Gnomeo and Juliet Interviews: Director and Stars

Gnomeo and Juliet comes out later this week on February 11th, so I wanted to give you the inside scoop of my trip to Hollywood and a look behind the round-faced gnomes you’ll see in the movie.

On Saturday afternoon, while out in Hollywood, all of us bloggers went to the Four Seasons Hotel for much-anticipated interviews. Kelly Asbury, the director of the movie came in first. I always enjoy interviewing directors of films because they have such passion about the movie and the story behind it all. Kelly was no different and was very engaged in our interview. When asked if he’d like to make more “gnome” movies, he told us that he would enjoy doing more Shakespeare movies like the “Married Gnomes of Windsor.” Not quite as familiar a story as Romeo and Juliet, but I’m sure he’ll find a way to make this story come alive to kids of all ages.

A few minutes after Kelly left, in walked Emily Blunt (Juliet) and James McAvoy (Gnomeo). Their British accents that were heard throughout the movie made me want to listen to them talk all day. I was very impressed that Emily could wear a ponytail, light makeup, and simple earrings and look so classy and chic.

James and Emily had a playful banter going on between themselves, and all of us in the room enjoyed their interaction. Some of my favorite quotes from these two:

“We were both having to play our most romantic scenes with our director Kelly Asbury, which James really enjoyed.” – Emily

On being asked how she gets pumped for a scene:

“I jumped around a lot. I felt like I was quite physical in there.” – Emily

On being aked if Gnomeo looked like him:  “He’s quite streaked, he’s quite tough.” – James

On his favorite scene: “Yeah, the whole Ninja sequence is my favorite, you were Crouching Tiger, Touching Gnome.  And I really, really like that. It’s always been my fantasy to be a gnome Ninja.  Not joking though, I do like that scene.” – James

Disclosure: Thanks to Disney for the invite to this movie premiere and for covering our travel expenses. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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