Iron Man 3, under the helmet

Iron Man returns to theaters on Friday in Iron Man 3! At the press junket for the movie, held in Los Angeles on April 22, the cast and crew talked about how the movie came together and the challenges of keeping a superhero's adventures fresh and exciting. You can read my report from the junket on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

After the junket, I had the opportunity to sit down with Don Cheadle. He plays Colonel James Rhodes, the man inside the suit of the Iron Patriot. Check out my interview with the all-talented actor!

Kid Reporter Damien Murphy: What sets Iron Man 3 apart from the other two movies?

Don Cheadle: It's bigger and badder. Tony gets to come to terms with who he is and his relationship with (Rhoadey) grows stronger.

Kid Reporter: How is the Iron Patriot different from the War Machine in the last movie?

Don Cheadle: It's just a paint job. Really! The President (in the movie) wanted to re-brand him and just changed the look and re-named it.

Kid Reporter: Did  you actually get to wear the Iron Patriot suit or was it just CGI?

Don Cheadle: I actually had to wear it. It wasn't very comfortable. It was really heavy, but some of it was CGI and motion captured mixed in.

Kid Reporter: What's it like to play Tony Stark's best friend?

Don Cheadle: We had fun! I think it shows in the movie because we just had a lot fun interacting on and off screen as well.

Kid Reporter: Do you have a favorite scene in the movie?

Don Cheadle: I like doing the stunt work especially in the third act. The cable stuff and running around.

Kid Reporter: Did you do your own stunts?

Don Cheadle: Yeah, I did all the physical work -- on harnesses, cables and leaping off two stories buildings...

Kid Reporter: I know you've done a bunch of different kinds of movies, mostly serious ones. What's it like to be in a bi-budget comic movie?

Don Cheadle: I've done a lot of different things, and being in this big-budget action movie is just another piece of the puzzle.

Kid Reporter: Are there other similarities between the other smaller budget movies you've made?

Don Cheadle: No, I wouldn't say that. This one is a huge undertaking. Very technical. But at the end of the day, we are just creating real moments and truthful beats.

Kid Reporter: Why do you think these movies continue to be so liked by so many?

Don Cheadle: They're just a lot of fun. They don't take themselves so seriously. They can just go into the theater and cheer and be entertained.

—Kid Reporter Damien Murphy

Photo: Iron Patriot/James Rhodey (Don Cheadle) (Photo: Film Frame © 2012 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2012 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.)

Documentary portrays “the real King”

The Martin Luther King documentary King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis presents the civil rights leader almost entirely in highly public moments, like his speeches.

But there are a few more private moments. One is an interview Dr. King gives to a few journalists crowded into a small airplane. It’s one of the more personal and intimate moments we see in the movie. But Dr. King still sounds just like the public figure we’ve all come to know.

After I attended the screening of King at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem, I wanted to learn more about Dr. King. I especially wanted to know how well the movie captures who Dr. King was.

So I contacted Professor David Garrow. Professor Garrow wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of King, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

“[Dr. King] was always very conscious of being formal, and proper, and dignified,” Professor Garrow told me. “Part of it is going all the way back to Montgomery, of being super aware that he is being seen as a prime representative of all black people.”

Today, Dr. King still inspires people – in America and around the world. Our view of Dr. King – and the civil rights movement he led – is based almost entirely on the types of words and images we see in King: A Filmed Record.

And after watching the movie, we’re left wondering what Dr. King might be discussing today had he not been assassinated in 1968.

“In the last two years of his life, King most often times is speaking in a much more challenging, critical voice about the degree of change that is needed in American society and American behavior around the world,” Garrow says. “Anyone seeing this film would be very powerfully surprised that the real Martin Luther King is not simply the ‘I have a Dream” optimism of 1963.”

“This film is the real King,” he adds.

Check out my story about the New York screening of King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

—Kid Reporter Fred Hechinger

Why do you think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is still important today? Has he inspired you? How? Let us know in the comments section below!

Photo: A still from the movie King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis (© Kino Lorber)

Kid Reporters go inside Hotel Transylvania!

Diego: On Thursday, January 10, my good friend Damien and I took a trip to Sony Pictures Animation Studios to get a behind-the-scene look at how the movie Hotel Transylvania was made. When we arrived, we were greeted by two very hospitable ladies who showed us around and walked us through the animation process. Looking around, everyone seemed so enthusiastic and exuberant as they were getting ready for their next big project and wrapping up this one.

Damien: When we walked up to the entrance we were greeted by a life-sized character cutout of Dracula from Hotel Transylvania. The lobby of the studios was filled with giant 3D poster boards of all the characters from the movie. I couldn't believe I was in the studios where so many of my favorite computer animated movies had been created!

Our tour began with a special one on one drawing lesson from Darrell Rooney, a story artist who worked on the movie. He taught us the basics of how to draw Dracula. It's really simple and composed of the three basic shapes: triangles, rectangles and circles.

Diego: Thanks to Darrell Rooney I can draw a decent portrait of Dracula! Of course, it’s nothing compared to what he has done but at least I know the basics to draw my own cartoons. “When drawing a character,” paraphrasing what Rooney said, “it is important to exaggerate, distort, or alternate certain features in order to help with theme development and characterization.” For example, did you know that the shape of Dracula’s head in Hotel Transylvania was inspired by a coffin?

Damien: Then we were off to meet the creator and director himself, Genndy Tartakovsky. He was in the voiceover room where many of the world's animation voices have been recorded. Diego and I took turns doing voice over for Mavis and Dracula by viewing clips from the movie. It was hilarious and super cool to try.

Diego: That was my favorite part of the trip. Going into the scratch room with Director Genndy Tartakovsky and recording dialogue for a scene was really fun!

Talking with Genndy was cool, too. He's an interesting man with an impressive background in the art of animation. When he was young, and he came to America from Russia, Genddy said cartoons were his escape from everyday life. And now look where he is. Cartoons and animation ARE his everyday life.

Damien: The last stop on our tour was to the other side of the studios where we met 3D Stereoscopic Supervisor Von Williams who gave us a sneak peek on the tech side of what it takes to make 3D movies.

Diego: Von Williams is possibly the best stereoscopic 3D professional in the world and he gave us an inside look at his job, too. Watching Von Williams was like observing a potter create a whole entire world from clay, only with computers.

Damien: It's amazing how just the slightest touch of a button here or a flip of a switch there can make all the difference in how a movie can pop out at you. It was fascinating to see the layers and controls that are used to make 3D animation come alive in 3D. It was a lot of fun to learn all the secrets behind the magic of the animation movie making. It really is fun!

Diego: Seeing the characters jumping out of the screen and huge, atmospheric castle chambers make many feel as if they were jumping into the screen. But to actually see the 3D process is a whole other story.

Check out our video report about our time at the Sony Animation Studio on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website! And watch a video of our voiceover work below!

—Kid Reporters Diego Magaña and Damien Murphy

Photo: Kid Reporters Diego Magana (left) and Damien Murphy take a turn behind the microphone to give voice to characters in Hotel Transylvania during their Sony Animation Studio tour in January. 

The Nominations Are In!

This morning was one of the biggest moments of the year for Hollywood. At 5:30 a.m., the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. The Academy Awards — also known as the Oscars — are the most prestigious honor handed out to movies in America.

Oscars are awarded in 24 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. These awards usually go to grown-up movies, but there's a category for movies kids have probably seen, too. This is the Best Animated Feature award. This year, the five nominees are Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph.

As it turns out, Kid Reporters have written about all five of these movies! Revisit their stories on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website, then let us know what movie you think should win the Best Animated Feature Oscar!

The Oscars will be awarded on February 24. 

Photos: (from left to right) A still from Brave (Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.); a still from The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Aardman Animations for Sony Pictures Animation); a still from ParaNorman (LAIKA, Inc.); a still from Wreck-It Ralph (Disney. All Rights Reserved.); a still from Frankenweenie (Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

—Editor Dante A. Ciampaglia 

A view inside the mind of Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro is one of the most imaginative directors working in movies today. His movies, like Hellboy and Hellboy II, are full of creative creatures and unique stories. When you watch a movie directed by del Toro, you immediately know it.

But del Toro is also a producer. He has produced numerous movies, including Megamind, Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2, as well as the soon-to-be-released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Like the movies he directs, most of del Toro’s projects are infused with his love for comic books and the comic book imagination.

His latest producing credit is Rise of the Guardians, which hits theaters on November 21. At a recent press event for the movie in New York, I had the opportunity to interview del Toro about Rise of the Guardians, making movies, and what comic books he recommends for kids like me!


Kid Reporter: What was it that interested you about Rise of the Guardians?

Guillermo del Toro: It was the fact that it was a movie that looked like an illustrated book. It was very beautiful to look at, but also that it felt like a timeless tale. It didn’t feel hip, super-modern. It felt classic, and I felt it was important to make it. When you watch the classic movies, like Pinocchio or Sleeping Beauty, you get a nostalgia for a movie that is actually earnest and romantic about what it’s doing, and this movie has that spirit.

You’ve become more involved as a producer of family films, films more aimed at children. How is working on these films different from the films you direct?

First of all, it’s a different part of my brain that works. I really like working on these films because they can tell beautiful stories in a beautiful way. Visually, Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots, [Rise of the] Guardians, Megamind – they’re very beautiful movies, but you can create crazy creatures, crazy adventures, crazy action moments. They give you a lot of freedom.

How is this movie different from the all the other animated films you have worked on?

What is similar between Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots, and this one is the three of them were not ironic, they were not post-modern. Puss in Boots really wanted to be a spaghetti western. Kung Fu Panda wanted to be a great martial arts movie. And this one wanted to be a classic tale of timeless appeal. So that is what is similar. What is very different is the visual style and the quiet moments. This movie has quiet moments that are very beautiful, like the kid talking to his stuffed rabbit, Jack emerging from the frozen waters, Jack in Antarctica. Moments that are a lot more dark, but a lot more beautiful, too.

The girl who makes Ralph wreck it

On a last-minute invite, I got to attend the wrap party celebration at the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California, for the movie Wreck-It Ralph (which opens in movie theaters today). It was there that I got to interview Stephanie Scott on her latest role in the new movie. She plays the girl playing all the video games as Ralph jumps between different game worlds. In the interview, she shares what it's like doing a voice over, her favorite character in the movie, and her favorite video games.

Check out my interview below! And read about my trip to Disney Animation Studios a few months ago for a behind-the-scenes look at Wreck-It Ralph!

—Kid Reporter Damien Murphy

Tell Us What You Think: A Wimpy Kid's Dog Days

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

If you could ask Mitt Romney one question, what would it be?

Photo: Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) charts his memorable summer in his diary. (Diyah Pera, TM and © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.)

Tell Us What You Think: Andrew Garfield Brings Spider-Man to Life

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

Do you read comics? If you do, who is your favorite superhero? If you don't, why?

Photo: Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man. (Jaimie Trueblood, 2011 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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.)