Posted on

Meet the Littlest Fockers

Shari Von Holten at HaveUHeard sits down with the youngest stars of “Little Fockers”
LF_Kids.jpgAfter seeing “Little Fockers” and having quite a few laughs, I had the opportunity to meet the two youngest cast members, the Little Fockers themselves, Colin Baiocchi and Daisy Tahan.
Colin was very outgoing and a typical 7 year old boy, talking a mile a minute and very animated, while Daisy was a bit more on the reserved side and happy when she could sneak a word in when Colin wasn’t answering the bloggers questions.
Both Daisy and Colin loved working on the movie but for different reasons – Daisy enjoyed the craft services (the food), traveling and meeting new people while Colin enjoyed the stunts and special effects. Colin had a stunt double for “Little Fockers” but he did get to fly around on the harness like Superman – a young boy’s dream come true.
Both Colin and Daisy are in agreement about their favorite person on the set. It seems Teri Polo did a great job of entertaining them with her impression of Elmo and as a result, has her own personal fan club.
Below you will find part of the interview where you’ll find out what Colin and Daisy want for Christmas, their favorite holiday traditions and more!!
Question: Do you want to be an actor when you grow up? Is there anything else you want to be?
Colin Baiocchi: Yes. I still want to be this and I want to be a bunch of other things. I want to do this martial arts tae kwon do. I want to be a black belt really badly.
Daisy Tahan: I definitely still want to be an actress when I grow up. But, I want to be so many other things. I want to be an animal trainer. I want to be a chef. I want to be an artist. I want to own an animal shelter and be a teacher.
Question: What is your favorite holiday tradition? What do you like to do this time of year?
Colin Baiocchi: I really like Christmas.
Daisy Tahan: Yes. With Christmas, I usually bring my pets out under the tree and they all lie down. I have these little teeny stockings and I hang them up for them. And Santa always brings them presents under the tree and in their stockings.
Question: What’s on your Christmas list this year?
Colin Baiocchi: I really want these things called Bionicles. They’re kind of like Lego’s. I want these things, Ben 10 Lego’s. Ben 10 is this boy who has an Omnitrix and he gets transformed into 10 aliens. And they make Lego figures of him and his aliens. And I really want this guy Jetray. He can fly and breathe underwater, 10–seven times the speed of sound. There are lasers from his eyes, and lasers from his tail. And that’s why I want it.
Daisy Tahan: I want a mini Vespa.
Question: What pets do you have?
Daisy Tahan: I got a bunny at first. And then, that bunny, he found a wife and she had babies. And then, I bought one of the babies. And then, after I got that bunny, I got a hamster. And then, I got a dog, a Marcie, a Maltese-Yorkie mix.
Question: What was it like working with a lizard on set?
Colin Baiocchi: It was really fun. They had three different lizards. They had two real live lizards that both Daisy and I got to hold. And then, they had a fake lizard, Stiffy, who was stuffed up. But, sometimes when they said, “Cut,” I would wave his little hand because you can position him. It gets a little too funny if you do this.
Question: What advice would you give to other kids who might want to go into acting?
Colin Baiocchi: I would really say just don’t be shy to meet new people and always try your best.
Daisy Tahan: I would say always be nice to the people on the set and just do great.
Question: Did you guys take any acting lessons before you became actors?
Colin Baiocchi: No. I started commercials when I was two. I got a lot of commercials. But, sometimes I’ll get movies and I’ll play a younger kid since I’m so small. I got “Couples Retreat” and then I got “Little Fockers.”
Question: How have each of you found it working on the films and having to keep up with your schoolwork? Is it hard?
Daisy Tahan: No, not really, because when you leave for a film that you’re doing, usually the teachers give you the homework that you have to do that they’re going to be doing in the future while we’re away. And then, when you go back to school you’re all caught up.
Colin Baiocchi: Yes, because I was really ahead of math lessons when I was in first grade. Every time they went to math, I was just reading a book because I already did it.
Question: What kind of books do you like to read?
Colin Baiocchi: I really like to read chapter books. I really like fantasy chapter books that have a lot of funny stuff. I like Harry Potter, and I really like learning about animals. I like learning about sharks and dinosaurs. I like history.
Ms. Daisy Tahan: I like books about animals that talk usually. I don’t really have a specific book. But, I’m in the middle of “Charlotte’s Web” right now and it’s really good.
Question: What’s your least favorite thing about doing movies? Is there anything you just don’t like?
Daisy Tahan: Well, sometimes it gets frustrating to keep doing the same thing over and over.
Colin Baiocchi: Yeah.
Daisy Tahan: If it’s a scene that you’re playing with toys and it’s the first shot, you can play whatever you want. But, then when they cut and go again, you have to play the exact same thing over and over and over again.
LF_Kids2.jpg

(Hugging Barbra Streisand over and over again can’t be half bad!)


Questions: Have you had any times when people have recognized you?
Colin Baiocchi: Sometimes at school. I was walking down to parent pickup and this girl, she totally recognized me. I said, “Uh-oh.” And she wanted my picture. I’m said, “Yeesh.” I just started running. I said, “Oh, no.”
Daisy Tahan: Well, sometimes people come up and they say, “Hey, what do I know you from?” And I say, “I don’t know.” And sometimes people in the hallway at school say, “Hi, Daisy”. And I think, “I don’t really know you.” I don’t know how they really know me.
Question: What do your friends think about you guys being in the movies?
Daisy Tahan: Well, usually my friends don’t talk about it. But if I’m in the middle of shooting a movie or I just booked it or I just finished it, sometimes I feel like they’re interviewing me because they ask, “So, how do you like acting?” And I say, “It’s pretty good.” But, usually they don’t do that.
Colin Baiocchi: Everybody at my school, they basically know me. Everyone in my class knows me.
Question: So, how do you feel being in this grown-up movie that maybe your friends aren’t going to see? And I don’t know if you get to see the whole movie finished as opposed to maybe doing a movie more for kids?
Colin Baiocchi: I’m really happy that I finally got the movie done out of all that hard work. And I’m just glad it turned out great.
Daisy Tahan: Me too.
Question: What’s your favorite movie?
Colin: Definitely anything that has fighting in it.
Daisy Tahan: Anything that’s animated that has animals in it.
Colin Baiocchi: “Madagascar.”
Daisy Tahan: But, I really just like animated movies. The ones that are most recent that I loved was probably “Tangled.”
Question: How was it working with each other on the set? Do you have fun?
Colin Baiocchi: Yep.
Daisy Tahan: Yeah.
Question: What did you do to keep it fun?
Colin Baiocchi: During cuts and takes, we would play with each other.
Daisy Tahan: Yeah, we would take our toys really quickly and start playing.
Question: Was it just one cat Jinxy, or where there a couple?
Daisy Tahan: Two.
Daisy Tahan: One was named Charlie. And one was, I think, maybe actually Jinxy. I don’t know.
Colin Baiocchi: What would be really funny if Beatrice, Daisy’s hamster, went up to Jinx, both the Jinxy’s, and asked, “Can I have your autographs?” But, then there’s a note, “P.S., I’m going to eat you right now.”
Question: Do you have any movies coming up?
Colin Baiocchi: We don’t have any more, but I’m going to want to be in a spy movie.
Daisy Tahan: Oh, I’ve always wanted to be in an animated movie.
Colin Baiocchi: Because if I was in a spy movie, I would like to use a machine Nerf gun and fire a suction cup dart with a cable over a wall, climb it up, “Say hello to my little friend.”
Visit the Little Fockers website to watch previews and find out where the film is playing in your hometown.

Posted on

Blythe Danner Chats with Role Mommy

Guest contributor Shari Von Holten at HaveUHeard shares an interview with the veteran actress and star of “Little Fockers”
LF_Blythe2.jpeg
I had the opportunity to see the movie “Little Fockers” and interview some of the cast from the movie including Blythe Danner. Blythe Danner has appeared in “Meet the Parents,” “Meet the Fockers” and the third in the series “Little Fockers.” When asked how great it was working with the cast again, Blythe revealed, “It’s like coming back to a security blanket. It’s wonderful because we’ve had three now. And coming back in, you don’t have to second guess or even guess to begin with how people work because you know……….to hear that they were doing a third, I was thrilled.”
Blythe gave an inside peek at one of my favorite actors of all time, Robert DeNiro, by telling us that “Bob (Robert De Niro) is so funny. When he laughs he shakes. So, we had a lot of fun with that one. He kept laughing and having a very good time.”
Blythe spoke about her career, her daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, parenting and what it is like being a grandmother.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
Question: Is it challenging to go from sequel to sequel and have to change your character?
Blythe: We’ve had the same writers ever since the beginning and they know what we sound like. They have us in their ear and they know how to progress with our characters.
And I think it’s wonderful. It was kind of fun for me that Barbara (Streisand) brought and sowed the seed of trying to play act. You loosen up a bit, because she’s very proper.
Question: What is one of the most memorable things that you’ve done?
Blythe Danner: Oh, I love the stage. I love the things I’ve done on the stage with my daughter. We’ve done Chekhov. We were just talking a little bit ago about Chekhov. We did “The Seagull” with Chris Walken.
We used to go up to Williamstown every summer when they were growing up because it was a wonderful way to get out of Los Angeles. My husband (Bruce Paltrow) was doing a series then, “The White Shadow” and then “St. Elsewhere”, before your time.
They rerun some of them on some of the cable stations. But, I’d always loved to get back to the theater back here. I love all the classics and the films I guess like one you haven’t seen probably, “The Great Santini” with Robert Duvall. And I love the “Will and Graces,” I love the comedy. It was great fun.
Question: The grandparents in this movie are very over involved and kind of right in there. Do you struggle with that, being a grandma?
Blythe Danner: No, I think you have to really choose. You have to be careful what you say. And I do that because I want to be around as much as I can be.
So, if my opinion is offered I give it, but other than that, I don’t, because I’ve tried. I watch my daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is just such an extraordinary mother who has much more patience than I ever did.
She’s just so good with her kids. They’ll be on airplanes from London to here. They get off the plane and they always compliment her because she speaks to them, I’ve never heard her dismiss them. If one of them has a problem or somebody’s losing it she’ll go into a corner and then really talk to them there. And they’re very, very rational.
She’s been great with them. I’m so proud of her and them because I wasn’t that good. And my son’s pretty great, too. He just got married, so I’m hoping there’ll be more grandkids coming along.
We did a lot of silly stuff, my grandson actually said to me the last time, he said, “But Lalo, you’re very silly.”
Question: What do they call you?
Blythe Danner: Lalo. Apps (Apple) came up with that. She just said one day, “Who am I?” because I had all these for ideas names. I didn’t really want to be Nana or Grandma. We’d had funny nicknames in our family, and so I was dropping some of these names, and she kept going um-umm. And then, I said, “Well, who am I?” And she thought a minute and she said, “Lalo.” And she laughed and laughed and laughed. I guess she thought it was funny. About an hour later, I said, “Who am I?” She said, “Lalo.” So, that stuck.
Question: We see so many actresses today that are train wrecks. Do you attribute your parenting? Your kids are okay and they’re in the business. What did you do different?
Blythe Danner: Well, I don’t know that we did anything different. A lot of those kids started very early. We were real strict about them not starting until they were older. My son is a writer/director, but with Gwyneth who had wanted to act, people would come out and say, “Couldn’t she do this?” I would say, “Absolutely not” because I’d worked with so many children actors. So, I think lives were ruined.
These two kids (Daisy Tahan and Colon Baiocchi) are terrific and I think they’re very grounded. Little Colin is hilarious.
Blythe continued talking speaking child actors:
“I don’t like the idea of the rejection. There was one little boy that I was on something with and he was fired. And he was just devastated. I thought I wouldn’t put my kids through that. You don’t know what’s going to happen when you sign up to do something. Their egos are too fragile. And Bruce and I were very happily married and I wanted to get away from Los Angeles, because I think it is a sort of a hotbed of unreality out there. My husband was very generous in letting me come back to New York a lot. We moved back here for junior high and high school. Even though New York can be just as nutty as L.A., it’s just different.”
Blogger: It’s more real?
Blythe Danner: Yes, and my kids tutored other little kids uptown and I always thought that was really important, because I think it’s important that community service breaks the isolation of adolescence. I know there was a time when people were saying, no, no, no, they shouldn’t be made to do community service. But, now it seems as if the kids really want to.
I was just in New Orleans making a film and I did some teaching over at NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. My husband went to Tulane where we both had taught a little bit, just a class here and there, and they have 45,000 people now applying, whereas they had like 18,000 a few years ago.
Since Katrina, kids really want to do more community service. I think it’s really a good thing to do.
So, I think all of that’s important. Filling the house with music is also wonderful, whether there’s talent or not, just to have the liberation of freedom and being able to encourage them too to play, to join.
My son didn’t want to join this one choral group and I kind of insisted, and he was happy. They can get stuff out.
Question: What sort of things do you like to do with your grandkids when they visit you here in New York?
Blythe Danner: I still have pinecones and buttons from them. When they would come to visit me at the apartment, I didn’t have toys. So, I’d have a hammer and nails and stuff. They love it.
Question: The parents probably don’t let them use hammer and nails??
Blythe Danner: I’m just guiding them. I ran out of things with Apple to do one day and I had some old nails and wood and I actually was banging on them. But, a lot of imaginative play, oh, my gosh, they can go on forever with one idea just for hours and hours and hours, such as playing school or playing hide and seek and all of that stuff. I love all that. Keep them away from the video stuff as long as you can. I don’t know how you keep them away from it.
BlytheDanner_Group.jpeg
More interviews to come! For now, check out the Little Fockers You Tube channel or visit the Little Fockers website to find out where you can see the film this holiday season!

Posted on

Jessica Alba Interview “Little Fockers”

By Shari Von Holten, HaveUHeard
LF_Jessica.jpg
Not only is Jessica Alba beautiful – she is down to earth, funny and very honest.  While she was in New York promoting her latest film, Little Fockers, I had the chance to speak with Jessica and find out what it was like working with her iconic co-stars, Barbara Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo, as well as how being a mother has changed her and what her daughter, Honor, is like.
Jessica plays a gorgeous drug saleswoman in Little Fockers who likes working with Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, a little too much.  It turns out that in reality working with Ben Stiller was one of the reasons Jessica decided to take the role. When asked what made her take the role Jessica stated, “The cast is terrible. Paul Weitz, never heard of him. American Pie, About a Boy. (of course she was being sarcastic). Paul, the director, first of all, is fantastic.  And then, obviously, is there a better comedian, writer, director, actor than Ben Stiller right now? He’s amazing. I mean, just as an actor. But, he’s incredible. And so, I feel so lucky and honored to have the opportunity to even be in this group of people and these actors.  I learned a lot, and it was challenging. And I’ve never done a comedy before like this, and I’ve always wanted to. It’s kind of why I started acting is to make people laugh.”
As for being the newcomer to the cast who have already worked together on two other films, Jessica stated that “it was actually completely intimidating that I had to just pray to God I wasn’t going to get fired and have fun.”
Jessica also revealed how the roles she chooses have changed since giving birth to her daughter, Honor.  Prior to Honor, Jessica was happy to have a job and pretty much took any job she could get.  This meant she worked 12 months a year for a decade for the most part.  It was after giving birth to Honor and taking time off she realized that she had family, friends and a home.  Living in a hotel and being in her bed for only 10 days a year was no longer appealing.  Jessica stated, “At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, who cares if you have a great career or if you’ve been in this or that movie. It’s, “What experiences did you have and what relationships are important to you?” And that’s more important and what life is really about.”
Jessica wants to spend time with her daughter and if she chooses a role it has to be worth it, it has to be something that she is passionate about and not too time-consuming.  She doesn’t want to miss her saying funny things and learning how to ride a tricycle or her getting excited about a Barbie doll.
A surprising fact I learned was that Honor has never seen a Disney movie.  Jessica revealed that she doesn’t like her watching too much television and she doesn’t want her to have bad dreams. Since there is always a villain in Disney movies, Jessica would prefer that Honor watch Yo Gabba Gabba, The Backyardigans or Strawberry Shortcake. 
And that’s usually only when they are on a plane. Otherwise she would prefer that she is stimulated with other things like playing dress up and coloring.
The biggest challenge of being a mom for Jessica has been “being okay with not always having the answer and forgiving myself for not spending every second with her. Knowing that she’s going have to be sad or disappointed or angry. And even though I feel totally responsible for it, letting that go and knowing that that’s just part of being a human being.  And at the end of the day, it’ll be good for her, as long as she knows she’s loved, but all that stuff’s really hard.”
Having Honor has made Jessica feel as though she has finally come into her own. Jessica stated, “Everything just sort of made sense. And I was certainly not as hard on myself, certainly not as critical and enjoyed life a lot more and having a different perspective on life, on the business, on family, on everything was amazing.”
More great interviews to come. 
JessicaAlba_Group.jpg
Little Fockers will be in theaters on December 22, 2010.