Tell Us What You Think: Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Reform

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

Do you support the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Health Care Act? Why or why not? How important is health care reform to the country?

Photo: Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care legislation celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Health Care Act, June 28, 2012. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Tell Us What You Think: Republican Primary Officially Ends

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

Would you want to be the President of the United States? Why or why not?

Photo: Mitt Romney shakes hands with people during a campaign event in front of the Bavarian Inn Lodge on June 19, 2012, in Frankenmuth, Michigan. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Tell Us What You Think: Candidates Turn Attention to Immigration

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

Immigration is one of the big issues in the 2012 presidential election. What do you think is the most important issue in the 2012 presidential election? Why?

Photos: (left) Mitt Romney speaks at the NALEO conference in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, June 21. (Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak); (right) President Barack Obama speaks a the NALEO conference on Friday, June 22. (Photo: AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tell Us What You Think: Romney campaigns in Michigan

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

What do you think is the most important issue in the 2012 presidential election? Why?

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addresses a crowd at a campaign rally in Frankenmuth, Michigan, on Tuesday, June 19. (Photo courtesy Charlie Kadado)

 

Braving my first press junket

After seeing the movie Brave last weekend, I went to a press conference in Hollywood on Monday afternoon to interview some people who had a role in making the movie. I checked in with the Disney publicity team, then went to the room where the interviews were going to take place.

At exactly 1 p.m., the publicist started announcing the actors and actress, Craig Ferguson, who played Lord Macintosh, Kevin McKidd, who played Lord MacGuffin, and Kelly MacDonald, playing the voice of Merida. The stars sat on a stage in front of the audience.

The questions then began. Reporters would raise their hands, and the publicist would signal for his two assistants to give the microphone to whoever he chooses. I raised my hands many times, hoping that I would be chosen to ask a question. However, when the publicist announced that the last question would go to another reporter, all my hopes vanished. I was a little discouraged since I wasn’t able to ask any questions. The 30-minute period with the stars was not enough for all questions to get answered.

The director and producer of Brave, Mark Andrews and Katherine Sarafia, were the next people introduced. Once again, I eagerly raised my hand. This time, the publicist signaled for his assistant to hand me the microphone. I waited for my turn to ask a question, and when I did I felt proud to talk in the microphone.

“How was directing or producing Brave different from the other Pixar works that you have done?” I asked.

Mark Andrews answered, “Each film has its own challenges. I was the head of the story of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, and those were very different in aspects of their story. I think that’s one thing for me as a storyteller that gets me is that I’m going to encounter something I haven’t encountered before with whatever story I’m going to be working on. Brave was chock-full of story challenges.”

Katherine Sarafian added: “Definitely one difference was that we were going into an ancient time period. Pixar has never done that before, we never went way back in time, and stuff looked different then: teeth were crooked in this region, something growing on every thing, the castles are worn and run down.”

I was very happy that the filmmakers answered my question, even though I didn’t have the opportunity to ask any of the stars a question. Maybe the next press conference will be different.

—Kid Reporter Aminah Tamimi

Photo: Director Mark Andrews talks to reporters at the press junket for Brave. (Photo courtesy Aminah Tamimi) 

Tell Us What You Think: A Brave New Disney Princess

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

Do you like to go to the movies in the summer? If so, what movies are you most looking forward to? If not, what other activities do you like to do over the summer?

(left to right) Lord Macintosh and his son, Young Macintosh; Merida; Wee Dingwall and his father, Lord Dingwall; Lord MacGuffin and his son, Young MacGuffin; Queen Elinor and King Fergus in the movie Brave. (Photo: ©2011 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.)

My experience at Pixar Animation Studios

As soon as we entered Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, I could not contain myself. I jumped in delight at a ginormous Luxo ball along with the famous lamp, Luxo Jr. The woman at the front desk gave us name tags with the Toy Story aliens saying, "OOO. A stranger, from the outside!" The lobby of the main building was decorated with all sorts of Pixar things. Tia Kratter, the shading art director of the new Pixar movie Brave, told me that when tours are held, the kids are given a scavenger hunt to find Pixar characters throughout the building. These characters are scattered everywhere! For example, there was a small Remy from Ratatouille painted at the bottom of the staircase. Even the bathroom sign for men was a Woody silhouette, while the sign for women was Bo Peep.

The halls each had a different theme. One hall was decorated with nature pictures by one of the staff. Another was dedicated to the process of filmmaking. Each office also had its own decoration. There would be figurines and paintings in one office, while the one next to it could have plushies and paperwork.

Once we got to the theater to watch a 30-minute screening of Brave and the Pixar animated short La Luna, everything was pitch black. Then, there were "stars" that lighted up the ceiling. Every few seconds, a shooting star would pass by. The "stars" faded away, and then began La Luna. La Luna is directed by Enrico Casarosa, and is a coming-of-age tale of a boy, his father, and his grandfather. I've got to say that that was the best short I have ever seen. It was accompanied by dreamy music by Michael Giacchino, (he also composed the music for Up and Ratatouille) and glossy animation.

Before the footage from Brave began, Mark Andrews, the director, and Katherine Sarafian, the producer, came on stage to talk a bit about what we were about to see. They explained that this wasn't the final cut, and some of the animation may be lacking some shading and color. Nevertheless, I didn't even notice the unfinished parts! Then, when Brave started playing, a warm feeling in my heart started to spread all throughout my body. I felt like I was 8 years old again! For the 30 minutes, I was intrigued, and when it ended I yearned for more. Afterwards, all the journalists had an Italian-themed dinner under the night sky in one of Pixar's buildings with an outdoor patio.

The next day, the Pixar grounds had transformed into the Scotland Highlands. One could practice archery, watch a bagpiper demonstration (I even got to play one!), and watch a few Scottish people explain the history behind kilts.

After all the fun and games, we had lunch and interviews. Being a hardcore Disney and Pixar fan, I was in heaven. I got to learn about certain Easter eggs, little cameo appearances the staff puts into each movie, and the filmmaking process. Did you know that Merida, the heroine of Brave, has a total of 111,700 computer-generated hairs? And that the Pizza Planet truck, which has been in every Pixar movie except for The Incredibles, is also in Brave?

It was certainly one of the highlights of my reporting career.

Check out my story on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website for more from my visit to PIXAR! 

—Kid Reporter Veronica Louise Mendoza

Photo: Kid Reporter Veronica Louise Mendoza with Mark Andrews, the director of Brave, at PIXAR Studios. (Photo courtesy Veronica Louise Mendoza)

Tell Us What You Think: MyPlate Turns One

Read today's top story and answer the following question in the comments section below:

What do you do to make sure you eat healthy and stay fit during the summer?

Photo: Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen along with Bobby Sena celebrate the first anniversary of the Myplate food icon and highlight MiPlato at the Caribbean Supercenter, in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, June 15, 2012. (USDA photo by Debbie Hendricks) 

The fantastic Ms. Streep

Recognizing a movie star on the street — or any place other than onscreen — can be a thrill. But being recognized by a movie star — when you're just a regular kid — is a different story.

I went to Carnegie Hall on June 1 to cover the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and interview some of the winners.  I also had the opportunity to interview three-time Academy Award winning actor Meryl Streep, who was the special guest speaker. I was so excited!

Ms. Streep had been my first interview ever three years ago as a new Scholastic News Kid Reporter, covering the red carpet premiere of the film Fantastic Mr. Fox in New York City. I was 9 years old at the time and had no idea that a red carpet assignment is pretty much the opposite of glamorous.  You're assigned to stand for hours in a space the size of a Kleenex — usually on a busy sidewalk in the snow or 100-degree summer heat — while an army of adult reporters and camera crews keep shoving you just so they can get a better shot or shout "Who are you wearing?!" to every star who walks past. As a kid reporter, you're always the smallest person in the press line — easily trampled and frequently ignored.

But at the Fantastic Mr. Fox red carpet, Ms. Streep walked right over to me, shook my hand, gave me great quotes, complemented me on my interview questions, and then rushed off to get inside the theater for the premiere of her movie. She only spoke to a few reporters, and I was the last of them, so all the adults in the press line who had been shoving me minutes earlier were suddenly super friendly, asking to "borrow" my quotes and urging me to take their business cards.

I owed that first journalistic success to the graciousness of Meryl Streep, but I didn't expect her to remember me now, three years later, backstage at Carnegie Hall.

But once again, I was pleasantly surprised — shocked, really — by Meryl Streep. Waiting outside her dressing room, I saw her step out of the elevator, surrounded by helpers and publicists telling her who I was and what I was there for. She swept them aside and came straight toward me.

"It's nice to see you again," she said warmly, smiling at me. She remembers me? I thought. Suddenly, my excitement turned to nervousness. Seeming to read my mind, Ms. Streep put her arm around me just like a mom, calmed my nerves, and steered me toward the dressing room where our interview would take place.

She pulled out two chairs for us, but before I could sit down, she said, "Hang on a moment. You've grown."

"I'm wearing heels," I replied, blushing.

"You've still grown," she insisted. She was right — I'm about four inches taller now than when we first met.

I had been told beforehand that I would only have five minutes with Ms. Streep. I got nervous again. What if I said the wrong thing? What if I took up too much of her time? What-ifs whirled around in my head. Calm down, I told myself sternly. You'll only make her uncomfortable if you keep stalling.

I asked my first question. Somehow, the words came out in the right order and sounded fine. She answered thoughtfully. I surprised myself by forgetting my nervousness, becoming absorbed in the interview, and asking follow-up questions with ease. It all ran smoothly. At the end of the interview, I asked her to describe in one word how she felt to be there that night.

"Nervous," she said. What? I thought. Meryl Streep, world-renown, award-winning, famous actor is actually nervous?

"Why?" I asked her.

"I'm going on stage at Carnegie Hall!" she exclaimed, referring to the speech she was about to make. "It's nerve-wracking!"

I was surprised. "But you've been in so many films with so many stars," I said.

"I know! You'd think it'd go away!" she exclaimed, smiling.

After the formal interview was over, Ms. Streep talked with me for a few more minutes, about my reporting and her movies. I realized I had been there for much longer than five minutes. Yikes! I stood up to leave and Ms. Streep said the nicest thing a Kid Reporter can ever hope to hear: "It was great seeing you again. I'm sure I'll be seeing you forever and ever."

I smiled, thanked her again, and hoped she was right.

—Kid Reporter Grace McManus

Photo: Meryl Streep laughs during her interview with Kid Reporter Grace McManus before the 2012 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards celebration at Carnegie Hall. (Photo: Dante A. Ciampaglia) 

Untamed Americas is wild and inspiring

I found many reasons to watch the new National Geographic miniseries Untamed Americas. Since I was asked to cover the premiere of the documentary, National Geographic sent me two DVDs with the 4 episodes that will air on June 10 and 11 on Nat Geo Channels, so I watched the whole show beforehand.

The film features some never-before-seen footage of spectacular wild life along the North and South American continents. The documentary captivates viewers with vivid scenes of life and death.

Some of the highlights: a group of seven grizzly bears feasting on a beached whale, a flock of gloriously pink flamingoes engaged in an elaborate group-mating dance, two puma cubs hunting solo for the first time, and a tiny Ecuadorian bat with a tongue one-and-a-half-time the size of its body pollinating a rare flower.

Miniseries executive producer Karen Bass told me at the premiere that this bat was one of her favorites because “it’s got the water cooler factor: it was only discovered in 2005, and that tongue would be nine feet long if it were on a human!”

The mixture of music, sound effects, and natural animal noises capture and add to the intensity of some of the greatest wildlife spectacles. The effect is powerful, endearing, and emotional.

One example is the scene where male bighorn sheep in the Rockies fight it out for hours to settle on the winner of mating rights. The echoes and reverberations bring out the dramatic 22-mile-per-hour head-on clash, which would kill a human instantly.

Majestic scenes like spinner dolphins leaping in the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park in Brazil, bright green parakeets flying over volcanoes in Central America, Mobula Rays flapping gracefully off the coast of Baja, Mexico, and jellyfish undulating off the coast of Monterey Bay in California are given an even greater impact with the music.

The show will have you at the edge of your seats cheering for your heroes and booing at the villains. But the rule of the wild is “eat or be eaten,” “kill or get killed.” I completely agreed with the comment Casey Anderson, host of America the Wild on Nat Geo WILD, made after the premiere: “At the beginning you’re rooting for the caribou and by end you’re rooting for the wolf.”

Surprises linger in every episode, like the face-off between a little grasshopper mouse and a giant venomous centipede, more deadly than a scorpion. The winner of this uneven fight will astonish you! Keep watching to find out who will be the snack at the end of a valiant battle between a speedy roadrunner and a rattlesnake whose venom can kill a man.

Check out my story about the premiere of Untamed Americas on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

—Kid Reporter Hannah Prensky

Photo: At a remote, inhospitable, salt-filled lake in South America, a flock of rare Andean flamingos engage in an elaborate dance. (Courtesy National Geographic Channels)