There was a wonderful turnout at the AMA yesterday night with many questions asked that Brent and Ashleigh were happy to answer! Thanks to their friend Ian we have a compilation of questions that were answered last night.
Get them all after the break!
From the Reddit description:
Hello, I'm Brent Hodge and I made the movie A Brony Tale about guys who are big fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It’ll be in theaters in select cities July 8th and on iTunes and VOD July 15th. In the movie, I tagged along with Ashleigh Ball (who does the voices of ponies Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack) to the national BronyCon convention in NYC and met all kinds of Bronies on the way.
Pony up the proof! (https://twitter.com/
Ask us anything!
- Trailer - http://trailers.apple.com/
trailers/independent/ abronytale/ - List of Screenings - http://www.bronytalemovie.com
- iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/
movie/a-brony-tale/ id884246233?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Question: Who’s your favorite film director?
Brent Hodge: Morgan Spurlock!!!
Ashleigh Ball: my favorite director is brent hodge ;P
Question: I got my ticket for A Bony Tale in SF and am excited, what can you say to make me more excited about the movie?
What advice do you have for someone who wants to work in the film industry?
Brent Hodge: wooohoo! thanks for the support… okay this may or may not be exciting for you but I will be in SF for the screening because Im currently living here. I guess I can offer a hug???
advice - all depends what you want to do.. if you want to direct.. direct every single day. if you want to film, film every day, edit, writing etc...same thing. just live it and breath it.
Question: To Ashleigh: Did you enjoy working on A Brony Tale more or less than you enjoy your voice acting work for MLP, and what specific aspects of either stand out to you in particular?
Ashleigh Ball: all the stuff i work on is so different, from hey ocean to mlp to brony tale, there are so many positive aspects to each thing. though for brony tale, i had a blast because i got to work with my pal brent!
Question: Brent Hodge, what was your opinion of the fandom when you decided to take on this project and how has that changed, if at all, after you finished the film?
Brent Hodge: it completely changed. I went into this with Ashleigh because I honestly wanted to make a documentary about how weird it all was! I really didn't see that though, I saw a bunch of guys who put friendship first and are kind and caring.. I was actually the weird one!
Question: As a mom whos daughter loves MLP I have to say I love it's message. How does it feel to be a part of something that is a symbol for the anti bullying crusade? Also, I have to say this: " Hi Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack! " - From my daughter
Brent Hodge: When we started filming back in 2012, the fandom was just growing so knowing that it was a symbol of anti bullying didn't even cross our minds! but its cool to be a part of all the good the show is bringing!
Question: Who is your favourite character from the show?
Ashleigh Ball: applejack vs rainbow dash... don't make me choose haha :)
Question: After the convention and doing research into the fandom, what is your overall opinion on it?
Brent Hodge: I was just fascinated… I wanted to know more and more. my overall opinion now is great. I got nothing but respect from the community. Im interested to see where it goes as a movement
Question: Be honest, what was the first thing you thought when you heard about a bunch of grown up men liking My Little Pony:FiM?
Ashleigh Ball: it was definitely bizarre when I first heard about it and when they started coming to Hey Ocean shows but it has really become quite normal now
Question: Who is best pony?
Brent Hodge: SPIKE!!
Question: when can I expect it to show up on Netflix, if ever?
Brent Hodge: Netflix -- looks like maybe a late September release! It'll also be on iTunes soon after the theatrical release
Question: Do you have fans coming to your Hey Ocean! concerts just because they also like your MLP work? Would you rather they come because they like your band's music?
Also, do you think you'd get along with your MLP characters if they were real?
Ashleigh Ball: come for the show but stay for the music! no matter what you come for, you will dance and have fun at a hey ocean show….if MLP characters were real, I would for sure!
Question: Are we going to see either of you at any Brony conventions in the future?
Ashleigh Ball: hodgee is going to bronycon with the film! its on DVD sale for the first time there and he will be doing a panel (i might sign a few copies he can take with him) and for me, it all depends with the band and the shows I'm on but hoping to!
Question: To Ashleigh: What do you think about people claiming Applejack is a background character?
Ashleigh Ball: i would say no way… soup’s on every pony!!
Question: What surprised you most about Bronies that you discovered while making the documentary?
Brent Hodge: What surprised me the most was just how nice they are. when you interview people, you normally get 10, 20 minutes of their time. with the bronies, they actually picked me up at the airport, took me to the best spots for dinner, spent a bunch of time with me, and were just great guys all around.
Question: Will we ever see Rainbow Dash's parents or find out what really happened with Applejack's parents?
Ashleigh Ball: ohhhhhhhh you will have to keep watching to see! my lips are sealed
Question: What got you into joining the team of working on this Documentary? What do you like most about bronies?
What do you think you would have said to someone who didn't know anything about bronies, before and after the making of this Documentary?
Ashleigh Ball: it was really just hodge and I being friends and hanging out at the start, then it turned into this film! I like the bronies for how kind they are and I love that they have found a community where they can be themselves!
and we get people who don't know what a brony is all the time.. first reaction is always weirded out and we say, just wait.. go watch the film, it will all make sense!
Question: would it be a good movie to show to skeptical parents?
Brent Hodge: yup for sure, it really breaks it down for anyone who has never heard of what a brony is
Question: What's the most demanding thing about being a voice actor? Do you imitate voices at parties?
Ashleigh Ball: it can be tough of the vocals at times, especially with music as well, my voice doesn't get much of a rest! I do imitate hodgee's voice pretty well. he hates it
Brent Hodge: I only hate it because it is inaccurate. Ash makes my voice sound squeaky and high pitched when we all know its raspy, deep, sexy and sophisticated.
Question: To both Ashleigh and Brent: What're your reactions to the recent stories on kids being bullied for liking My Little Pony (Grayson Bruce and Michael Morones)?
Brent Hodge: Its obviously not easy to see this in the media but its pretty cool how the brony community gets behind things. Human nature does exist.
Question: Mike "Final Draft" Bernstein, an associate producer of A Brony Tale, recently got thrown out of the pony convention Babscon for various reasons. Allegedly one of the reasons was him acting inappropriately towards Ashleigh when trying to get an interview with her for his brony news network. Can you confirm or deny this or shed some light on the situation?
Brent Hodge: Mike is a huge reason this documentary came together. There was no inappropriate anything. He is a great friend and also really wanted this documentary to be great for the brony community.
Question: What made you want to work on this film?
Who is your favorite pony from the show?
Brent Hodge: I just thought the film was such a great concept. It totally fit with our style and also it was ashleigh who is my pal so we got to just hang out and be creative
my favorite pony from the show is Spike, which I have been reminded in this AMA is technically NOT a pony but instead is a DRAGON but then I was also reminded that its not about the pony on the outside but the pony on the inside that counts which gave me the confidence and reassurance to stick to my first answer which was SPIKE.. the best pony of them all...
Question: I really love Hey Ocean's music. You guys have a sound that just lifts my spirits, so I want to thank you for that and I hope to make one of your concerts some day. Do any Hey Ocean songs make it into the film?
Brent Hodge: they do!!! live version of big blue wave and Make a Dance Up is the last credits song
Question: How would you respond to someone saying something along the lines of "Do we really need another Brony documentary? This community is far too narcissistic." Can I get this movie at this years BronyCon? Thank you so much for your time!
Brent Hodge: thats like saying there is too many brony musicians… there is different stories being told here in my opinion. there are millions of different documentaries that could be made about bronies, its fascinating…..YES!!! bronycon is where we are kicking off the sales
Question: Any chance one or both of you would go to BABSCon 2015?
Ashleigh Ball: for sure!
Brent Hodge: Im living in SF these days so definitely there.. only if DustyKatt comes though.. as my bodyguard.. and personal cook .. and possibly my motorcycle chauffer
Question: What was your favorite part about making the movie?
Brent Hodge: the favorite part for me is interviewing a guy named Bryan who is in the film. He might have been the best subject Ive ever interviewed.
The film begins its theatrical run on July 6th in Los Angeles and hits the rest of the nation starting July 8th.
Visit bronytalemovie.com for tickets, updates on the film's theater release and updates on theater info!
Twitter: Calpain
