take the lead press junket

\nhey kids - here comes a long post - phew! so you may have seen some promos recently for this new movie due in theaters on april 7th called take the lead - upon first\nglance you might easily write this movie off as a piece of pop fluff - a\ncopycat of other movies - a cash in on all the recent ballroom dancing\nmadness (i.e. dancing with the stars) - but i can honestly say leave\nyour preconceived notions at the theater door!\n\n

\n\ni was able to catch an advance screening of the film last week - and to\nmy pop surprise & pleasure i totally enjoyed it! based on the true\nlife story of pierre dulaine who started an amazing program\nwithin the NYC public schools - teaching kids life lessons through the\ndiscipline and skills of ballroom dancing - starring antonio banderas as 'dulaine' -\nalfre woodard as the tough as nails with a heart of gold HS\nprincipal & rob brown (coach carter, finding forrester) and yaya dacosta (america's next top model) as the high school student leads - the movie tells a story of how the\nprogram came into existence within inner city schools - directed with exquisite energy by video\ngoddess liz friedlander - it's a total feel good and uplifting\nmovie! of course no oscars here but you don't always go to the movies\nfor oscar - sometimes you just want to escape and catch a good story and\nsurely take the lead fits that bill quite perfectly!\n\n

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\n\nalthough it does borrow elements from previous films - i think this film\ngoes above and beyond others of the same genre - first off the\nsoundtrack is killer - featuring people ranging from q-tip to lena horne\n- swizz beatz did an excellent job handling the majority of the music -\nsecond the dancing was so hot - there was not a single dance double -\nand they danced a very cool infusion of hip-hop & traditional ballroom! and thirdly the life lessons taught through dance is something that really could be used in any school - the lessons have saved countless lives & spirits by providing a creative outlet while also learning\n\n

\n\nthis weekend i was so lucky to be invited to attend the press junket for this\nfilm - and was able to listen to & ask questions of a bunch of people\ninvolved in the film - let's start with who impressed me the most -\nalfre woodard - oh my goodness - this lady was beyond fierce -\nshe talked for about 20 minutes - having only been asked two questions -\nshe talked & talked about her role as an educator in the film - she was\nso commanding - i could have listened to her for hours - and i could not\nget over how beautifully stunning she was in person - i have been a fan\nof hers for quite some time (passion fish, grand canyon) - so i was\ncompletely tickled pink to be in a small room with her - this film is SO\nlucky to have landed her grace & charm - we didn't get to chat on\ndesperate housewives but i am sure will we be seeing more of\n'betty applewhite' soon...damn she is so fucking cool - you rock on ms.\nwoodard!\n\n

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\n\nand then my beloved antonio banderas came into the room ( i did not spot wife melanie griffith - although i am so sure she must have been close by as always!) i\nwasn't sure what to expect but very quickly i realized he was one of the\nmost real & passionate humble people i have ever met - wearing a kinda\nsexy denim shirt - his hair slightly wet (which was up for a dye job - a\nbit gray overall) - he was like a giddy school child - it's so obvious\nhe is such a genuine person who truly loves what he does - when asked on\nhis career - he said he has friends who tell him to pick his movies\nbetter and to not work so much but he basically said he doesn't care about\nhis career! he compared acting to skiing - if you love to ski - you ski all the time - and he loves to\nact and wants to be act all the time...\n\n

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\n\nantonio went on about his love of theater and how much fun he had doing\nnine on broadway and may star in a a production of 'don juan\ndemarco' on broadway next year - he even purchased a house in new york\nso he could be closer to the theater - one woman asked him about one of\nmy favorite directors pedro almodovar who antonio had done a\nbunch of movies with him early on in his career (el matador, law of\ndesire) - banderas spoke with great respect about him and would love to\nwork with him again - that would be so hot! antonio also shared his own\nlove of directing and we should be seeing his second directorial effort\n(first was the ill-received crazy in alabama in '99) - i was just very\nimpressed by his whole demeanor and attitude and completely could see\nhow they picked him to play real-life figure pierre dulaine...\n\n

\n\nwhich leads me to pierre dulaine - who was there in person - his\ntrue life story rights were purchased over five years ago and now with\ntake the lead finally hitting theaters - he seemed quite proud\nand happy with the film - i could totally see why producers wanted\nBanderas to play him - they both have the same zest & energy for life\nand that clearly shined through! below is a picture of antonio with the\nreal pierre!\n\n

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\n\n\nwe were also able to talk with screenwriter dianne houston - who was\nso graceful and has been staying strong and busy in hollywood for years\n- director liz friedlander was quite proud of her first directed\nmovie after working in music videos for ages - and producers diane nabatoff\nand chris godsick were also on hand to provide some insight to the marketing of the film plus the history of bringing this story to the big screen (the rights\nwere purchased over five years ago!) - i really do think this movie will\nbe a hit and with the stars seeming to align perfectly with this\nresurgence of ballroom dancing popularity - i think the zeitgeist at the\nmoment will be able to provide a nice healthy box-office - i will\nmention the movie again when it hits theaters next week - popbytes over\n& out for now - xxoo!\n\n

\n\nPS shit how could i forget yaya dacosta and rob brown - both were very nice and friendly - rob even shook everybody's hand! yaya was all smiles and was strikingly beautiful in person - and although she didn't want to talk about 'america's next top model' - when asked about it she quickly glazed over it and moved on - she was quite the pro in handling herself in a press situation! all in all popbytes had a blast! many special thanks to nicole, stephanie, and tasha for making this happen!\n

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\nPhotos: ©2006 Kerry Hayes / New Line Productions

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