Several years ago my husband and I took our two little girls to Disney World in Orlando.   We did not have our third daughter yet so it was four people – albeit two small ones – in a hotel room with two beds.  It was OK but it was cramped, even with little kids, and my husband and I were stuck in the same room as our children and when they went to bed at 7, we had to too.

We were there for 7 nights and even though we tried to quietly play card games, sit outside and chat or even watch television, it always woke up the kids.  So we would lay there, staring at the ceiling, listening to our children sleep!

But now that I have had the distinct pleasure to spend five comfortable nights in a Global Resort Home, I will never hotel it again!

The Beautiful Global Resort Home We Stayed In

While in Orlando for the Red Carpet Premier of Chimpanzee, I got to stay in one of the Premier properties that Global Resort Homes offers in Kissimmee, FL and I have to tell you, this is how to truly relax on your Florida vacation.  Located just 1.5 miles from the Disney Parks, there is room for everyone and every thing.  These are not time shares nor is anyone going to come in and try to sell you a home or anything else for that matter!  In fact, unless you need something, you may not see anyone besides your neighbors the entire time you are there! These are homes that guests stay in for the perfect vacation!

Eight women, 11 suitcases, and 8 Oscar Plush toys shared the spacious six bedroom home at 2576 Archfield in Kissimmee. The four large bathrooms designed for multiple people to be in them at the same time were never cramped.  And if you have ever shared a bathroom with another woman – much less four other women – you know how amazing that is!

A Spacious Kitchen makes Waking Up Peaceful and Comfortable

With one bedroom downstairs and five bedrooms up, including the master, the floor plan is perfect for parents that wants to be near their children but have the privacy of their own bedroom too!  It is also great for multiple families as there are three King bedrooms, a Queen bedroom and two twin bedrooms in this house and others like it.  Split the house with your family and friends and sit out back under the warm Florida moon, feet in the hot tub, chatting while your kids sleep peacefully inside!

Or come home in the middle of a busy day at Disney, let the kids nap while you relax reading my blog and then head back to the parks with everyone rested and ready to go!  Avoid being one of those couples with the screaming, tired children at six o’clock because they have been at Mickey’s for eight hours and are just all out of happiness!  The point of a vacation is to relax and have fun!

Walk into Comfort at the End of a Long Day of Having Fun

To help facilitate that relaxation further, most of the Global Resort Homes come with private pools and also hot tubs!  And the area is fully fenced to prevent mosquito attacks while you are trying to relax.  When you need a break from soaking and relaxing after a hard day of It’s A Small World After All, you can have a little friendly competition in the game rooms that are located in the garage of most of the homes!  Or gather around the spacious kitchen and living room area and talk about the day and the fun you’ll have the next day without bothering anyone in the house who might be sleeping.

But the best part of staying at a Global Resort Home instead of a cramped hotel room is that when you get ‘home’ from a long day, it really feels like you are home.  There is a fully functional kitchen, a full sized washer and dryer {so pack less because you can wash you clothes… saves on baggage fees!}, coffee makers, comfortable couches, two eating areas, pass through kitchens and so – SO – much more!

Relax in the Hot Tub Like Some of the Bloggers Did

And it all costs about the same as a hotel room!  Yes – about the SAME, if not LESS, than a hotel room!

Other perks come from the 24 hour concierge where you can rent – for super cheap – things like cribs, car seats, scooters, gas grills and more for the entire stay and save BIG on baggage fees and your back by not having to lug around heavy items!  Get groceries delivered, have a private chef prepare your meals, get an in home massage!  Book tickets to attractions, special events – Hot Air Balloon Ride anyone? – and even rent a car or call a shuttle.  All you have to do is ask!  They even have a Mobile Concierge that can give you directions to theme parks, dining and shopping tips and so much more!

The Room I Was in Sort Of Fits My Personality, Doesn’t It?

I urge you to take some time when planning your Orlando vacation to check out Global Resort Homes first.  They have properties with everything from condominiums to town homes to large, premium homes.  Take it from someone who has done both the hotel and the home.  This is the best way to relax at the end of a hard day of taking a vacation!

**I traveled with a group of bloggers as a mostly compensated trip for these events.  Photos were used with permission. My writings and opinions are mine.  Please see my Disclosure Page for more information. Affiliate links may be included in this post.**

The directors of the film, Chimpanzee, Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield smiled graciously as they sat in front of a group of mommy bloggers and other media to share their experience filming this beautiful and touching film.  Expecting stock answers I was immediately impressed with their willingness to share their inside stories.

As these clean cut, well spoken directors smiled out onto our group, there was no evidence of the peril they endured during the three and a half year filming period that this movie took.  During that time they followed the Chimpanzees as they traveled 8 to 10 miles a day tracking food through thick terrain that they could barely navigate through, with camera’s and gear, sometimes at night, and never knowing what was ahead.

During the 700 days that it took them to get the thousands of hours of film to make this amazing movie, they changes from directors of a Hollywood movie just there to film a baby Chimpanzee into men who felt they understood every action, emotion and facial expression of the Chimpanzee’s they had come to know.  They wanted to reach out and help baby Oscar when his mother was gone and rejoiced when the amazing and rare wild adoption happened.  Their respect and love for these amazing animals is apparent throughout this film.

Here are just a few questions and answers that I found most intriguing when talking to these dedicated directors:

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Question:  So, how nervous were you guys when Oscar’s mom was killed? 

MR. ALASTAIR:   Very.  I mean, more than nervous.  I mean, we actually rang up Disney and said, “Sorry, guys.  We spent most of your money, and you haven’t got a movie,” uh, and so, because, obviously, Disney movies have to have a happy ending, and –

MARK:  It wasn’t looking like one. 

MR. ALASTAIR: It was, I mean, to be honest, a three-year old, two-and-a-half year old chimp without its mum, is basically a death sentence.  There’s just no question.  And then for that adoption to happen… the scientists have been working with those chimpanzees for 30 years and never ever seen that to happen.  And so for that to happen was fantastic for Oscar, but, my goodness, you know, if we’d written the script exactly as we’d wanted, we wouldn’t have, in our wildest dreams, have that happen, and it’s just such a lovely story, because male chimpanzees are such macho guys.  I mean, they are.  Their brains are a third as big as ours, but they have three times as much muscle.  And when you meet them they are just…oh. 

And to see the intimate grooming — I mean, other than suckling, which, clearly, he couldn’t do, that guy did absolutely everything for Oscar.  And so it was — it was a dream come true for us as filmmakers.  Absolutely. 

Question {Mine!}:  How did making this movie and watching the relationship between the chimps — the adoptive father, the mother that passed, and Oscar struggling — how did it change you? 

MARK:  Well, the thing — what was really interesting is when we first went on the reconnaissance trip, we found ourselves, you know, in a — in a camp full of scientists, sitting around a meal table, discussing the day’s events, and it was like listening to a soap opera, wasn’t it? 

MR. ALASTAIR:  Yep.

MARK:  Everyone was saying, “You should’ve seen the way he looked at her today.  I’m sure he was thinking this.”  “He never did!”  “Well, you know what’ll happen tomorrow.  You know where that’ll lead.  Then no good’ll come of that.”  And they were talking about it like you would talk about a sitcom, and we just –

MR. ALASTAIR:  Yeah.  They’re bonkers.  

MARK:  These guys have been in the forest way too long, way too long.  You know.  Within a couple of months, we were doing exactly the same.  You can’t — you just get drawn into them.  You can’t help it.  You know, they are just so engaging.  As you rightly say, all of their relationships with each other, kind of mi — mirror the ones that we have, um, you know, the maternal bond, obviously, very strong.  Clearly, the paternal bond stronger than anyone had thought.  Um, being protective over that patch. 13:53

I mean, these are very human things.  And you kind of respond to them in a human way. 

ALASTAIR:  The group was about 35 to 40 strong.  And so we obviously only featured four key individuals, but the scientists would talk about all of the  — all the whole lot.  They knew them all every day, it was always changing, and as Mark said, it was a natural soap opera.  It was very engrossing. 

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There are really so many reasons to see this movie.  The large screen shows the scenery as it should and better than the small screen will be able to convey.  The story is endearing and true.  There was no script and no interruption of what nature truly created.  And when you see the movie in the first week it hits theaters, April 20 – April 26, 2012, a portion of your ticket proceeds will go to the Jane Goodall Institute and their effort to preserve these beautiful animals.

Take your family and make it an event!  You will see the hard work these dedicated directors put into this and appreciate it even more that you thought you would!

Learn more about the Jane Goodall Institute and Donate to the cause too!

Buy your tickets to See Chimpanzee and a Portion will be donated to the Jane Goodall Institute!

**I traveled with a group of bloggers as a mostly compensated trip for these events.  My writings and opinions are mine.  Please see my Disclosure Page for more information. Affiliate links may be included in this post.**

“How proud are you of this movie? [Chimpanzee}?"

"Well, I don't know if I can [say] I’m proud of it, because I didn’t make it, but I think it’s absolutely fantastic.  The crew, the film, sound, the effort that they made, the footage that they got, is stunning.  And the story that unfolded is magical.  And, you know, if Disney had planned it, they couldn’t have planned such an extraordinary story.  So, very amazing. [It] Will do a lot of good for chimpanzees.”  Dr. Jane Goodall

Dr. Jane Goodall is soft spoken but strong, passionate yet controlled and one of the most impressive people I have had the great fortune to be in the same room with.  I, personally, have admired her work for years… often wishing I had the passion that she has for something that needs our help so very badly.  And wishing I could create something like her amazing youth program, Roots and Shoots, that is doing work with the youth of today that will affect generations to come.

There is a certain comfort sitting across from this Chimpanzee expert and conservation pioneer.  Her stature is small but her message is huge, endearing and simple.  And as she answered questions and shared her knowledge, I grew more impressed and learned that one does not have to be boisterous, loud and attention seeking to command respect.  One just has to be confident and sure that what they are saying is, indeed, true.

As she captivated the audience of bloggers and other media in our interview session, she talked openly about misconceptions, conservation and the importance of knowing how each of our actions affect the envoronment.  Dr. Goodall also talked of the Jane Goodall Institute, how she got her start and found her calling with Chimpanzees and the rarity of the miracle in the movie Chimpanzee that transpired.

But the one thing that impressed me most during my brief time sitting just one row away from Jane Goodall is her apparent compassion and love for the animals that she devoted her life to learning about and saving.

“There’s a misconception that a scientist must be cold and objective to be a good scientist, and that’s absolutely not true. And I know from fact that you can, if you have your mind disciplined – you can watch something which makes your heart weep. You can have tears streaming down your face.  That does not stop you [from] making an objective account of what’s happened.  And quite honestly, that’s what has gone wrong with the planet. 

We’ve lost the wisdom of making a decision today based on, “How will this affect our people generations ahead?” Dr.Jane Goodall

It is virtually impossible to listen to someone with so much discipline and knowledge about something you and I may never come face to face with and not be affected.  From the tip of her thumb that is missing – the result of a Chimpanzee bite – to her calm demeanor and complete confidence in the ability to relay her experiences, her desire for the conservation of – not only her beloved Chimpanzees – but the entire planet, and her complete openness about anything, she is the epitome of a class act.  A scientist with a heart.  A woman with a love.  And a drive to make it known.

I have included other excerpts from her interview and hope that you take away what I did from it.  I could sit in a room and listen to her talk all day long.  But since she travels 340 days a year spreading her message and teaching her wisdom, I was honored to have the time I did.

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WOMAN:  How rare is it for a male to adopt a chimpanzee? 

DR. GOODALL:  Well, we, normally, at Gumby, we’ve had brothers adopt their little infant sister or brother.  We had one 12-year old that’s like a human 15 or 16 adopt an unrelated infant.  And over all these 52 years, I’ve heard of one other story of an alpha male adopting an infant, so it’s very rare.  Very rare.

Mediator: [Do] you want to tell about the conservation program, Jane, the first week –

DR. GOODALL:  Yes.  Everybody who goes to see this film in its first week, the Jane Goodall Institute gets a percentage to the ticket sales, and all of that money is going to actually help us look after our little Oscars.  We put a sanctuary with over 150 orphan chimps whose mothers were killed in the bush meat trade.  And it’s very expensive, looking after them, and right now we’re struggling to get the funds to prepare the big island in the middle of the river. Which will make a safe place for the adults, for some of our orphans and our full-grown.  And they’re very smart.  They learn how to escape, and that’s dangerous for them, and it’s very dangerous for our staff.  So it’s a bit desperate.  We need to raise this money. 

WOMAN: How did you form this partnership with Disney?

DR. GOODALL:  We’ve been partners with Disney for ages, on and off.  I was — they first brought me into the Animal Kingdom when it opened, because Disney was getting real bad press.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took out a whole page in the Sunday New York Times, which must’ve cost them a fortune, to say, “Disney is killing animals; boycott Disney.”  So the person who was organizing the whole animal part of it, I mean, the closures, and the moves, and that kind of thing, I had known him before, Nick Baranji, and he asked me if I would come and look at it.  And find out what was happening and stand out and speak out for Disney. Which of course I did because a lot of what’s going on here is absolutely first-rate, and so that’s how it all began. 

WOMAN: Where did your love for chimpanzees begin?  Where’d it start? 

DR. GOODALL:  Well, I wanted to go to Africa when I was ten, and that was because of “Tarzan.”  And don’t think that Tarzan had a chimp called Cheetah.  That’s an invention.  The book doesn’t have Tarzan having a chimp called Cheetah.  He doesn’t have a chimp at all.  And he’s not raised by chimps either, which people have a misconception.  Anyway.  That was when I decided I wanted to go to Africa and live with animals and write books about them.  And then I saved up money, got out to Kenya, met Louis Leakey, and he offered me chimps, so I had no dreams of going to study chimps. 

WOMAN:  Do you think that we’re moving in the right direction when it comes to being more aware about our environment?  Or is there still just so much work that –

DR. GOODALL: Well, first of all, I think many people are becoming a lot more aware, that’s for sure.  But the problem is, the awareness isn’t necessarily leading to behavior change.  And so, you know, people — well, most people admit that human activities have caused climate change.  I know there’s a whole movement which is fueled by money in from a certain part of the private sector to say that’s not true, but it is true, and I’ve been to those places, and I know.  And so there’s more awareness. 

But the reason I am so passionate about our youth program, Roots and Shoots, is because we have to raise a new generation to understand that, yes, we need money to live, but we wouldn’t live for money.  And we need all of — all of the adults to admit that we haven’t inherited this planet from our parents but borrowed it from our children.  We have to admit that’s wrong.  We’ve been stealing from our children.  We’re still stealing.  We have to get together, if we care about conservation of chimpanzees. 

We have to care about conservation of rain forests.  If we want to conserve a rain forest, we have to make sure the people living all around it have better lives than most of them have.  They are mostly living in great poverty, so we work with all of those people.  And then in turn, eventually, they are coming around to help us, to conserve the forests, and the chimps.  So you have to realize, everything is interrelated, and no one organization can do anything alone. 

That’s why working with Disney is greet.  Because Disney has a big outreach.  This film, hopefully, will go to millions, eventually, all around the world.  It will raise the profile of chimps.  And hopefully that will JGI to raise more money.  Because if we don’t raise more money, we shall fail in our mission. 

WOMAN: I think the average person doesn’t feel that they are that capable of making big change, so what do you think the — if there is one thing that we can tell the average person to do to change to help a cause like this, what would you suggest?

DR. GOODALL:  Well, the most important thing — I mean, I could say, please join JGI [Jane Goodall Institute].  And I do say that.  But that’s not the message.  The message is: just spend a little bit of time each day thinking about the consequences of the choices you make.  What you buy.  Where did it come from?  How was it made?  What do you eat?  Does it involve cruelty to animals?  What do you wear that does involve child-slave labor or sweat shops?  How many miles has it traveled?  How was the environment damaged? 

And when people start thinking like that, they begin making, first, small changes, and then usually, bigger changes.  And the difficulty is getting people to understand that what you do matters.  That what each one of us does every day is having an impact on the planet, and we have a choice.  What kind of impact do you want to make?  Don’t start thinking, oh, well, it doesn’t matter what I do, ’cause I’m one.  If you were one, it wouldn’t matter two hoots, but you’re not one. 

You’re a growing number of people, all around the world, and it’s when everybody starts thinking like this — and children are changing their parents and their grandparents.  So we’re moving in the right direction, but not fast enough.  So, an organization like Disney can help us to spread a message faster and further. 

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It is hard not wanting to get up and make serious changes to your own life immediately and I hope that is conveyed through her words that day.  Please take two hours out of your week April 20 -26, 2012 and take the family to see CHIMPANZEE!  You can Save Chimpanzees by Seeing Chimpanzee and help the Jane Goodall Institute realize her dream of preserving these amazing animals.

Learn more about the Jane Goodall Institute and Donate to the cause too!

Buy your tickets to See Chimpanzee and a Portion will be donated to the Jane Goodall Institute!

Learn more about the amazing youth program Roots and Shoots! 

**I traveled with a group of bloggers as a mostly compensated trip for these events.  My writings and opinions are mine.  Please see my Disclosure Page for more information. Affiliate links may be included in this post.**

Until three beautiful, intelligent girls sat down in front of me and started jubilantly answering any question that was thrown at them, I had not really heard of The McClain Sisters.  But when they got up to leave the interview, I felt like I knew them better than most.

Having just heard them sing ‘Rise’ – the song from the new movie, Chimpanzee – that morning at the Disney Worldwide Conservation Awards, I knew their talent.  And after 20 minutes of listening to them talk, joke and discuss things among them selves, I knew their strength of sisterhood too.

China (13) – you may know her as the star of Disney Channel’s ANT Farm – Lauryn (15) and Sierra (18) are sisters first, family members second, singers third and Christians through it all.  Their grounded spirit, enthusiasm and appreciation for being asked to write and sing, ‘Rise’ in Disneynature’s Chimpanzee opening April 20, 2012, was apparent and resonated with us all.  They credit their parents with keeping them in check and quickly pointed out that the beautiful song they wrote was a family affair.

As the three laughed and talked and shared their favorite things about working with each other, I started to miss my three girls.  I imagined them in 10 years when they were about the same age of these girls and hoped that they would think it was fantastic to share a room but not so great to share clothes!

When you go see Chimpanzee, make sure you pay attention when the song ‘Rise’ comes on at the end. The words are powerful, important and beautiful.  Three sisters, united together, used Oscar the Chimpanzee as their inspiration when they sat down with their family and produced a hit. I can not wait to hear more about The McClain Sisters and where they go next!

Here is the wonderful video of the song!

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WOMAN:  So, how did you find inspirations when you watched the movie to write the songs, and what were scenes that inspired you the most? 

SIERRA:  Uh, definitely the ones with Oscar.

SISTER: Yes.

SISTER: Yeah.

SIERRA: You know, when, hopefully, everybody saw the movie, but when he lost his mom.  And probably when — a lot of the battle scenes too because it’s a very inspirational record, and it’s uplifting, you know, and it’s spiritual and that was a big thing for the movie, you know, how they all had to stick together if they wanted to survive, you know, they had to be together, you know, and the lyrics was, “Together –

SISTER: Together we’ll rise.  Yeah.

SIERRA:  And together we’ll rise, you’re right, so –

SISTER: So it’s mostly about unity.  The unity in the movie was just really amazing, ’cause they couldn’t really do anything without each other, and they were never far away from each other, and that was really good.  But our main — our main point was Oscar.

WOMAN: Have you ever been in a situation where you really feel like you had to like, band together and fight as sisters?

SIERRA:  Oh, yes.  We definitely have.

SISTER:  Many times.

SIERRA: We definitely have.  Um.  You know.  Especially with China’s been kind of like a breakout Disney star and we’re all proud of her.

But you know it comes — there’s some ups and there’s some downs that have come with that.  So we’ve definitely had to have our sister moments.

SISTER:  Yes.

SIERRA: We sit in the room and –

SISTER: Just kind of talk.

SIERRA: Just talk, and, you know, we’ve definitely had those moments, yes.

WOMAN: How do you guys stay grounded?  Um, as sisters and as a family?

SIERRA: Our parents.

SISTER: Our parents.  Yeah.

SISTER: We have really good parents.

SISTER: From the very beginning, they always taught us to always stay humble and you know, always remember what you were taught and always have faith in what you believe in –

WOMAN: With your experience been with the song, “Rise,” and this whole chimpanzee experience, if there’s one key message that you’d like to portray to young children under the age of, you know, say, fifth grade and under, what would that be?

SIERRA: Well, I have three — two sisters and a brother, so I would definitely tell them to stick close and to love each other, and to always be there for each other, because you know our mom always taught us, my dad too, but my mom definitely taught us is that, you know, friends, they come and go sometimes, but your sisters are gonna be — always be there for you.  No matter what.

SISTER : [We have a] bunch of brothers.

SIERRA: Yeah.  My mom had two brothers.  And she was really close to her brothers, and she always taught us to be close, and that’s how we are still. So, definitely that.

SISTER: Just stay close, and always just remember to love each other, and have — have fun with each other, ’cause it’s really great to –

SIERRA: You gotta enjoy that time.  You know. They’re your siblings.  You do everything together.  So, you know –

SIERRA: And we’re Christians.  So –

SIERRA: We have that foundation as well.

SISTER: Yes.  That’s a big part of our parents and the Lord –

SIERRA: Yeah, how we live life and things like that, so — yeah –

WOMAN:  I guess I want to know like, what surprised you or what did you learn, or what is the most important thing you’ve learned, taking away this experience from the film? 

SISTER: We learned a lot.

SIERRA:  Well, of course, you know, we know it’s important to stick together, but, um, to see a different — a totally different species, you know –

SISTER: Sticking together?

SIERRA: Exactly, and working together to just obtain one goal, which, was, you know, most of the time, it was to survive in this movie, and I feel like we’re kinda this way.  You know, I really don’t know what I would do without those two, so, definitely, just to stick close, like I can’t even stress that enough.  You know.  Just to — you know, with your family, you know, it’s important to have that strong foundation, you know, with every family member.  So, me and my — we’re all like that.  And we kinda show it in the music, you know.  We write and we produce, and, you know, we sing, all together, so, definitely, just to stick close, and that unity part… is really big, for me.

SISTER: Same here.

SISTER: Everything she just said!

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It was a true pleasure to meet such wonderful young ladies!  And the song ‘Rise’ is certainly a great showcase of their amazing talents!  Be sure to go see Chimpanzee opening week!  As part of the See Chimpanzee, Save Chimpanzee effort, Disneynature will donate a portion of every ticket sold to the Jane Goodall Institute!

Read my review of Chimpanzee – a Movie with Heart that opens April 20, 2012.

**I traveled with a group of bloggers as a mostly compensated trip for these events.  My writings and opinions are mine.  Please see my Disclosure Page for more information. Affiliate links may be included in this post.**

I have often thought of the women who play mothers in amazing movies as the true anchors of the film.  Emily Watson, who plays a wife to a struggling farmer and an endearing mother to a son who has an amazing connection with a remarkable horse in War Horse, has wisdom, strength, poise and heart… just as the film does.

And I got to sit with 19 other bloggers and talk to her about the film, her career, motherhood and the struggle to balance it all.

Emily Watson is a soft spoken, intelligent, elegant woman with a true love for her craft and her family.  She loved to write, travel and do arts with her family and –  truth be told – would love to do a comedic role, just to change things up a bit!

The other bloggers and I with Emily Watson

Below is the interview, in its entirety – because nothing could really be taken out – and I hope you enjoy reading her answers as much as I enjoyed hearing them.

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Blogger:  What was the most memorable part of shooting the film?

Ms. Watson: I don’t know if any of you know Dartmore, have you ever been to England, been, no?  OK, it’s the most beautiful part of the country.  It’s in the southwest, it’s in the county of Devon which is very fecund and rich and it’s a real food producing, very traditional, cream and honey and eggs. But in the middle of it is, is this moorland called Dartmore which there are, you can stand on it and not be able to see any sign of human habitation whatsoever.  With these ancient outcrops of rock.  So that, that was pretty special to be there.  But getting a call from Steven Spielberg is, is not a bad day.  It’s not a bad day.

Blogger: How did you get involved with the project? 

Ms. Watson: I got the call.  My agent rang me, [he says] Steven Spielberg’s doing WARHORSE and I’d seen the play in London at the National.  And I went and had tea with him. At Claridge’s.  And he said, I’d like you to do this. And I was, ooh.  It was pretty exciting.

Blogger: What is your favorite scene in the movie? 

Ms. Watson: I think the no-man’s land sequence.  Where, when those young boys are running through the, you know, they go over the top and they’re running through and then there’s the gas and then the horses, all that sequence is so powerful.  The film to me then suddenly elevates into something else.  It’s like, that war is kind of, people are forgetting about it. And it, it’s the worst episode in human history in terms of loss of life.  I think. I mean, don’t quote me on that, but I mean, it is, it is so horrific and so pointless, that war.  And the real film really gets that I think.  

ME: How do you juggle being a mother with your film work? 

Ms. Watson: Well, the longest I’ve ever been away was three weeks.  And that was a disaster.  It was really, really horrible.  And before that it’s only ever been a week.  Uh, so we, it’s really a logistical nightmare.  We, it was much easier before Juliet my daughter was in school and I used to just take them with me everywhere and, which was great. And I have the best nanny in the universe, she’s absolutely brilliant.  She’s very flexible, she’ll, she lives in while I’m away, she doesn’t live in when I’m there. And then she’ll pack a bag and come to Poland or Australia or, you know, she’s, and my husband is fantastic with the kids. And he works from home.  And you know, so we somehow always manage to make it work.  It’s the first question I ask when a job comes up is, where, how long?  You know, does it match the school holidays, can they fly us, well you know, it’s obviously that’s how it’s gotta be.

Blogger:  What is your greatest accomplishment as a mother? 

Ms. Watson: I think that your children kind of learn things from you by osmosis, don’t they, there are things that you don’t realize that you’re doing that are good.  And I went in to school a few weeks ago and had a meeting with the teacher, you know, one of those, you know.  And she said, you have a lot of books in your house, don’t you?  And I was like, yeah, how’d you, she said, Juliet is just absorbing stories and  literature from you having a lot of books and reading a lot in the house.  And I, it had never really occurred to me that that was in any way unusual or, you know, but she said it’s really, really a thing. So.  I, I guess that’s something we’re doing right.  It’s hard, though, isn’t it? 

Blogger : Have your kids seen WARHORSE? 

Ms. Watson: They’re too young now, I think I might let them when they, they let, maybe the first 20 minutes and then enough.

Blogger : What age would you consider taking them to see it? 

Ms. Watson: I think I had my nieces there last night. And my, they’re 11 and 14.  And they, I mean, the 11-year old was, it’s a bit loud. It was a bit loud, wasn’t it?  But I think maybe eight, nine, you know, I think, I think it’s a great way to learn about was.

Me:  It was great that it was not gory. 

Ms. Watson: Yes, well he did it specifically so that, you know, children could see it.

Blogger: How did you find Steven Spielberg as a director compared to other directors you’ve worked with? 

Ms. Watson: It’s totally different every time you do it, just have to say Robert Altman, what an amazing man.  What an amazing, privileged to have known him let alone have worked with him.  He was so young at heart.  Right until the end of his life.  He was 78 when we did GOSFORD PARK. And he kind of, you know, he adopts people, me and my husband he just kind of went, hey guys, come on in, be part of my life, be part of my family.  And he, he was sort of just wicked and naughty and funny and, uh, very democratic.  Very irreverent.  Just a really fantastic thing to have had in my life. 

Lars Von Trier. I mean, as an actress that was the most incredible experience and I didn’t really know what acting was before I did that. And he kind of, the way that he works, he allows you to go to extremes.  Not in a dangerous way.  But, it’s just so all consuming. He allows you to go to a place that’s really very extreme.  And that’s such a stretch as an actress.   

But Steven Spielberg, very different again. There’s a huge unit, there’s massive crew. Steven [has] obviously done a lot of incredible technical feats and he’s a great action director, but he’s still very focused on performance. But I’d say the thing that those three very, very different people have in common is that they are all completely compelled to tell stories.   

And would probably die if they didn’t.  I think it’s like a calling. Robert Altman was like, vacation, why’d you wanna vacation for? He’d be just on to the next, on to the next, on to the next. 

Blogger: Have your children impacted how you access emotion as an actress? 

Ms. Watson: That kind of irritation and anger that is just like there, you know, when you’re around kids or it can be, is quite easy to access. 

Blogger: But you also seemed heartbroken. 

Ms. Watson: Yeah, I think I have to be careful.  Putting your real, real feelings into that.  When I was younger, I used to do it a lot.  And I think you open neural pathways. Take for instance, you imagine that your children are in an accident. That can set you off and make you feel emotional.  Which is maybe what you need to get in the right place. 

But I have a syndrome which is called catastrophization.  And I am particularly bad after childbirth. You know, when you’re feeling a bit bluesy and, everything’s a bit weird.  Everything was like, oh my God, what if that TV falls on your head?  I’ve opened that door too many times.  It’s like a muscle that I have ‘cause I’ve done so many desperately sad movies.  Uh, so I have to be really careful to let it go.  And tell myself very clearly that it’s not real.   

But even so, you put your body through the chemical response to emotion.  And you have to really treat that with respect.  I was on a film in Mexico last month. And, in a funeral scene we were just about to start and I could feel the whole thing getting [emotional] and I thought, I’m never doing this again.  And the exposure in public of that, of hundreds of people watching you [and asking] how does she do that?  But, uh, hey, I love my job, so. 

Blogger: Were you familiar with this story prior to doing the movie? 

Ms. Watson: I saw the stage show in London.  And I was eight months pregnant.  And you know what that’s like. So after, after about ten seconds, I turned to my husband and I said, I don’t think I’m gonna get through this.  Yeah, it’s very emotional thing, but [despite it being] big, lush, beautiful [story about] a boy in love with a horse and their great adventure.  It’s kind of an anti-war film for kids as well, I think.  It’s, in a very simple way, [says] war is inhumane.  And the way we treat animals reveals our humanity.  You know, it’s a very simple thing. 

Blogger: Do your kids understand what you do? 

Ms. Watson: Kind of.  I haven’t made many movies that they can see.  They’ve seen THE WATER HORSE.  But they’re not really that interested.  I mean, my daughter occasionally will say something [like, when driving in Mexico and fans were waving at Ms. Watson], “Mummy, you have to wave to them ‘cause they know you’re famous”.  But they’re not really that aware of it this world of doing all this is totally separate from my home. And, I run around in London incognito and don’t, just don’t bother. And I don’t let it be a thing.

Blogger: What is the difference in perception of you in London compared to New York? 

Ms. Watson: I think I get recognized in London but people are very British and just leave you alone. But also when I come here, it’s because I’m here to do a whole press thing and people know that you’re coming and you’re all got your armor on and your makeup and it’s all about that. So I feel the attention here.  I guess if you want attention you get it.  And if you don’t, you don’t.   So I’m very lucky that I’m in a kind of zone where I can dip in and out.  Very fortunate, yeah.

Blogger: Do you knit? 

Ms. Watson: You know what, I’ve tried to be a knitter. On the set of PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, a Paul Thomas Anderson film, Paul had this thing, he’s another compelled story teller.  He’s another one I’d put in that group of extraordinary guys. And he’s also a good friend and we have kids the same age.  And but anyway, on the set of PUNCH DRUNK, he wanted me not to be doing a whole lot of method acting preparation, he just wanted me to turn up and be myself and be fresh and do something totally different.  

So he said, “I need you to something to do on set, here’s some knitting”.  So he gave me some knitting.  And I really tried to make a scarf and it just went like that {indicated an upward triangle}.  I don’t have that kind of really precise, neat, methodical, I’m scatty and, you know, I’m not a neat person, I just, it’s a different gene and I don’t have it.   

Blogger: What is your favorite thing to do on your down time? 

Ms. Watson: You know what I love doing is, when I was a kid, I was really good artist. I painted.  And I actually won the school art competition and my teacher wanted me to go to art school and I just kind of fell out of it. And it just sort of went away.  And you know, and I ended up doing this.  And now I’ve got kids.  I am painting, with them, and I’m making taxis out of Wheat-A-Bits boxes and doing all that stuff. But I love it.  Doing all the creative stuff.  I absolutely love doing that.

ME: What advice would you give on how to balance a successful career and being a mom? 

Ms. Watson: It’s so hard.  I just say, give yourself a break ‘cause it’s really hard.  And don’t believe it when you think other people are making a success of it and it’s all smooth and easy ‘cause it isn’t. It just feels like there’s never enough of you to go around.  And sleep?  But hey, I am having my cake and eating it, so.  I’m very lucky.  

Blogger: What projects do you have upcoming?

Ms. Watson: I’ve just finished doing this thing in Mexico which is called LITTLE BOY.  And it’s about a kid in California in the Second World War.  Whose father is in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. And he thinks that he has magic powers.  And can bring him home.  Through his magic powers.  It’s, I don’t know if anybody saw a film called BELLA, did you see BELLA?  It’s that director.  And, uh, it’s very different from BELLA.  Uh, very interesting.  So we’ve just wrapped that.  And I’m doing a few days on ANNA KARENINA.  In London.  Which could be very interesting. It’s Joe Wright [whose] directing it.  And it’s the entire piece set inside a theater.  So all the scenes take place in a theater and it’s got lots of dancing in it, so as my mother-in-law would say, that’s different.  She says quite a lot about a lot of the things that I do.   

ME: Do you have any aspirations to do comedic work? 

Ms. Watson (very enthusiastically): I do, I’d love to.  Nobody ever asks me.  I have no sense of humor whatsoever.  I’m a very serious European actress.  No, I have done little bits and pieces.  I did a film called WA-WA written and directed by Richard E. Grant.  Do you know who he is?  Oh, he’s just fantastic. And PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is kind of a comedy.  With Adam Sandler. That was pretty cool. I’d love to do more of that stuff. But I never get asked.

ME: We’ll get you in a comedy. 

Ms. Watson: Yes please. You’re a powerful group, you are.  Respect.

Blogger: What is the draw for a particular film for you? 

Ms. Watson: I guess I’m sort of at the stage in my life where it’s what I do, and it’s how I feed my family.  At the moment that’s what compels me. In my fantasy life I stay home and I write. But I do love, love, love acting.  And I think if I don’t do it, all my wires start going wrong. I need it now, I need it, it’s like a, it’s like an athlete.  Who needs to train.  Otherwise you kind of feel wrong.

But I don’t have that, oh my God, I’ve gotta be! I don’t have that sort of really driven ambition.  That I guess you need to compel you into the [limelight]. I’s a balancing act, I think.   

Blogger: What is an average day of filming for you? 

Ms. Watson: Very early.  Often, if the location is a long way away and you know, quite often they will drive you somewhere that’s an hour away.  And then at my age it’s usually an hour and a half at least in hair and makeup.  Usually crew call is 8:00.  So you have to have traveled for an hour and a half.  So yeah, it’s an early start.  And then you can do 12-hour days.  So when you’re working, it’s incredibly intense and exhausting.  But it is a part time job.  And when you’re not working you’re home.  

Blogger: What is your favorite vacation spot? 

Ms. Watson: Ooh.  Since we’ve had the kids, we’ve been to Cornwall in England a lot, which is beautiful.  It’s very green, but it’s on the coast and there are beautiful cliff tops and sandy beaches.  But Italy.  If I was to rewind a few years.  Amalfi coast, yeah. 

Blogger: How long did it take to film WAR HORSE?

Ms. Watson: WAR HORSE? Two weeks.  Two and a half, three weeks.  Not long.  We were at the easy bit, I think, the trenches and all that was a huge, huge undertaking. And doing all that stuff with the horses dragging the machine guns up the hill, and no-man’s land with all that wire and everything.  Without harming a single horse.  Was an incredibly complex operation.  And they, they did it really carefully. When I read the script, I went, “oh my God, I know it’s Spielberg, but how the – are they gonna”? 

Blogger: How many Joeys were there? 

Ms. Watson: There were actually 14 Joeys.  But they’re all superstars.  Those horses, they’re like Seabiscuit and Black Beauty and they’re really amazing.  Amazing horses.  And all the boys did two months training.  I mean, they had to learn to, some of them to ride in the first place.  But to do a full cavalry charge.  Galloping.  With a saber.  Like that.  I mean just the idea of it [was] completely terrifying, if anything had gone wrong, it would have been carnage.  I asked them about it and they said they just set it up in such a way that everybody was so safe, it really was safe.  But it’s incredible. I mean, it’s incredible sequence.  

Me: It’s such an intelligently shot film.

Ms. Watson: Yeah, but that’s a turning point in history.  When the, when the cavalry faced machine guns for the first time, that was like, the world will never be the same again.  You know, the officer who has qualms about attacking them if they don’t know we’re coming.  You know, this sort of chivalry of war.  Gone.  Yeah.  

Blogger: Did your kids get to see the horses? 

Ms. Watson: They didn’t come on this, no, actually the first day of shooting of this coincided with Juliet’s very first day at school.  So I had to have a bit of a to and fro with Spielberg saying, “I’ll do the movie, but I have to be there on the first day. I am taking her to school.”  So no, so they stayed home and I came home on the weekends. Yeah, those are the kind of things that are tough to get around ‘cause not everybody is as nice.

Blogger: Which was more fun for you to play, this mother or the one in ANGELA’S ASHES? 

Ms. Watson: I think that in a way was more of… The kind of horrific poverty of that was just so shocking.  Also we had 27 kids on that movie.  Because there were three age group, that we had three different actors playing Frankie.  And all the brothers.  As well.  So between the three, every character had three different actors.  So there were a lot.  And that was really, it’s very difficult to shoot anything in an organic grownup way.  Everything has to be very oriented to getting the kids shot.  And you have to work around it.  So that’s quite frustrating.

Blogger: So you were actually parenting on the set.

Ms. Watson: Yeah. And you have to engage with them, you have to help them, you have to look after them.  And you have to tell them off occasionally.  It’s a big [undertaking]. Then to think about your own job at the same time is a lot.  But you guys should also see APPROPRIATE ADULT. Very different.  Not one for the children.  It’s about, do you know who Fred and Rosemarie West are?  They were the worst serial killers in British history.  And Dominic West is, plays Fred West.  And he’s brilliant.  

And it’s a sort of verbatim drama taken from the police interviews in which he was arrested and investigated and I play an appropriate adult which is someone who is like a social worker who sits in on police interviews to make sure that the person knows what’s being said to them. And it’s an minor with learning difficulties.  So this woman who’d never done it before, never had any training, finds herself in the room with this appalling monster.  And they fall in this very strange relationship, it’s all true, it’s an amazing, amazing story.  Very creepy and different.

Blogger: When does that come out?

Ms. Watson: That’s on the Sundance Channel on Saturday [December 3, 2011]. 

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Talking with Emily Watson was amazing.  And it was so nice to see how down to Earth and warm she is.  Plus her eyes just lit up when she talked about her kids and her family, which made her endearing to me!

Be sure to go see her amazing performance in War Horse Christmas Day 2011! My review of War Horse will be out next week!**Some editing of the interview text was needed for the flow of the conversation.**