Meeting the Stars of EPIC: Amanda Seyfried and Colin Farrell

Epic has arrived!

After walking the Green Carpet at the NYC Premiere of Epic last weekend, we were able to meet some of the cast from the movie. In an earlier post, I met Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd.   Next, at our roundtable, we chatted with Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell and director,  Chris Wedge.

 

One of the topics we discussed was the 3D animation that was like nothing we had seen before.  The screen was so clear and the images of the forest

Director Chris Wedge explained: Well, a difference is in the technology that we use.  We’ve been working on this stuff for 25 years, and so there are physicists at Blue Sky that work on the physics of light. …..

….And a lot of it, I have to say, it comes from the art direction.  The idea for this movie, I wanted to make a very romantic fantasy film.  And so, I went back to the illustrations and paintings of NC Wyeth was the main one.  He painted one single beautiful image for Treasure Island or Robin Hood or Sea Hawk, and that incredibly nuanced textured artwork is what I wanted it to look like a storybook.

I love that Epic brings the magic of the forest to life and makes children want to go out and explore.  Does it have an environmental message?  That is debatable, but if it gets kids outside and exploring, that is an environmental message I would want to hear.

Mr. Chris Wedge:  But, the idea behind the movie was that we would go to a place that seems familiar to us, but we would see the magic inside of it.  And when I wanted always to get in touch with that from an emotional perspective, I thought about the times that I just walk into the forest, whenever I’m by myself, and just stop and listen and just feel it, because you can feel the presence of some kind of nature power going on all the time.

There’s a little movie going on with the squirrels that are chasing around and the things are growing out of trees, and it’s always happening, and you can feel the presence of that.

And, look, we’ve done a very stylized version of a magical forest here, but if it generates some more kind of respect for that in kids, if they think, wow, maybe if I walk out there, I’ll see this, because I am taking perspectives and showing you that, sometimes, it looks just like it does to us, right, you’ll see evidence that this is happening.

So, my hope was that a kid would go out and see like, wow, those birds making all that noise, that’s not just a sparrow chasing a crow away from its nest, it’s Leafman and Boggins that are fighting, that would be it for me.  There’s magic out there that we just don’t pay attention to.

I know my daughter was definitely inspired by the magic of Epic.  Her favorite character is MK.  She likes that a girl helps save the pod.  Oh, and she is hoping to see it again this weekend and bring her older sister.  It is definitely appropriate for younger kids too.

Don’t let the rain ruin your Memorial Day fun! Go see Epic and have some family fun!