with 24 other fabulous bloggers) for a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the famous ranch and for a screening of the new animated film, from the mind of George Lucas, Strange Magic.

Here's my interview with George Lucas.

And here's my oversharing about our visit to Skywalker Ranch.

Today I want to share the time that we bloggers got to spend chatting with Elijah Kelley.

Elijah Kelley is probably best recognized from his performance as Seaweed in Hairspray (2007). Also, he's absolutely adorable in person. 

When we arrived at Skywalker Ranch, I recognized Elijah right away and greeted him like an old friend. He was lovely. Very personable and willingly posed for photos with all of us bloggers. Every. Single. One of us. 

And, as you can imagine, every single one of us fell in love with him.

"Elijah, kissy face!" 

Elijah is the voice of Sunny the Elf in Strange Magic.

He's the central character in the film, who, much like Elijah himself, has a heart of gold. I can see why Elijah was chosen by George Lucas to play Sunny. 

photo credit: MerlotMommy.com

Before he sat down to talk with us, we were treated to his wonderful performance of a mash-up of "3 Little Birds"/"Say Hey! (I love you.)" 

Here's his "Elf-Sized Serenade" from Strange Magic that is just one of the many songs in the movie. 

After all the impromptu concert, he sat down and talked to us about what it was like for him to be the voice of Sunny.

First of all, I’ve never done a voice-over before in my life, so it was a little bit of a challenge because see he’s (Sunny), hyper and super into everything that he always does.

I thought that it was gonna be so easy. I thought it was gonna be a piece of cake, but I would go in there and guarantee you, I would leave, lightheaded and sweaty from all the running and everything.

It was like P90X. Bringing it to life and understanding the world that Sunny lives in, and understanding that he’s kind of like, you know, I see him sort of the nucleus of trying to get everything together, and pulling everybody together, and trying to save the day, and messing up the day, it’s a lot like me.

photo credit: MerlotMommy.com

The theme of the movie is about finding true love. Did he think people could connect to that through this film?

I think that people will connect for fighting for what you love because as you can see that everybody goes through a lot of trouble to be able to grasp the love of their life, and I think that love is so complicated.

I think that the wiring of love is just so weird, you know, and the fact that people can go to the ends of the Earth to capture something like that is very, very inspirational.

I think in a time like this where we are in the world, it’s an animation, but the subject matter is universal and it’s timeless, you know?

Was it weird seeing your facial expressions and such on a character that doesn’t look like you?

The whole process is weird. Honestly, I’m not over it yet. Being that this is only the second time I’ve seen the movie. On film you get used to yourself. You can see yourself in a different character. They literally bring your voice to life. And so all you do is talk and sing, and they do everything else. It’s really amazing.

He's also a philanthropist. Who knew?

I have a foundation; the Elijah Kelley Foundation.  And basically what we do is I try to be a liaison between underprivileged kids back from where I’m from and their dreams in arts and entertainment.

And so during the tenure that we’ve had the non-profit, I’ve given out, four scholarships over the last five years, with students from low-income housing that are going on to pursue careers in performing arts. From the Savannah College of Art and Design to, there’s a very small, great art school in Georgia called Gordon College.

I was deeply impressed by Elijah Kelley. Not just that he is so warm and personable or that he's a "quadruple threat," but that he is so dedicated to giving back. 

His performance in Strange Magic will make you love him all that much more.

 

Elijah Kelley @oneelijahkelley loves me. He said so. #strangemagicevent #ontheblog #ElijahKelley #video

A video posted by Marta Darby (@smrtqbn) on Jan 22, 2015 at 11:54am PST

"Every little thing is gonna be alright."

Strange Magic opens in theaters everywhere tomorrow, Friday, January 23rd, 2015.

About Love and Strange Magic with George Lucas

Last week (as you know because I can't stop talking about it) I visited Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California.

I was invited by Disney and Touchstone Pictures (along with 24 other fabulous bloggers) for a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the famous ranch and for a screening of the new animated film, from the mind of George Lucas, Strange Magic.

What you don't know is that we bloggers were treated to an up-close-and-personal interview with George Lucas himself.

I wrote all about our tour of Skywalker Ranch here. Today I'm going to give you a peek into, well, the mind of George Lucas and his impetus for making Strange Magic.

Before the trip, I think we had all sort of fantasized about Wouldn't it be so great if we could see George Lucas himself when we visited Skywalker Ranch?, but again, that was still in the realm of fantasy.

Then, just before the movie was about to start, George Lucas walked into the theater and sat down (right behind us!) to watch the entire film all the way through for the first time.

Stop it. That's just crazy talk!

 

Imagine our extreme delight and the pinch me no, seriously, Pinch me! moment when we were informed that yes indeed we would get to, not just see, but actually interview George Lucas.

Seriously? We would actually get to hear what was coming from the mind of George Lucas?

Skywalker Ranch truly lived up to its reputation for turning fantasy into reality.

So where did the concept for this film come from?

"It actually started about 15 years ago. I had the notion of making a film that was fun.

I like working with music and I like doing fairy tales and I love to do musicals especially when I can use my favorite music and so it kind of harkens back to my pre-Star Wars days.

I started working on it with a small group of people and we started designing it. Eventually we hired the director (Gary Rydstrom) and brought in Marius de Vries from Moulin Rouge to do the music because I wanted to try to tell this story through the music.”

As George began talking about the music, he really became animated (no pun intended). Every song in the soundtrack to Strange Magic is very recognizable and it's practically impossible to not sing along.

“I love music. Music’s a huge part of my life.

I love all kinds of music, and obviously I listen to music every day – on the radio, top 40 and everything in between. But with this one, one of the inspirations was, I wondered if I could tell a love story using love songs. Would it be possible to take them and string them all together so they actually told the story?

That was the original challenge and, in the beginning the movie was about twice as long as it is now. It’s like American Graffiti - I could sit and listen to it all day and that was a part of American Graffiti. I just wanted to have a movie that I could sit in the editing room and listen to and have a good time."

"I tell people I’m going to go back and do experimental films like I did in college, and this is getting myself back there. This is just a fun movie that I love to listen to. A lot of the songs were my favorite songs but a lot of them really had to do with trying to tell the story, trying to say what we needed them to say.

It was all about finding the right song that actually had the musical mood that would get us from point A to point B but also actually say the words that the actors were supposed to say to each other. That’s where Marius came in. Thanks to him, we were able to use different genres from different time periods, really different everything, but knit it all together so it sounded like it belonged together. And he’s a genius at doing that because ultimately, it had to have an evolution where some of the story was told in dialogue, some of the story was told in music and the story itself had to be tightened down and things connected which, in just using music you couldn’t do.”

We hadn't really heard much about Strange Magic until very recently.

“It really started to fall together over the last 4 or 5 years. It wasn’t involved in any studio or anything, I made it in San Francisco where I live and I have my studio there and we’re not into promoting or any of that kind of stuff – we’re into making movies.

Nobody really hears about it until it’s ready to come out. It all seems fast. We actually just finished it and 3 weeks later it’ll be in theaters”.

At this point, George started to talk about his daughters. About his family. About his wife and falling in love. He grew very tender as he spoke about his favorite song in the film.

“The song that started it is the opening song, that was the first song I picked and it’s also at the end, ‘I Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Elvis. I love that song. I grew up under the tutelage of Elvis and my wife says I still have that pompous pompadour.

It, to me, was the inspiration to say this is what this movie’s about. You know, wise men say only fools fall in love. And ultimately the only thing I can say is there’s no accounting for love, it’s just no matter how rational you think you’re being, you say well I’ll never do that, and you do it.”

"Strange Magic," he says, "is a story that needs to be told to every generation over and over again. The message is so simple and, you know it’s been around for thousands of years and yet still can always be retold.”

George Lucas waxing poetically romantic about love and the power of music?? I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this is what is coming forth from the mind of George Lucas.

*************************************************************************

Speaking of music, we also interviewed Elijah Kelley who lends his voice to Sunny the Elf in the film. I'll share that later this week. 

Strange Magic opens in theaters everywhere on Friday, January 23rd, 2015.

Strange Magic at Skywalker Ranch #StrangeMagicEvent

There are places in this world that are legendary to us über-nerds. Skywalker Ranch, located 40 minutes north of San Francisco is one of those places.

Earlier this week I was privileged to visit the fabled home of Lucasfilm's amazing postproduction facility, Skywalker Sound and tour the ranch itself.

I was invited along with 24 other bloggers to come up to Skywalker Ranch and preview the latest film from the mind of George Lucas, Strange Magic.

 

So, let's just review so far: 

I went to George Lucas' famed Skywalker Ranch to preview the latest film from the mind of George Lucas. (I know. Shut up.)

Let's continue now, won't we?

I have made notes and composed this post at least a dozen times because I want to share every little detail with you, but seriously, there's just too much to tell. 

Skywalker Ranch is a gorgeous slice of heaven. It's George Lucas' vision of perfection. Tranquil, without any extraneous signs of techi-ness (is that a word?) lies the most celebrated (arguably) audio post-production facility in the world.

The feeling I got when we arrived at the property was that I had stepped right onto the set a beautiful movie. 

The Tech Building

Our first stop was the Tech Building, which looks nothing like you would imagine a Tech Building to look like, because it fit right into the scenery and looked more like a fabulous Tuscan vineyard.

This is the home of Skywalker Sound. This Tuscan-villa-looking place houses a world-class scoring stage, six mix studios, ADR and Foley stages, 34 editing suites, and a 300-seat screening room. All in this breathtakingly pristine setting. 

If you didn't know any of this, you would just be in awe of the majesty of the place and wondering which way to the tasting room.

But right when we walked in, I felt comfortable, and welcomed. Not intimidated at all. (Unless, of course, I stopped and remembered that we were truly in the very heart of all that is good and holy about the center of the Lucasfilm Universe, at which point I freaked out just a litte, but that's not important right now.)

The property includes the iconic main house, just down there, past the vineyard at the end of the road.

And the beautiful Lake Ewok. (I swear that's the name of it. Isn't that just delicious?) We were told that it's stocked with fish and even suitable for swimming in the summer time.

We entered the Tech Building. (did I mention it looked more like a villa in Tuscany than anything to do with tech?)

And we were escorted straight into the main dining area. (This made me very happy, but that's not important right now, either.)

This open, airy, bright, naturally lit space was much more "ranch-like" than what the exterior portrayed. It was decorated simply with George Lucas' extensive collection of classic movie posters from as far back as the 20's and 30's.

The Stag Theater, a 300 seat beauty with the Most Perfect Sound and Acoustics of Any Movie Theater on the Planet (OF COURSE), was where we were treated to the screening of the film, Strange Magic. 

The screen is guarded on either side by the statues that were seen in Star Wars Episode II in Emperor Palpatine's office. (Excuse me, please. My nerdiness is showing.)

Strange Magic opens everywhere on Friday, January 23rd. I promise to review the film next week, but until then, here's a preview.

Just before the film began, George Lucas himself snuck into the theater to watch the movie with us. (I know. Don't hate.)

Kudos to Tee of That's IT Mommy for this amazing Ninja Selfie

So, again, let's just recap where we are right now. We were screening the new animated film, Strange Magic from the mind of George Lucas with George Lucas. 

I can barely stand it myself.

After the screening of the film, we were treated to a performance by Elijah Kelley (Hairspray, Red Tails, The Butler), the voice of Sunny the Elf in the film.

We interviewed director Gary Rydstrom, Elijah Kelley, and George Lucas himself. I'll post those interviews next week, I promise. 

Meanwhile, back at The Ranch... (<--see what I did there?)

Lunch happened. And excuse me while I get off track here for just a moment, but wow! that was the best strawberry shortcake I've ever tasted. *starts researching strawberry shortcake recipes* 

Please notice Humphrey Bogart, the obvious predecessor to Indiana Jones watching over our strawberry shortcakes. 

The Main House

The 50,000 square foot main house was all comfort and charm. With miles of wrap-around porch around this Victorian home with all redwood construction, it is the crown jewel of this property.

"Wait. What? We get to go inside?" Color me crazy-happy.

photo credit: MerlotMommy.com

This is the part where I could not take any photos, so you'll just have to bear with me

The furnishings were very comfortable and had an earthy down-home feeling. Nothing pretentious at all. It could have been anyone's home, except for the curio cabinets found in the main entry. Imagine my delight that the first thing we encountered was a cabinet housing George's collectibles, mementos and gifts.

Among those was a weathered brown hat and bullwhip. (Use your imagination, please). And the Holy Grail. The HOLY GRAIL, people. Luke and Obi-wan's original light sabers and small scale models of the all terrain armored transports from Star Wars. I was in Star Wars über-nerd heaven. 

And then...

The Library

@Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved

The Lucasfilm Research Library.

You know that moment in Beauty and the Beast when Belle breathlessly sees the library for the first time? Yeah, that was pretty much all of us.

A stained glass dome at the top covers the 2-story fabulousness that is this library. Seriously, it has to be one of the 7 Wonders of the Movie-making World. The centerpiece of this glorious place is the grand spiral staircase, made entirely of wood, which was constructed right there at the ranch. The library houses the entire Lucasfilm collection of books, magazines, and periodicals.  I could have easily spent days right there. 

The Magical Light

I was impressed with the beautiful natural lighting everywhere in the main house. Lots of skylights and windows welcoming nature to literally come inside.

It felt warm and a little ethereal. There was a feeling of magic almost everywhere. And yet, maybe it was just the peaceful vistas from every window.

The General Store

We wrapped up our visit with a stop at the Skywalker Ranch General Store.

As you can imagine, I came home armed with logo gear for the entire family. Because SKYWALKER RANCH, of course. 

Lake Ewok

As we finished up our tour, we stopped and looked back at the house from the aptly named Lake Ewok. This is the picture I wanted to keep in my mind of the beauty and perfection that is Skywalker Ranch. 

What a blast to get to share the adventure with all these lovely bloggers. Thanks to Disney and Touchstone Pictures I can cross another item off my Bucket List.

photo credit: SassyMamaInLA.com

The spell cast by Skywalker Ranch is indeed some Strange Magic. 

Stay tuned! I'll be writing much more about this trip next week. Strange Magic opens in theaters on Friday, January 23rd, 2015.

I'm going to Skywalker Ranch and Pixar. (Don't hate me.)

You know that thing we Cubans do on New Year's Eve?

Not just the eating of the 12 grapes and throwing the bucket of water out into the street, but the one about carrying a suitcase out into the middle of the street at midnight if you want to travel in the coming year?

If you are confused about any of these Cuban New Year's Eve Traditions, read all about them right here.

So, back to the suitcase at midnight. I was one of the many Cuban Faithful who grabbed my bag and took it out into the street as the rest of the world was hip-hollering "Happy New Year!" Because I want to travel this coming year and that's what we do and I may or may not be a little superstitious about this stuff. (Full disclosure: I did not make my way completely around the block, seeing as we live on a hill, but that's not important right now.)

Which makes my announcement today super delicious...

I received an invitation from Disney/Pixar and Touchstone Pictures to a very special event. The invitation read like this:

We are looking to invite 25 of our top Bloggers to San Francisco from Monday, January 12th – Tuesday, January 13th to screen the new Lucasfilm and Touchstone Pictures film STRANGE MAGIC (opening in theatres on 1/23) up at Skywalker Ranch (http://lucasfilm.com/skywalker-ranch-marin) where you will receive a tour of the grounds and interview Director and 7 time Academy Award® winner Gary Rydstrom!

While up at Skywalker Ranch you will also interview Elijah Kelley (“Hairspray,” “Red Tails,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”) who voices Sunny in the film!  

And finally, you will also attend a reception at Pixar for an INSIDE OUT presentation (opening in theatres on 6/19) and a screening of the short film LAVA!

My initial reaction was disbelief. So I re-checked that my name was actually on the invitation. Because SKYWALKER RANCH AND PIXAR, people! It's as if someone had peeked into my super-secret-double-probation Bucket List and created an event of Perfect Perfection for a Super Star Wars/Pixar über-nerd Devotee such as myself. 

So, (I'm trying to say this as casually as possible) next week I'll be traveling (with 24 other bloggers) to Skywalker Ranch and receiving a tour of the grounds.

I'll be interviewing Director and 7 time Academy Award® winner Gary Rydstrom. And also Elijah Kelley (the voice of Sunny). 

And watching a screening of the new Lucasfilm/Touchstone Pictures film, Strange Magic.

After which I'll be attending a reception at Pixar for an INSIDE OUT presentation (opening in theatres on 6/19) and a screening of the short film LAVA.

Which looks super promising already. Check this out.

If you want to follow my trip, follow me on Instagram (I'm Smrtqbn) or Twitter. Or follow the hashtags, #StrangeMagicEvent or #PixarInsideOut.

I promise to be appropriately insufferable as I overshare the details of this trip.

Because how am I feeling about all this?

One emotion - one word...

Also, I will never again underestimate the power of Cuban superstitions.