Jason Schwartzman
A couple weeks ago I blogged about upcoming movies based on books. In anticipation of the film adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox (the movie is currently out in limited release – it won’t make it to Nashville until November 25), I enjoyed watching an interview about children’s literature and childhood reading with Jason Schwartzman. In Fantastic Mr. Fox, Schwartzman voices Ash Fox, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (a new character that did not appear in the original book). The interview was hosted by Read Kiddo Read, James Patterson’s website that promotes kids’ reading.
In the interview, Schwartzman talks about his favorite books from childhood – The Phantom Tollbooth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. Although he loved to read, Schwartzman says he was a slow reader himself. “Reading is a hard thing to learn, and the only way you can get better is by reading,” he said.
Schwartzman also discusses the popularity of Roald Dahl (whom we blogged about in August). In his books, “there is an element of mystery and some darkness – but it’s real,” he said. “Kids are intrigued by adventure. With all adventure, there is an element of danger. If there was no danger, there would be no adventure, it’d just be a vacation.”
When asked about playing an animal, Schwartzman said that he did the “human side” of the character and let the animators “do the foxing.” He identified with Ash’s struggles: “feeling littler than the rest, not having many friends, getting pushed around by bullies, liking girls who don’t like him back. . . All of that is part of my experience in my own life.”
Watch the interview below the jump. And tell us: What’s your favorite Roald Dahl book? My favorite has to be Dahl’s autobiography, Boy.
Part 1:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWiUqMBcBxU]
Part 2:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuhqvwoGnq0]
This is a great read. It really got me thinking, thanks.
Zune and iPod: Most individuals compare the Zune to the Contact, but following viewing how slim and astonishingly modest and light it is, I consider it to be a fairly distinctive hybrid that combines qualities of both the Contact and the Nano. It’s extremely colorful and lovely OLED display screen is somewhat smaller than the contact display screen, but the player itself feels really a bit smaller sized and lighter. It weighs about two/three as considerably, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, although currently being just a hair thicker.