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Exclusive: Cast and Creators talk Blue’s Big City Adventure

by Sydney Hargrove
written by Sydney Hargrove

It’s no secret that so many young adults have the warmest memories of sitting at the TV and tuning into hear all about the news of the day with Steve, Blue, Magenta, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Peper, and so many more. Since it’s premiere in 1996, Blue the puppy has been delighting audiences of all ages, and nowadays, Josh Dela Cruz has been tasked with representing the all new generation of Blue’s Clues kids. Josh and Blue are about to hit the Big Apple in Paramount+’s newest film, Blue’s Big City Adventure!

BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE follows Josh (Josh Dela Cruz), who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s (Brianna Bryan) Broadway musical, and Blue (Traci Paige Johnson) as they skidoo to New York City where they meet new friends and discover the magic of music, dance and following one’s dreams. The entire “Blue’s Clues” crew is reunited for this special movie event, with the beloved animated friends and all three hosts – Josh, Steve (Steve Burns) and Joe (Donovan Patton) – together for the first time in the Big Apple. The feature-length “Blue’s Clues & You!” film is a sing and dance-along musical spectacular for the whole family, featuring all-new songs and choreography with the show’s beloved hosts and fan-favorite animated characters. The movie also captures the heart of New York theatre by bringing in some of its brightest stars. Viewers can look forward to special star appearances by BD Wong, Ali Stroker, Taboo, Alex Winter, Phillipa Soo and Steven Pasquale. The film will be available to stream beginning on Friday, Nov. 18, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America, Australia, and rolling out later in the year in Italy, along with additional international territories in 2023.

We sat down with the incredible cast and crew of Blue’s Big City adventure! Check out the conversation below!

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EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

My Experience with German Expressionism and how it affected my filmmaking

by Richard Schertzer
written by Richard Schertzer

As a young filmmaker that just recently graduated from Howard University, has made a number of short films, interviewed celebrities like Akon and has been working in the business of multimedia for a number of différent outlets like The Daily Caller and one America News, it can be hard, exhausting and draining for me to keep track of what I want from a shot, scene, actor, or screenplay when I am developing a story.

So, how do I figure out what tickles my fancy in the film department? It’s usually something dark, ethereal and fantastical. I am the type of director that likes macabre-like films with a soft center and movies that are, likewise, visually stimulating. Basically, if Tim Burton and Robert Zemeckis had a baby, that would be me.

Anyway, I have gotten off track. When I was a kid I grew up watching a lot of horror films and dark cinema. When I went to grad school at Howard University, I began to study films that were in the era of German Expressionism. They have included F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. 

I noticed that the films had a certain unique quality about them. For starters, they make for some incredible vintage viewing and they are a great teacher for how films were made back in the day. These films dazzled and terrified me at the same time. It was like being a little kid again and watching all my favorite monster movies like I did when I was growing up. 

German Expressionism has cast such a long shadow that it seems impossible to imagine what life would be without it. I remember getting older and being more interested in gory, dark films like Sweeney Todd. I took that stylistically darker approach to filmmaking and made darker films in college and grad school and I never noticed that I was making some really haunting films. 

I definitely see myself making darker films in the future and I have always been interested and inspired by the genre and I’m always going to look back on the films of the genre and think about the magic that it captured in its prime.

 

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EntertainmentFilm

Why ‘The Phantom Menace’ deserves more love

by Richard Schertzer
written by Richard Schertzer

Back in 1999, fans were greeted with the beginning of George Lucas’ prequel series and they were heavily divided upon the results. A lot of the criticism went into the lackluster dialogue, lack of character development and mostly Jar-Jar Binks.

Of course, that didn’t stop it from grossing $1 billion at the box office. However, now that the sequels have come out and fans have something new to hate, it seems only fair to look back on the first installment of the prequels.

The series began with two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn, who land on a desert planet called Tatooine. From there, they meet a young child-slave named Anakin Skywalker and his mother Shmi. They take the child and train him to become a Jedi. Little did they know that the young boy would eventually become the tyrannical Sith lord Darth Vader.

The film is very vivid in its construction of the origins of Darth Vader and how he was as a child. The movie serves as a blueprint for how to build the foundation of an origin story.

Skywalker’s innocent and humble beginnings are detailed and they prove that the evil villain was once a young boy looking for purpose and meaning in a galaxy far, far away.

Moreover, the lightsaber battles are absolutely phenomenal with Kenobi and Jinn taking on the likes of Darth Maul. The sequence that became known as “The Duel of the Fates” has stayed rent-free in the minds of fans forever and doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. 

Also, if I may point out, having Maul kill Jinn while Obi-Wan stands helpless is one of the most powerful scenes in the Star Wars saga. It comes so sudden and the audience gasps in the waking moment that the Jedi master is stabbed to death. 

Lucas might get flack for his dialogue, but it’s obvious that he is a master at emotional weight and making the audience care about characters. It stands to reason that this film is now considered to be a classic and it isn’t hard to understand why that is. Understandably, nostalgia has smoothed things over like a butter knife but that’s not the only reason.

The film hearkens back to a time of science-fiction that only began to take wing with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and while The Phantom Menace may not be on the same level of that film, it is still an ardent and prolific replica that pays homage to sci-fi in all of its glory. 

 

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EntertainmentFilmVideo

EXCLUSIVE: Aimee Garcia and Freddie Prinze Jr talk Christmas With You

by Joe Henkel
written by Joe Henkel

Christmas With You is now streaming on Netflix.

In the tradition of heartfelt romantic comedies, Netflix brings a fresh film Christmas With You. It’s a story about a loving and risk-adverse father and a pop star who is desperate for a fresh start. When this pop star, Angelina, sees a post from a young fan, she goes to visit her school. Angelina soon discovers fresh inspiration and a chance at love.

Aimee Garcia and Freddie Prinze Jr lead in this Christmas rom-com and the Knockturnal recently interviewed these stars. Aimee and Freddie shared their experience creating this movie. Freddie explained how he approached acting in a Christmas film. The creators and film crew helped facilitate the Christmas spirit as they were filming. From the set design to building real snow, the Christmas season stayed alive. Aimee surrendered to the process of developing these creative aspects of her character. Her character Angelina dances and sings and Aimee worked hard to become this pop star. Aimee explained that it was easy to keep the Christmas joy alive while creating this movie.

If you enjoy the usual Christmas rom-coms, you’ll appreciate Aimee Garcia and Freddie Prinze Jr in this movie. The family dynamic in this movie feels grounded and real. It’s a fun movie to watch during this Christmas season.

Watch Christmas With You now on Netflix!

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EntertainmentFilm

Why 2016’s “The Jungle Book” is still the best live-action remake

by Richard Schertzer
written by Richard Schertzer

So, check this out. Six years ago, Disney had another smart idea to remake the 1967 film and the 1994 film The Jungle Book. That’s right. There have been three standalone Jungle Book films. Anyway, in 2016 Jon Favreau helmed the quasi-live-action film that followed a young man-cub named Mowgli (Neel Sethi) found by the Black Panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and raised by wolves becomes a target of the devious and arrogant tiger Shere-Khan (Idris Elba). 

The villainous tiger warns the jungle-dwellers that man is forbidden and attempts to kill the defenseless child. The man-cub is able to elude the frightening cat and comes across a friendly bear named Baloo (Bill Murray). 

The remake follows the same beats and rhythm as the 1967 version. I don’t remember much about the 1994 movie, so please don’t ask me about that. The 2016 remake adds a few details about Mowgli’s backstory and Khan’s death. However, the changes aren’t necessarily what make it great. It’s the fact that when I watched the film, it felt like I was watching a brand new film that was written and directed from scratch.

The remake never felt like a direct copy-cat of the previous films and decided to take its own creative license, while paying homage to its roots. It’s a film that is able to stand on its own two feet and do something différent with its execution. 

It has a certain uniqueness that many other remakes, even outside of Disney, don’t possess. The film is what happens when you take chances, while still shifting a few characters and doing-away with the silliness of previous Disney incarnations. 

The question comes into play for any movie released: Can this film stand the test of time? In the case of 2016’s The Jungle Book, yes it can. The visuals are as amazing as if they shot Sethi out with a bunch of animals and the story is a valiant testament to heroism, strength, friendship, and courage and that isn’t to say that the other incarnations didn’t have that, but 2016 was the year of The Jungle Book. 

 

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Film

Interview With ‘Reclaiming Turtle Island’ Director

by Britt Trachtenberg
written by Britt Trachtenberg

Director Nzinga Blake calls the process structural and story-based. Blake collaborates with Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo on the documentary “Our America: Reclaiming Turtle Island.” Other collaborators include ABC Owned Television Studios, National Geographic, and various indigenous communities. The creators magnify indigenous activists’ environmental work. On November 25, 2022, the documentary will premiere across streaming services. Check out our interview with Nzinga Blake below.

The Knockturnal: How has working with Black Eyed Peas inspired you to make creative content?

Nzinga Blake: Taboo is highly creative and passionate, so it’s easy to be inspired by his creativity.  The concept for “Our America: Reclaiming Turtle Island” was sent to him, and it was surreal to get a personal call from him expressing his interest in being part of the special. Having him as a part of this project is very special to us all.

The Knockturnal: Have you collaborated on video projects before?

Nzinga Blake: No, this is our first project where we collaborated with each other (me and Taboo), but I hope it isn’t the last. We both really enjoy working together, and with both of us being part of the Disney family, we are definitely looking at exploring other synergy opportunities.  

The Knockturnal: What challenges arose in the project’s development? How has the team overcome them?

Nzinga Blake: The music video process vs a documentary special production is very different because, with a music video, you have to conceptualize a story without using words. Yes, you have the song’s words, but the music video’s overall thematic focus must be conveyed through a visual story, which I find exciting because it’s challenging. With documentaries, there is more of a structured format that you can follow because of the interviews and interactions that are captured to help craft the overall story. Sometimes that’s not always the case, though; you can start with an initial concept, which can change while you are out on the road filming. However, with Our America: Reclaiming Turtle Island, we were able to capture everything we set out to do!

The Knockturnal: What challenges arose in the project’s development? How has the team overcome them?

Nzinga Blake: This project came together serendipitously.  It was a great example of the power of collaboration between ABC Owned Television Stations, National Geographic, and members of various Native American communities, specifically those featured in the special. The elements came together well, letting me know that we were supposed to do this work.  However, I would say that if I had a challenge, that was wanting to ensure we got it right.  We made sure to include people from the Native American community. I specifically have to thank our colleague Dawn Jackson, who is Native American and served as a consultant on the project.  This is part of our inclusive storytelling practice. We wanted to make sure we told these stories accurately, respectfully, and with authenticity, and I think we’ve done that.  

The Knockturnal: What has become your favorite part of the documentary process?

Nzinga Blake: My favorite part of this process was having the opportunity to amplify indigenous voices of the powerful individuals highlighted in this program.  So often, their authentic story doesn’t get the visibility it deserves. I loved being able to create this platform for all of the people featured in the doc to tell their stories – I just added certain creative elements to it. It’s always refreshing to be in this position because I feel like there are times when people think Black storytellers can only tell Black stories – but we are human, so we can connect with all humans and tell stories that celebrate our common humanity. 

The Knockturnal: What do you hope viewers will get from watching the documentary?

Nzinga Blake: With this film, I, along with ABC Owned Television Stations, aim to raise awareness and elevate the conversation around Native American sovereignty as we commemorate Native American Heritage Month this November. “Our America: Reclaiming Turtle Island” will also strive to inform and serve those underrepresented communities in the United States today by shining a light on voices and important work of the Indigenous activists featured in the documentary.  We hope everyone will tune in.  The documentary will be available on November 18 at ouramericaabc.com/reclaiming-turtle-island. The documentary special will debut beginning Nov. 19-20 on linear across eight ABC stations, its 24/7 streaming platforms, 32 connected TV apps across streaming platforms Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, and Roku, and available on Hulu November 25, Native American Heritage Day.

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