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Elizabeth Fais

Tag Archives: Movies

Trailer Talk: What’s in a voice?

17 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Film, Humor, Movies

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Don LaFontaine, Elizabeth Fais, Movies, Pablo Francisco, previews, trailers, voiceover

The Movie Preview Guy

Don LaFontaineDon LaFontaine has been the most recognizable voice in movie trailers for decades. His voice had a tenor and resonance that established him as a legend throughout the voiceover industry.

His passing was a huge loss, and the people who have tried to take his place don’t come close to matching his game. To hear “The Voice” tell his own story, go here: Don LaFontaine

Thank goodness for Pablo Francisco and his hilarious spot-on impersonation of LaFontaine—in his standup comedy routine.

Why don’t they hire Pablo to do the voiceovers for movie trailers. WHY?

Pablo Francisco ~ Little Tortilla Boy


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The Story Behind Mary Poppins ~ “Saving Mr. Banks”

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Disney, Disneyland, Movies, Walt Disney

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Dancing Penguins, Dick Van Dyke, Elizabeth Fais, Emma Thompson, Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Movies, P.L. Traverse, Saving Mr. Banks, Tom Hanks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney Studios, WDFM

The Trailer That Stormed the Twitterverse

Mary Poppins book coverA couple of weeks ago, news of the just-released trailer for a new movie about Walt Disney stormed the Twitterverse. That’s how I first heard about “Saving Mr. Banks”, the untold story behind Walt Disney’s acquisition of the rights for “Mary Poppins” — the much-loved children’s book by P.L. Traverse.

P.L. Traverse’s Mary Poppins books were loved by many, well before Walt Disney turned the first book in the series into a major motion picture in 1963.

But the whole world fell in love with Mary Poppins,Mary Poppins movie poster when Julie Andrews starred in the leading role opposite Dick Van Dyke. The Sherman Brothers’ musical score had everyone singing the hit songs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Spoon Full of Sugar, Step in Time, and Feed the Birds, to name a few.

Maybe it’s because so many of us grew up loving this story and its characters (even the dancing penguins!), that the trailer about the untold story behind the personalities that brought this story and film to life sparked a reaction similar “the tweet heard round the world.”

Characters Need To Be Larger Than Life

Anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on TV (or Tom Hanks as Walt Disneybecame addicted to the reruns), is familiar with Walt Disney, the man: his voice, his mannerisms, and demeanor.  So, it would be a hard-sell for any actor to fill those shoes. The same could be said for P.L. Traverse, if we were as familiar with her as we are with “Uncle Walt.”

Emma Thompson as P.L. TraverseI admit, that at first I was taken aback by Tom Hanks‘ impersonation of Walt Disney. My internal editor said things like, “Walt Disney didn’t talk like that” and “Walt Disney wasn’t that demonstrative.”

Then I took a step back and realized that P.L. Traverse probably wasn’t as pinched and twitchy as Emma Thompson‘s impersonation either. I finally realized that, much like the characters in the stories we write, the characters in movies have to be larger than life to be interesting.

Along with the characterizations of Walt Disney and P.L. Traverse … I’m sure embellishments were added and (or left out), to make the “story” screen-worthy. I’m OK with that, for the sake of an engaging (based-on a true) “story”. How about you?

A Sneak Peak at “Saving Mr. Banks”


To Learn More About the REAL Walt Disney…

If you are captivated by Walt Disney (the man) and all he accomplished, you should most definitely visit the Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) in the San Francisco Presidio. Trust me. It’s not like any museum you’ve ever been to. You will be amazed. You can find out more on my blog post about the WDFM here.


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Are You a Movie Maven?

23 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Academy Awards, Movies

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Academy Awards, Best Picture, Elizabeth Fais, Movie Maven, Movies, Oscar Winners

In Honor of the Academy Awards…

OutofAfrica

The following montage is created from the Academy Awards Best Picture Winners, starting with the first Academy Awards in 1929.

How many movie titles can you name?

Leave your Movie Maven score in the comments. The titles are listed at the end, but please, no cheating!

Academy Awards: Best Picture Oscar Winners from Nelson Carvajal on Vimeo. Music: “November” by Max Richter.



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