I am not sure if I was more excited or the boys were when we were invited by 20th Century Fox to attend the red carpet premier of THE BOOK OF LIFE and interview the cast and filmmakers last Sunday. We arrived at LA Live earily Sunday morning for this amazing day filled with culture, music and inspiration. First on the agenda was walking the red carpet and getting photos, we got to ham it up a bit on the carpet while the TV Stations and new outlets set up to interview the stars that would be arriving shortly after.
We watched some of the stars pull up and walk the carpet but the boys were dying to go inside the theatre and see the movie. Inside the theatre we learned about the new BooK of Life Game: Sugar Smash, which is free, fun and totally addicting to play on your phone or tablet. Scene after scene of the film I was blown away by the art direction. The colors, characters and worlds are purely magical and have this amazing hand made authentic feeling of warmth and love. The story is filled with emotion and the characters wear their hearts on their selves to challenge and fight for what they feel and believe it. This story about friendship, family and love is one that my family really enjoyed. The boys have been acting out the movie for the last few days and we have been talking about (and listening to the awesome soundtrack ) non-stop. They have asked so many interesting questions about the Day of the Dead and we are learning more and more about this day of remembrance and how as long as you remember someone they can always be with you.
After the film we enjoyed some Churios, then I headed over to the Four Season to interview the cast and filmmaker of THE BOOK OF LIFE. In the suite before the interview we played more of the Sugar Smash game, did I warn you already that it is addictive
My first round table was with the cast and included Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Ron Perlman, Kate del Castillo and Ice Cube. I could have listened to them talk for hours about how they loved making the film. Ron Perlman and Ice Cube were hilarious and had a quick one liner for almost every questions. Zoe and Kate were so passionate about the magical way the story was told, and the support that they received from Director Jorge Gutierrez. But my favorite part of this interview was when Diego Luna was talking about his character Manolo "In fact, I wish I was more Manolo. I wish I had that thing that I don't have that Jorge (The Director) does have, which is the biggest heart. It's a guy that loves with everything he's got".
Next we met with Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Director Jorge Gutierrez. My notes from this interview are filled with inspiring quotes and stories from Gutierrez - Here are my favorite
"I remember my dad sitting me down and also saying, "Jorge, what are you going to do with your life so that one day your kids talk about you? So, make sure you live a life that's worth living."
" Acknowledge where you're from, love those traditions, but those things don't define who you are. You, your choices, what you do, that's what will determine who you really are. And so, that's the message"
Everything about this movie feels like it was made with love and I hope you love it as much as we did.
The movie opens Friday Oct 17. Rated PG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBgietR6j9Y&feature=youtu.be
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