On the red carpet with the stars of 'Missing Link'

We went to a movie premiere! We saw “Missing Link” and we also were able to stand on the red carpet and not only meet, but ask questions of many of the stars of the film.

The red carpet experience is loud, with lots of bright lights and media. We were all a little scared but also so excited.  We met a lot of the stars from the film, from Carter Burwell, who composed the musical score, to the producers and then many of the stars including Hugh Jackman who voiced Sir Lionel Frost and Zoe Saldana (Adelina Fortnight), Timothy Olyphant (Willard Stenk), Amrita Acharia (Ama Lhamu),  and Zach Galifianakis who stars as Mr. Link.

One by one, they came over and talked to us about their role in the film and other things. The first person we met was the composer Carter Burwell. Carter liked meeting us and told us that he is from Long Island, too. He lives in Amagansett. We asked Carter about his favorite things to compose and how difficult they were.  He told us the most difficult thing to compose in this film was the suspenseful music leading to the climax and his most favorite was the mood music. We loved the music in this movie and how it helped bring the story to life. We also spoke to Carter again  after the movie and have to say we are proud he is from New York.

The next person we met was Amrita Acharia who plays the queen of the Yetis. We loved her pink suit. We asked her about how an animated film is different from live action. She told us that animation is in a way much easier than live action because you stand in front of the microphone and say your lines but in some ways it’s harder because you have to use only your voice (as opposed to body language and other on-screen techniques) to get your message across. Next, we got to speak to the writer and director Chris Butler. We asked him if it was harder to write or direct. He told us that directing is ultimately harder, but they are very different so hard to compare. We also asked him if he could re-create any movie in his own style which would it be- he told us it would be “Star Wars.”

When we met Timothy Olyphant, we talked to him about the most frustrating scene he ever had to shoot. He told us in this movie nothing was frustrating and that it was all very easy. We also asked him about the difference shooting animation as opposed to an action movie. He said it was easier to do animated movies because being in front of a microphone you don’t have to worry about positioning, facial expressions and things like that.

Zach Galifianakis was warm and welcoming.  Even though he is a comedian, he was very honest and kind with us.  He not only answered our questions, he gave us advice.  We asked him if it was ever hard to make fun of himself. He said no and that he would advise making fun of yourself because if you make fun of yourself then other people can’t affect you as much.

Zoe Saldana wore a beautiful black dress and looked amazing. We asked her what her favorite part was about playing Adelina Fortnight. She answered that she loved that Adelina was a strong woman. We also asked her if she could be anything else in the movie industry, what would it be?  Her reply was that she had already founded a movie production company with her sisters, Cinestar.  She also would like to be a costume designer and had grown up around many seamstresses. 

The last star to walk down the red carpet was Hugh Jackman. By the time he arrived, people wearing costumes of the animated lead characters, Mr. Link, Sir Lionel Frost and Adelina Fortnight, were there too and he posed for pictures with them and was very friendly and fun took time with everyone.  We asked him if he dreamed would come this far.  He did not.  We asked him what he wanted to become in sixth grade.  He wanted to be a cricket player in Australia. When asked what he would say to his competitors if he won an Oscar for best actor, he said that he would congratulate them, shake their hand and be considerate.  We found him warm, charming, tall and handsome.

The movie itself is about a bigfoot called Mr. Link (who later names himself Susan). The Missing Link is the last of his kind and lonely. He believes he has cousins (Yeti) in the Himalayan mountains and asks his discoverer, Sir Lionel Frost, and friend, Adelina Fortnight, to take him to meet them. Of course, the journey is filled with misadventure.  We don’t want to give it away, but this trip is action-packed and funny! Once he reaches his destination Mr. Link realizes that the Yeti are not his family and he is not welcomed by them. But he realizes he already is part of a family with Adelina and Sir Lionel.

Overall, we felt this movie was suitable for ages 7 and up but may be scary for little kids! This movie may be too action packed and hard to follow for some younger kids. Older kids will love to watch this, and it will keep them on the edge of (or falling out of!) their seat — it’s that good.

This was a very fun and memorable experience and we are very blessed to have had this opportunity.

Rating: 4 smiles (out of five). "Missing Link" opens Friday.