Apple TV+ and Skydance Animation invited several lucky young fans to attend Saturday morning’s global premiere of “Luck” alongside the film’s stars at the Regency theater in Westwood.
The green carpet saw a majority of the cast engage with the press, including stars Eva Noblezada, Colin O’Donoghue, Adelynn Spoon, and voice acting icon John Ratzenberger. Missing from the carpet were Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg and Simon Pegg, whose characters play pivotal roles in the film.
Ratzenberger voices Rootie in the film, the self-appointed mayor of Bad Luck. “Luck happens when you’re prepared for it, you find that opportunity shows up when you’re prepared for it,” Ratzenberger shares of his personal outlook.
The film tells the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest girl in the world who follows a lucky black cat into the Land of Luck where she encounters a love-smitten dragon, a German unicorn, millennial leprechauns and dance-loving bunnies, all in the hopes of finding a lucky penny to give to her best friend Hazel.
The production itself was certainly in need of luck as it faced many challenges from the pandemic as well as production changes. “I was constantly amazed at the resilience and determination of the team,” says David Ellison, founder and CEO of Skydance. “Not only working from home but also building a studio in Madrid simultaneously. I could not be more proud of the accomplishment and what everybody on the crew did to make this happen.”
Director Peggy Holmes reflects back on the challenges of making this animated adventure.” “As we made this film over Zoom, we were in each other’s homes…. in a way, we shared more about each other’s families,” Holmes says. “The film is all about family connection, and that helped us get on board with that vision.”
This is the first animated voice-acting role for the two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada (“Yellow Rose”) who voices Sam. “Normally in my job I use my whole body, I use everything, for this it was just the voice. It was definitely a challenge, but I learned a lot,” says Noblezada.
As for getting Jane Fonda to do her first animated role as Babe the dragon, producer Dana Goldberg (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Mission: Impossible” films) recalls hearing Fonda express interest in animation work on the set of “Grace and Frankie.”
“We love Jane and we’ve worked with her for over eight years,” says Goldberg. “In the film, we have this character that’s larger than life in Babe, the CEO of Good Luck, and Jane just fits that role so perfectly.”
Fonda was very much involved in the creative process, even naming her own character and inspiring some of the movements of the dragon.
A lot of research went into the making of the film and screenwriter Kiel Murray and the film’s team even met with an Irish consultant about the history of leprechauns. “They are from every ethnicity and always reflect the culture they’re in,” says Murray, explaining why the movie has milennial leprechauns.
Irish actor Colin O’Donoghue insisted that his character Gerry, a very cute-looking millennial leprechaun, have his hometown accent. It was a welcome change for the “Once Upon a Time” star who rarely gets to work in an Irish accent. “It’s great to get to play an Irish character,” says O’Donoghue. “When I was in “Once Upon a Time,” I was playing Captain Hook as English.” “Luck” relays the message that good or bad, luck is always random, and it’s not nearly as important as the people you surround yourself with in life. “Luck” premieres globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 5th, 2022.