The Main Event ~ Interview with Seth Carr and Tichina Arnold

Sitting down to enjoy a movie as a family has become a nightly thing for us. Netflix is always there to deliver great family content, and their newest release is no exception. The Main Event is a great family friendly movie, full of humor, action and heart! See why the stars of the film think you and your family need to watch it.

ABOUT THE MAIN EVENT:

When 11-year-old Leo Thompson (Seth Carr) discovers a magical wrestling mask that grants him super strength, he uses it to enter a WWE competition. With the support of his grandmother (Tichina Arnold), Leo will do whatever it takes to achieve his dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. Can one kid win it all, in the face of epic challengers in the ring? Directed by Jay Karas, THE MAIN EVENT co-stars Adam Pally, Ken Marino, and features WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Sheamus.

My son, who is a big wrestling fan loved the movie. My girls who don’t like wrestling also love the movie. It really does have something for everyone. As a parent, I loved the diversity the movie displayed through the home life of the main character. It was nice to see a not so picture perfect family, family issues, bullying, and other real life things kids are facing in the spotlight. It shows kids going through similar situations that they are not alone. I also loved the self confidence message. Behind the mask, Kid Chaos could do anything. Deep down he could do it all along, with or without any mask.

My son and I had the privilege of speaking with Seth Carr & Tichina Arnold who star in The Main Event. Here are a few highlights from our interview, enjoy!

Why Should Families Watch this movie

Seth: “Cause it tells kids that you shouldn’t feel down. You always have someone to run to when there’s bullying and stuff. You don’t need to put a mask on to be confident. You already are confident. You have that inside yourself so don’t hide yourself from other people. Be you. Don’t put on a mask to show other people. Always bring out the best of you. Don’t let other people put you down.”

Tichina: “Like Seth said, you don’t have to hide behind a mask, an item, a piece of material that makes you strong. It’s who you are and what’s inside of you. I want people to have good old fashioned fun, sit down, watch and enjoy The Main Event.”

Stunts

Seth did some of his own stunts, and a ton of training for the film. He loved doing the wrestling scenes. Tichina also loved doing the wrestling stunt. She said “it was electrifying” but felt it when she got back to the hotel.

Filming The Main Event/Working Together

Seth: “It was very fun. Tichina has a great personality, so it was really fun to work with her. It was just a fun experience. Everybody on set was good to work with. I learned a lot.”

Tichina: “I always talk about the cast and the crew, because you can’t have a good cast, a good project, without a good crew. It was obviously very technical as well. Watching Seth at work, not only did he have to act, he had to be in rehearsal, he had to study, he had to work out, he had to learn tricks. Watching everybody else at work was refreshing for me because you didn’t see me doing that. I didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting, but I love the fact that I was able to play a character that you don’t normally see. It’s a movie that covers a lot of areas. It covers bullying, instilling confidence in our children, biracial children and biracial families. It covers hard work in wrestlers. Like, these guys are real wrestlers who have to work really hard every day at their craft. Just watching them work and watching them have to do a feed over and over again with the wear and tear on their bodies. It’s a lot, but I’m happy that we got a good finished project.”

Bullying

Seth: “Avoid bullies! I am not a fan of bullies. Stick with your close friends and talk to your family members, just avoid them. People that do that want to bring others down and bullying is not ok. Always know that there is always a person out there that loves and respects you, and that you can talk to.”

Tichina: “I remember I used to tell my daughter all of the time when she started school… whenever you feel uncomfortable, if anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable, you always tell an adult. Tell somebody and express it to somebody else, so that you don’t have to carry that burden all by yourself. There are a lot of people out there that will give you good advice, we must always make sure to talk to our parents, or grandparents and let them know whenever we feel uncomfortable. Because that’s how we can stop bullying, your parents and people that love you and your family members are there so that you don’t feel alone. You have a big team of people that love you, like Seth said.”

Favorite Scene to Film

Seth: “The scene where there’s the cage and stuff. When my dad and I do the backflip onto Samson with my elbow. The whole vibe in that scene was just ecstatic. The crowd was roaring! It was just so surreal.”

Tichina: “I never have a favorite. I told someone else on another interview that I kind of loved watching the kids who were watching the wrestlers at work. I love watching everybody. Sometimes I become a voyeur, because I’m always in front of the camera and I never get the opportunity to see what happens with the other scenes. I was able to watch the process, so I really enjoyed watching everybody else at work.”

Favorite Wrestlers

In the film, Smooth Operator was Seth’s favorite wrestler. He can sing really well in real life which was fun to hear. Seth said “all of the wrestlers were very nice and Samson was a gentle giant, a big teddy bear.” Seth also shared with us that his favorite wrestler in real life is The Rock… that is ours too!