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Race to Witch Mountain on Blu-ray

August 24, 2009

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HOLLYWOOD, CA (RPRN) 08/24/09 — Interview with stars Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino

By Gabrielle Pantera

- “I was a big fan of the original movies and so is my six-year-old girl,” says Race to Witch Mountain star Dwayne Johnson. “It was a very easy decision for me to sign up for this project. This is a movie where you can combine great action with great adventure, as well as great family values and great humor. It all comes with a touch of fantasy, too.”

Race to Witch Mountain is about a Las Vegas gas cab driver trying to keep on the straight and narrow.

Two kids Anna Sophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig, want a ride out to the middle of the desert. The kids are not just kids. They’re aliens who have superpowers. What’s a bad guy gone good supposed to do? Jack seeks expert help from scientist Alex Friedman. Will she help or turn them in to get her career back on track? “I saw the original it when I was about ten or eleven,” says Johnson. “The great part about that movie was that it captured my imagination. The kids in the original were empowered. They had these really cool powers. I think anytime you empower children it’s exciting.” “I love stunts,” says Johnson. “Thankfully, I was allowed to do everything I wanted to do in Race to Witch Mountain. I did all of the great car chase sequences. I did all of the fighting scenes with the soldiers and the monster alien. It was a lot of fun.” “I play an astrophysicist named Dr. Alex Friedman,” says Race to Witch Mountain star Carla Gugino. “She’s been discredited from several universities because she’s decided that there is enough hard data to prove that there is alien life.

That wasn’t a popular notion for the respectable university she used to work for, so she’s relegated to lecturing at a UFO convention in Las Vegas.” “I’ve played an astrophysicist, a neurosurgeon, a rocket scientist and a contingency analyst - but what I love about playing Alex is that she is also a total goofball,” says Gugino. “I like the fact that when we meet her, she has gone from lecturing at Harvard and Stanford to speaking at a UFO convention in Las Vegas, but only because she truly believes in her information and findings. She believes in life on other planets, even if that makes her a pariah of sorts. I don’t think she sees aliens as little green men - or even as two children - but she does believe there is life out there in the universe.” I was a huge fan of the original Witch Mountain movies in the ’70s, and the opportunity not to remake but really to continue the franchise 30 years later, with a whole new set of characters, a whole new adventure, as well as include some touchstone moments from the original films was too good an opportunity to miss,” says director Andy Fickman “We were able to take Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, the original kids, and put them on Jack Bruno’s journey.

So, if you’re a fan of the franchise, like I was, the notion of being able to continue the story 30 years later was very intriguing.” “I felt a lot of pressure in wanting to deliver a movie that I, whom I consider to be the biggest fan of Witch Mountain would want to see,” says Fickman. “It was important that it was not a direct re-make. This had to be a slight homage to Witch Mountain while still creating our own world.” “It was also important to track down the original Witch Mountain kids, Kim Richards and Ike Eisemann, who played the alien children in the original movie, and lure them back into the world,” says Fickman. “Paris Hilton is Kim’s niece and by chance my girlfriend and Paris were close and had worked together, so I asked Paris if I could speak to her aunt. She was happy to put that together and I talked with Kim on the phone.” “At first I think she wondering why I was bothering her but I asked to take her to lunch at Disney,” says Fickman. “She had a rush of memories but she still wondered why she should revisit something that was so special. But the more I told her about our version, the more she got excited. Ike was living in Florida so I found him and asked if he would come out of retirement and play with us. Once they signed on it was like a family reunion that just felt so right.”

Race to Witch Mountain is action-packed with chase scenes and special effects. The special effects are well done. You almost believe the kids have the special powers they show. If your children try to move things with their minds after watching this movie don’t be surprised. Johnson’s character becomes more likable as the movie continues. The casting of Robb and Ludwig was a great choice. They’re not clones of the original siblings played by Kim Richards and Ike Eisemann. The characters are not as innocent as when the first movie came out in the 70s. Garry Marshall and Cheech Marin have cameo appearances.

This movie is family friendly. Make some popcorn and enjoy.

Race to Witch Mountain

Rating PG Run Time: 98 minutes

Release date August 4, 2009 Disc one has the Blu-ray version of the film, Discover hidden references to the original movie, Deleted scenes, bloopers. Disc 2 is the Film on DVD. Disc 3 is the digital copy.

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