With a background in sound, Gary Rydstrom, Director of Strange Magic has notable films such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Lord of the Rings, Shrek, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Finding Nemo and so many more under his belt that the impressive list of his accomplishments goes on and on. Turning his hand to directing in the new George Lucas animated film Strange Magic, Gary Rydstrom proves that he has the ability to channel his creative talents to the animated big screen.
During a recent exclusive interview at Skywalker Ranch during a Strange Magic parenting blogger media event, Gary Rydstrom made sport of his sound background and current directing gig for Strange Magic:
Well, the karma and the irony of this movie for me is that I did have a long career, in this building mostly, a career as a sound designer, doing sound effects for movies. And then by the end I found that I often felt at odds with the composer, so it was kind of a fight between the composer and I to have our stuff heard. So I thought of it as karmic revenge from the universe that I get to direct a feature film here and it’s a musical.
Strange karma indeed Gary.
During the Gary Rydstrom Strange Magic Interview he was asked who his favorite Strange Magic character was he answered with sound advice:
Well, I actually like the Bog King, because that thing we talked about earlier about having your heart broken. And I think we all go through a thing that’s a completely natural thing, it’s when you get your heart broken, you say that’s it, I’m not going to, I’m not going to let myself be vulnerable ever again.He goes to an extreme but it’s something that I can relate to it’s so painful to go through something that makes you feel hurt and less than you should be, and you just don’t want to do it again. So your solution for it is to put up this shield and never let anyone in again. And I know we all do that, and I thought he was someone I could I could relate to. So once you get past that veneer and let your real self come out it’s so much more satisfying both for him and for the one he falls in love with.
During an exclusive George Lucas interview for Strange Magic, George Lucas said he wanted to create a film for tween girls about a love story with a moral for every generation. The moral of Strange Magic, as Gary Rydstrom pointed out is that everybody deserves to be loved.
Strange Magic is a musical fantasy-fairy tale about love, heartache, bravery and friendship. The film is entertaining, fun and colorful with an all star talent cast.
Strange Magic is in theaters nationwide now!
