On Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, Warner Home Video staged their own Flash Mob, as 70 couples in period costumes celebrated the film’s anniversary by dancing “The World’s Largest Virginia Reel” in the historic Marietta Georgia Town Square.

And get this. Four original cast members were there: Ann Rutherford (”Carreen O’Hara”), Mickey Kuhn (”Beau Wilkes” at age 7), Patrick Curtis (”Baby Beau Wilkes”) and Greg Geise (infant “Bonnie Blue Butler” & infant “Beau Wilkes”), along with Gina Miller who was an extra.

Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies’ primetime host, was also present. “Gone With the Wind” will air on TCM on Dec. 15, the actual anniversary of the film’s original premiere in Atlanta. Check out this cake – it’s Tara!

Images: Warner Home Video

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But, of course, it’s included in the special features on the DVD and Blu-ray, hitting shelves Nov. 17, 2009 from Universal Home Entertainment.

The movie stars Sacha Baron Cohen as an Austrian TV host searching for fame and fortune in America. During the process, he pranks any and everyone who crosses his path.

Really, though, you’ve gotta believe that celebrities can see him coming a mile away. It’s not like Cohen hasn’t been on TV and in movies for years, especially after the release of “Borat.”

Anyway, here’s the clip of LaToya Jackson. I’ll put it after the jump, because,well … you’ll see why. Shield your kids’ eyes. That’s all I’m sayin’…

And check out the bonus clip of Pete Rose on “Bruno.”

More after the jump…

Image: © Universal Studios Home Entertainment

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I caught up with Jordan Nagai, who voices the part of Russell the Wilderness Explorer in the film. He’s enthusiastic and energetic – not unlike his on-screen counterpart – and they even look alike, don’t they?

Read on for Jordan’s thoughts on making “Up” and running an obstacle course before his recording sessions.

Tell us about your new movie, “Up.”

“Up” is about a young wilderness explorer called Russell. Russell needs his last wilderness explorer badge – the Assisting The Elderly Badge – so he goes to his elderly neighbor, Mr. Fredricksen, to see if he can get it.

What happens when Russell meets Mr. Fredricksen?

Mr. Fredricksen has just lost his wife and he is about to lose his house, so he decides to go on an adventure by attaching balloons to his home. He sails into the sky, but Russell accidentally goes along for the ride.

More after the jump…

Tell us a little about Russell?

Russell is an active, enthusiastic and determined 8-year-old boy. He loves animals and he loves the wilderness, so he has a great time exploring when they land near Paradise Falls. Russell is a funny, helpful and smart boy — and he wants to get this last badge to please his father.

What is Mr. Fredricksen like?

Mr. Fredricksen is grumpy and he doesn’t like going outside. Russell loves being outside and he loves running around, so they’re opposites. Russell has only been to museums. He’s never experienced the forest for real, so this is his first trip into a wilderness.

What are your favorite things about Russell?

I like the way that he’s funny. He makes a lot of jokes, and he sometimes shows off what he knows from his wilderness explorer camp. He shows Carl – Mr. Fredricksen – different knots and the different calls of animals.

Are you anything like Russell? 

We both love animals and I’m pretty determined at getting things that I really want. I’d love to explore the wilderness too!

How did you get the part of Russell?

The principal at my school sent out an email to all students saying there was an audition for 9 and 10 year old boys. My brother was 9 years old at the time and he went to the audition, so I went along with him. Even though I was only 7 years old, I was allowed to do the audition, too. I did several auditions after that, and finally, I got the part!

Was it hard recording your voice in the sound booth?

It wasn’t very difficult, but I had to repeat the same lines over and over again. I also had to stand for a long time, so it was a little tiring. The director – Pete Docter (read my Q&A here) – tried to make it easier for me, so I took a lot of breaks. I had a lot of fun recording the voice!

Did you do anything special to prepare for the recording sessions?

Before some recordings, I’d do jumping jacks or I’d run around the studio to pump up my energy. When I needed to be excited, Pete would make obstacle courses for me to run around, too!

What was your funniest moment from the recording sessions?

There was one time when I needed to laugh, so Pete held me upside down and tickled me. That was really funny.

Is it weird to hear your voice coming out of a cartoon character?

It’s pretty weird, but it’s cool too.

What do your friends think of your new fame?

They are all very excited for me. We went to see the movie together on opening day. They like the movie a lot, and they think that I’m very lucky.

Have you always wanted to be an actor?

It wasn’t my plan, but I really enjoyed working on “Up.” 

What other films would you like to star in?

“Toy Story” would be a great movie to work on. My brother and I have always liked “Toy Story.” I think it’s really cool when the toys come alive and have their own adventure.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to swim and play basketball. I also love judo. I like the drum and the guitar!

Russell heads off to South America in the movie … Is there any place you’d like to visit?

I would like to go to Africa. I want to go on safari and see the wild animals, like the cheetah. That would be very cool!

Images: ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved; INF

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Until then, here’s a clip from the bonus material, a never-before-seen interview where baseball legend Pete Rose sits with Austrian TV host Bruno, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. It’s an alternate scene not included in the film.

Whether you like Cohen’s characters or not, it always floors me how deeply embedded he is in them. Really, it’s hard to believe he’s anything other than the character you’re seeing on screen.

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The film starred John Cusack as mediocre student Lloyd Dobler, attempting to capture the heart of a beautiful valedictorian. Even if you’ve never seen the movie (you need to fix that right now), you’ve likely seen the picture of Cusack holding that iconic boom box over his head.

Buy the 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray and DVD of “Say Anything.” In the meantime, here’s a pic from today’s event, which also featured the band named “Lloyd Dobler Effect.”

Image: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

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Q: “Up” became the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival. Do you believe animated features are becoming accepted as a more serious artistic platform?

Pete Docter: We were very honored to be the first animated film to open the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Walking around there, I kept picturing Hitchcock, Coppola, Truffaut; these big time directors … and US?!?! It seemed like some sort of mistake! But we do look at our work as filmmaking, just like any other film. And it’s nice to see the world looking at it that way as well.

Q: How did Michael Giacchino (composer) come to the project? How was working with him?

Pete Docter: Michael had worked with Brad on "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille" and of course did a great job on those. He’s a true collaborator. We started out talking through the film conceptually, discussing the things we were looking for — like paying homage to the films of the 40’s and 50’s, the Disney films and Frank Capra and films like that. We wanted to evoke that kind of a feel.  And then we went through sequences shot by shot sometimes and talked about the construction of the scenes and what I was hoping to achieve musically. Not necessarily like arrangements or anything like that, but more like, "Okay, it should start really low here, sneak in, and then build to this point … and then jump out at us!"  We’d talk more emotionally like that and then I’d leave it to Michael to write the music. He would play us these demos and we’d listen via teleconference, and anytime we’d have thoughts or suggestions, he would do changes, sometimes right on the spot. He was very open to whatever the film needed. He’s a filmmaker. Really thinks about the storytelling and how music communicates to people. He’s got range that a lot of film composers either don’t have or don’t utilize.  His "Ratatouille" score doesn’t sound like the "Up" score, which doesn’t sound like "The Incredibles" or "Star Trek." Amazing.

More after the jump…

Q: Can you explain the process of how Carl’s montage at the beginning evolved?

Pete Docter: That was probably the scene I’m most proud of in the film. It came into play early as we developed the story of this guy floating away in his house, and we asked ourselves, "Why is he doing that?" We figured there was some sort of loss or unfulfilled dream that he was trying to make right, and so we came up with the back-story of Carl and his wife.  We initially constructed it as a compressed series of small short scenes, with dialogue and sound effects. Little snippets of life.  Bob [Peterson] wrote it. When Ronnie del Carmen started to storyboard it, we felt like it would be nice to reduce it, simplify it, and take the dialogue out. My parents shot a lot of Super 8 movies of our family growing up. Watching them now, there’s something really emotional about not having any sound. That allows, I think, the audience to participate more actively and kind of imagine, "What are they talking about there?"  Or "what happened right before this moment? " And that feeling was all part of what went into that scene… these really little beautiful real-life moments showing the highs and lows of life. Carl’s true adventure — their relationship together.

Q: There must have been a ton of research that went into the look of the mountain tops; were any similar tests conducted into using helium balloons to lift an entire house?

Pete Docter: The first thing our technical team did when they started working on the balloons was to figure out how many balloons it would take to lift a house in real life. Here’s his math: * Carl’s house is 1600 sq ft * Somewhere I found some figures saying that the average 1600sqft house weights about 345,000 lbs, of which 160,000lbs is from the foundation, and about 30,000lbs is from the garage. * Since Carl lifts off and leaves the foundation behind, that leaves about 155,000lbs ( == 77.5 US tons == 70,306 kg) that the Canopy needs to lift. Accelerating toward the ground at 9.8 m/s^2, that’s 688,998 N of force from gravity that the Canopy has to overcome. * With the density of Helium at .1786 kg/m^3 and representing a balloon as a sphere with a radius of 2.78ft (85 cm, ~5.56 ft diameter — we’re talking weather balloons here…) — each balloon can generate 4.5N of buoyant force… * So to generate at least 688,998N of force to overcome gravity, you’d need: 153,053 helium-filled, 5.56ft diameter balloons. * If you’re trying this with big party balloons, say 1 ft diameter, then you’d need a whole lot more: 26,550,146….26.5 million balloons. * None of this takes into account the weight of the balloons themselves or the strings to tie them to the house.

Q: You’ve said in the past that you identify strongly with Buzz Lightyear, are there any other characters you identify with?

Pete Docter: Well, I Identify strongly with Carl. I often grouse about how things are changing, and "why did they take that item off the menu?!?" I’m going to make a good old man. Weirdly, Kevin the bird is another character I really like. Not that I feel a kinship, but she was a fun character to play around with, because she’s so unpredictable.

Q: I saw the video of the trip to gain artistic inspiration for UP … what are some examples of other inspirations for animated elements in your work that came from more mundane/conventional sources?

Pete Docter: Doing research is one of the best parts of working on these films. One day we brought in an ostrich. It was cool to see an ostrich running around on the front lawn here. And of course the film was a great excuse to bring in our dogs. We also went to a few Old Folks homes. We formed a band — we played Tin Pan Alley type tunes and went in to a local retirement home to play for them. As we were up there, all of us were secretly taking mental notes and doing sketches behind our ukuleles. It was great — we got good research, and they said we were the best act to play there in months!

Q: Was the choice of presenting the film in 3D a conscious decision from the beginning? How does it affect the production process?

Pete Docter: We start the process for "Up" in 2D, with the focus just on the story and the characters. It was about three years in that John Lasseter came to us and said, "Hey, there are some really cool new developments that have happened with 3D," and of course Pixar had a long history of interest in 3D, John being one of the prime cheerleaders.  He shot pictures of his own wedding in 3D, as well as "Knick-Knack," which is in 3D as well. So we did a ton of research, watching other 3D films, and made a list of things we liked and things we didn’t. I wanted to use 3D in a more subtle way than the usual, "WOAH! THERE’S A BIG BANANA CREAM PIE COMING OUT TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE!" thing you often see in 3D. We used 3D as another tool to communicate the emotion of the scene, like you would use color, lighting, or cinematography. In the end, we didn’t let it affect the way we approached the story at all. I didn’t want to compromise the 2D version — which is the way it will be seen most often (considering DVD and Blu-ray).

Q: As far as the animation style of “Up” goes, instead of going for “as close to realism as possible” kind of visuals, it has an almost caricature style, especially with the facial features highlighting big points, rather than looking like a human head. What influenced the style of “Up,” and why did you decide to go this route?

Pete Docter: The story called for Carl to float his house into the air buoyed by balloons. For that to be believable, we felt it would be necessary to caricature the world – and, therefore, the characters, as well. I think if we made it look photo-real, you wouldn’t believe it as readily. Besides, if you want something to look real, go get a camera and step outside. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper. We work in animation! We can do things that can’t be done in any other medium! So the idea of simplifying and caricature is always exciting to me.

Q: Do you remember the first time you drew something and thought, "Wow, this is something I want to do for a living." Do you remember what you drew?

Pete Docter: You know how there’s always those kids in your elementary class that are really good at drawing? They sit there and "wow" everyone by drawing horses and tanks and battles and stuff? That was NOT me. I was lousy at drawing. But as soon as I figured out I could make something look like it was moving — and thinking — I was hooked. My parents are musicians, as are my sisters, so I was dragged to a lot of concerts growing up. I would always steal everyone’s programs and draw all over them, thinking up jokes like, "What would happen if all the strings on his violin broke?" or "What if someone fell in the tuba?" Comic gold, I’m telling you!

Q: How did Tom McCarthy get involved in the writing of “Up”?

Pete Docter: We had referenced Tom’s film "The Station Agent" as we worked out the structure of “Up.” It’s very similar — a guy who isn’t really living, he’s just walking through life, trying to stay removed and alone. Then he reluctantly gets drawn into this surrogate family. It’s a great film, really well written and directed. We got Tom to come here to Pixar to screen it and talk about it, so we’d meet him. Bob and I were working together at the time, but then Bob was drafted on to “Ratatouille” for a while and I was left all alone. I cried a lot and talked to myself at first. I needed someone to spark off creatively, and so I asked Tom if he could recommend any writers he knew that might want to work on the film. He fell for it and said, "How about me?" Ha ha! Sucker. He was on for three months, and it was in his draft that we added the character of Russell, which of course we kept once Bob came back on.

Q: What are the challenges involved with writing for animated movies that one might not face with live action, and how do you overcome those challenges?

Pete Docter: We approach our writing exactly as one would approach a live-action screenplay; the focus is on character and keeping the audience engaged. Our whole process is remarkably similar to live-action; we have cinematographers, lighters, costume designers, etc. We use different tools to get there, but the creative process is the same.

Images: ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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The movie tells the story of an elite military unit of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, who take on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Directed by Stephen Sommers, it stars Sienna Miller, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayons, Dennis Quaid, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Check out the trailer and the G.I. Joe Faceoff Game on Facebook.

THE GIVEAWAY: I have one prize pack ($80+ value) that includes the following:

• Two-disc Special Edition DVD
• Night Raven Jet with Air Viper (Toy)
• M.A.R.S. Troopers (Action Figures)
• Poster

HOW TO ENTER: U.S. residents only, please. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Be sure to include a valid email address. A winner will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their mailing address after the contest ends. Good luck!

Images: Paramount Home Entertainment

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In this DVD, Mae Whitman voices Tinker Bell, who journeys far north of Neverland to patch things up with her friend Terence and restore a Pixie Dust Tree. It’s all very noble.

Other voices include Raven-Symone, Jesse McCartney, Lucy Liu, Kristin Chenoweth, Pamela Adlon, and Anjelica Huston. Check out the clips:

Featurette: Fashion (bonus):

Deleted Scene: Blaze Gets Eaten (bonus)

Clank & Bobble (film):

Image: Amazon.com

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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Orphan. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard star in this creepy thriller about a malevolent orphan who lands in the home of adoptive parents. [Buy It]

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (Two Disc + BD Live) [Blu-ray]. Raven Symone and Jesse McCartney star in this cute sequel that finds Tinkerbell saving the day. [Buy It]

Image: Amazon.com

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Directed by Franck Khalfoun, it’s rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some drug use and sexual content. All of these actors are top-notch, and I’ve missed Harvey Keitel, since “Life on Mars” was canceled. Check out the trailer…

Wrong Turn at Tahoe Trailer from Jane Boursaw on Vimeo.

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