Disney Movies has a new release, Secretariat which opens October 8 but I saw an advance screening during BlogHer10. I was invited to the screening and a reception where Mark Ciardi, the co-producer attended. I remember a bit about Secretariat, the Triple Crown winner, because of my father who was a sports fan. I was excited to see what the movie was about and to take part in a Disney event.

Secretariat is a family movie. It held the attention of the young children who attended as well as the adults, even those of us who didn’t know anything about Secretariat, the race horse and Triple Crown Winner (my friends who accompanied me).  I felt as if I were right there racing with Secretariat and although I knew the endings, I was enthralled watching the races.

I loved that the movie focused on more than just the story of Secretariat, but the story of Penny Chenery, who took over her father’s stable and then became the owner of the horse who would make history. I got to know the characters well, including Penny’s family and the horse trainer, Lucien Luarin, who added a touch of comedy to the movie.

After the movie, I had a chance to talk with Mark Ciardi, who was articulate and excited to answer my questions about the movie. He probably answered the same questions by the other bloggers in attendance, but he did so with grace and a lovely smile. I learned that Penny Chenery appears in a scene, viewed the movie with her children and gave it a thumbs up. Mark, who produced other sports related movies including The Rookie and Invincible, said that Secretariat tells the story of Penny Chenery and he worked hard to get it right. I agree that he did.

I was invited by Walt Disney Movies to the screening and the reception of Secretariat and received a swag bag. I was not required to write a post, but enjoyed the movie and wanted to share it with my readers.

Wordless Wednesday featuring Mark Ciardi, co-producer of Secretariat and me at a reception following the advance screening of the movie held by Disney Movies during BlogHer10:

Disney has announce that there is a new, free iPhone and iPod App available for download. With it you can enjoy Disney to its utmost:

• Play and download games
• Listen to Disney Radio
• Watch videos
• Play Disney Name That Song
• Find Disney movie showtimes, locations and purchase tickets
• Interact with Disney characters
• Get the latest Disney news

Download it for free at iTunes.

Make a music video and enter the URock Sweepstakes. Open to minors in the US just make and upload a video of your own using songs from the contest website. The contest ends August 23rd at 5 PM (PDT).

Here are the prizes:

Grand Prize 1 — L.A. Baby: Three day / two night trip for winner and three guests to Los Angeles, CA including hotel accommodations and a tour of L.A. to see the JONAS LA series sites.

Grand Prize 2 — Dance Forever: Three day / two night trip for winner and three guests to Los Angeles, CA including hotel accommodations, a 30 minute jam session with Allstar Weekend and a $1,000 shopping spree for the winner at the Disney Store.

Grand Prize 3 — Backyard Beach: Three day / two night trip for winner and three guests to Los Angeles, CA including hotel accommodations and a visit to the Phineas and Ferb studio to meet the creators.

Grand Prize 4 — It’s On:  Three day / two night trip for winner and three guests to Los Angeles, CA including hotel accommodations, four  tickets to the Camp Rock 2 concert on October 12, 2010 and a meet and greet with Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers while visiting  LA.

There are lots of other prizes. Take a chance and enter!