Hey All!
I recently had the amazing opportunity to attend the media day and press conference for the all-new visually stunning live-action epic adventure that is Disney’s The Jungle Book. In attendance were Jon Favreau (Director), Neel Sethi (“Mowgli”), Sir Ben Kingsley (voice of “Bagheera”), Lupita Nyong’o (voice of “Raksha”), Giancarlo Esposito (voice of “Akela”), and Brigham Taylor (Producer). The event was run like a Q&A with a moderator and then was opened up to the press to ask questions. It was pretty amazing to be in the same room with so many ridiculously talented individuals who I have loved for some time. I can not tell you how long I have loved Sir Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito, and lets not forget how fabulous Lupita Nyong’o is in anything she does. I wanted to this opportunity to share with you a few things that learned about the film during the media event and just a few things that I could definitely relate to that were shared.
Jon Favreau looked simply gleeful at the event. I’ve never seen him honestly more childlike and excited for a film he’s worked on before. I’ve been in press conferences and events many times with him in the past. This film was literally a labor of love and a passion project for him. He shared how hard it was to step back from and stop shooting as they had all become a family on the set.
He also shared that he didn’t think it was possible to make this film how he wanted to make it until he saw films like Avatar, Life of Pi, and Planet of The Apes. He was so impressed with the technological advances in the special effects in particular to how they were handling gravity and focusing on realism. He knew he would be able to get his vision on film.
Lupita shared a sweet tidbit about how she drew inspiration from her own mother for her character, as Lupita is not a mother yet. You could tell how she looked affectionately at Neel Sethi (“Mowgli”) when he spoke that she definitely has some amazing maternal instincts.
She also shared how she loved children and as a child would rather stay home and babysit than go out and play because she loved kids so much! I thought that was such a sweet and personal story to share with the world. I think she will definitely make a great mom one day.
Little Neel Sethi shared he actually couldn’t climb before this film since he’s a city boy. Jon Favreau joked about how he directed him more like a coach would to one of his players since he knew how active in sports Neel was. He said this worked so much better than giving him traditional direction since this was Neel’s first film. With the performance Neel gives in the film, it obviously worked and Jon is a genius, because you’d never know this was Neel’s first film after you see it. He’s fantastic in it!
I loved loved loved that Giancarlo Esposito (voice of “Akela”) shared his thoughts on being a parent and how it related to his character. He shared that he’s loved the book since he was a child and that when he had his own kids he had to learn early on that all his children were individuals. They all had different personalities and were their own persons.
Letting your children be who they are and finding there own way in life is a big message of the film that he related to. I thought this was spot on and could definitely relate to.
Sir Ben Kingsley shared that he was delighted to join the project because he knew Jon from working on Iron-Man. He knew Jon’s thoughts on humanity and how to tell it through film completely matched his own. I thought that was really interesting for him to say that he thinks about mainly how someone will show the humanity in a character first and foremost, when he’s in talks for a role. I think that’s an absolute brilliant way to approach the projects you do. That’s was makes him the legendary SIR Ben Kingsley!
I had no idea this was Brigham Taylor (Producer) first time producing a film. He did a fantastic job and it showed how thrilled he was for this opportunity to work with Jon on such a creative retelling of this classic tale.
Those are just some of my favorite tidbits from this amazing event. You can see the entire Q&A below!
Stay tuned for my thoughts on this incredible film on Friday. It seriously needs to win every academy award next year.
For more info visit the official THE JUNGLE BOOK website here: http://movies.disney.com/the-jungle-book-2016
THE JUNGLE BOOK opens in theatres everywhere in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on April 15th!
If you’re in the Los Angeles Area, I highly recommend you see it at the El Capitan in Hollywood so you can see it in Dolby Extended Dynamic Range Laser Projection as that is truly the best way to see this incredible film!
Welcome!
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