Meet and Hear Diane Birch
For singer-songwriter Diane Birch, music was a refuge. Although Diane was born in Michigan, her childhood was spent on the move as the daughter of a preacher, living between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia,...
GIFTED Movie in theaters
GIFTED Movie in theaters April 7
I recently attended the GIFTED press junket in Los Angeles on behalf of Divine Lifestyle to view a private screening of the “Gifted Movie” which was going to be released in theaters on April 7. The movie portrayed a wonderful message about how family is not always the one we are born into. It is so true that family comes in all shapes and sizes and love is the central key.
McKenna Grace and the Message of GIFTED
When asked what the message of GIFTED means to actress Mckenna Grace, she summed the movie up quite nicely.
“At the end of the day, no one can tell you if your family is perfect or not. You may just have a mom, or you may just live with your daddy, or two moms, or two dads. Or, you may live with your grandparents or an aunt or an uncle. People say that a perfect family has to have a mom and dad, a big amazing house and a lot of money. But as long as you have a loving, caring person that you live with, then I think that’s perfect for you.”
GIFTED in select theaters April 7th + Everywhere April 12th
Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year- old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary’s landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary’s teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.
Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: Tom Flynn
Produced by: Karen Lunder, Andy Cohen
GIFTED Cast Interviews
To my delight, the following morning I was able to interview the main characters of Gifted: Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Jenny Slate, and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer.
Click on the links below to listen to the audio of the interviews:
Chris Evens & McKenna Grace
Jenny Slate & Octavia Spencer
In GIFTED, we get to see a more serious side of Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer is as fabulous as always. However, the actor that steals the show by far is Mckenna Grace. Her range and depth as a character was impressive for her age. Keep an eye out for this girl to be a leading actress in many more films to come.
Everyone knows actor Chris Evans from his widely popular role as Captain America in the Marvel movies. In his career, he has judiciously chosen a balance of blockbuster and smaller more interior films. One of his movies that I really enjoyed was the rom/com film “WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?” Trust me on this one ladies – if you haven’t yet seen “WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?” watch it! Let me just say this in advance, you’re welcome. But I digress, Chris plays a messier role both on the inside and out in GIFTED. It seems that every moment in this film his character Frank is carrying his anger, guilt, resentment, fear and love. A tough combination of emotions and feelings and Chris delivers soundly.
I sincerely loved this movie and plan on taking my family when it opens nationwide on April 12th. This is a family drama for everyone, it has a timeless quality to it. It feels like the kind of movies I grew up watching – it makes you laugh and cry. Fathers will enjoy this film just as much as the ladies. There were a few men in the audience during the preview that I noticed being just as emotional during the film as I was.
Another notable character in the film is feline and will steal your heart. This movie made me want to run out and adopt all of the cats and kittens possible. If you or a friend are interested in adopting a cat or a kitten, read below on where you can adopt and how you can raise money for Best Friends Animal Society.
See the GIFTED Movie Trailer here
Best Friends Animal Society Adoptions
Fox Searchlight will give $25.00 to Best Friends Animal Society from now until May 8, 2017. Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. Best Friends operates the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, along with lifesaving programs in partnership with more than 1,700 rescue groups and shelters across the country.
Get social with the GIFTED Movie
Like Fox Searchlight & GIFTED on Facebook
Tweet with Fox Searchlight & GIFTED on Twitter
See Fox Searchlight & GIFTED on YouTube
Check out Fox Searchlight & GIFTED on Instagram
Disclosure: Thank you to Fox Searchlight for paying for my travel expenses to attend the press junket for Gifted. As with all of my reviews, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I am a big fan of Best Friends. My mom has gone twice to visit and I’d love to visit too!
Love Chris Evans but haven’t really heard about this movie until now. I’ll have to go see it!
This looks like a fabulous movie!! I love the plot and the actors. Chris Evans is soo cute!
I am so excited to see this movie! I am even more excited after reading your post!
I was just reading another blog post about this movie that has me excited to check it out. It’s cool that they are donating money to help animals.
This movie sounds so awesome. I prefer movies like this that lift up your soul. It sounds like the uncle just wants to do what’s best for his niece.
This is the movie my daughter keeps talking about. She wants us to watch it, she said that she’s sure that we will all love it.
I keep hearing about this one. I have to check it out, thanks for sharing!
It sounds interesting and inspiring. I would love to watch it soon.
This movie sounds very interesting. I will have to put it on my must-see list. Of course, I wait until they come out on DVD.
Just watched the trailer you provided as you made me interested in knowing more. I love new movies, so now we may have to go see this one!
I am super excited for this movie!. I cannot wait to see it.
I am so excited to see this one. For one thing, Chris Evans makes me swoon. For another, I love stories like this that touch the heart.
This sounds like a really emotional movie! I don’t watch a lot of movies but I am planning to see this.
This looks like it is going to be a great movie. I will have to plan a night to see it with some of my girlfriends.
I saw the trailer and after reading a few blog posts about Gifted – I am convinced! Going to see it once it comes out.
I am excited to watch this. It sounds like a truly great film to catch. Thanks for sharing the trailer to Gifted!
This film’s character seem to have a lot of depth. I think I’ll enjoy seeing this one! I really like the actors.
I don’t know why I haven’t heard of this movie before, but it sounds really good. I can’t wait to watch it.
I am looking forward to watching gifted. I know this is going to be a really great film with lots of heart-tugging moments.
This is one movie I could watch over and over. I love Chris Evans, and that young actress, McKenna Grace is awesome. Gifted will surely win hearts everywhere. I am recommending this film to friends and family too.
I have been wanting to see Gifted since I first heard about it. It sounds like such a touching story!
I definitely have to check this out! It looks like it would be super interesting.
This looks like it will be an excellent movie for parents especially.
I really like the story line and am sure it will convey quite a message.
I believe this is one of those feel-good movies that is perfect for the whole family to watch and I can’t wait to watch it with my boys.
This film really looks fantastic! I agree that family is more defined by love, caring and support than by blood relation.
I am really looking forward to this movie. It looks like a wonderful story.
I definitely have to go and see this movie. It looks amazing. I better bring tissue with me too.
This movie sounds great. It really is true that sometimes family is the one we make rather than the one we were given.
I am looking forward to seeing this movie. It has such a great story and the cast is top notch.
I really want to see this movie! It looks like something I would love! I can’t wait to see it!
I enjoy Chris Evans movies and will have to eventually watch this. Looks like it will be a great movie.
I’ve been seeing the previews for this movie and I can’t wait to see it! I think I’m going to go watch it with some of my best friends.
This movie was absolutely adorable. We laughed, we cried, and I can’t wait to do it all over again! Fred stole the show for us!
It sounds like such a sweet story of a family striving to so right by the little girl. I want to take my family to go see it over our spring break.
Gifted looks like such a heart warming movie! What a great cast and new comers too. I cant wait to watch this!
This year by my watch list. I love Octavia Spencer and aim a sucker for a tear jerker.
This movie looks so interesting and awesome. I love the story.