Aria Wallace Unplugged
Posted on November 20, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Actress Aria Wallace of Roxy Hunter
Interview: Kaitlyn Maher of ‘Santa Buddies’
Posted on November 19, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Kaitlyn Maher, who enchanted millions with her appearances on “America’s Got Talent,” has a sweet, clear voice and a sunny personality. She is quite busy these days, appearing in Disney’s new Santa Buddies
Imagine what she will do when she is six.
Yes, Kaitlyn is just five years old. And she and her mother Alison took the time to speak with me about what she is up to, from singing and song-writing to taking care of her baby brother.
Don’t forget to check out my Santa Buddies giveaway!
NM: Do you like being the voice of Tiny the puppy in the new “Santa Buddies” movie?
KM: He’s really cute! I love Tiny because he saves the day and is sweet and nice and cute, and he sings. He shares his love and that’s what I like to do! I think it is wonderful that I get to sing in the movie. I love acting but singing is my favorite thing do to. The song in the movie is “The Christmas Miracle.”
NM: How old were you when you started singing?
I was just one year old.
NM: Are there some Christmas songs on your new CD?
KM: “God Rest Ye” and “Away in a Manger.” My favorite songs to sing are “Amazing Grace” and “Daddy I Love You.” I helped write that song and another one called “Dreams Come True.
NM: Do you have a favorite toy?
KM: I have Samantha, the American Girl. We have some tea and we just play together and I read books to her. I sing to her a lot! I help my baby brother stack his blocks when he needs some help and when he can’t reach something that he wants.
NM: And what movies do you like?
KM: I like to watch the princess movies, “Cinderella” and “Snow White.”
NM: What do you love most about singing?
KM: I wanted to bless people and give them hope and help cheer up their day when they’re having a bad day. I never really have a bad day, I’m always reading books and playing with my baby brother and going to school.
Interview: Vampires from ‘New Moon’
Posted on November 17, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Edi Gathegi and Jamie Campbell Bower play bad guy vampires in “New Moon,” the second in the “Twilight” series based on the best-selling books by Stephanie Meyer. I had a chance to talk with them about making the movie. They were enormous fun, exceptionally friendly and happy to talk about making the movie.
NM: To begin with, this film has a different director, Chris Weitz of “American Pie,” “About a Boy,” and “The Golden Compass.” How will we see his influence on the story?
EG: Every director has his own unique style. Even in big franchise film series they’ll often switch off. Chris knows how to direct big stories and he has worked with CGI and special effects. In terms of color scheme and tones, “Twilight” was very blue and “New Moon” is very brown, with the introduction of the wolves. It does look gorgeous!
NM: How do you develop your walk and other movements for these supremely graceful creatures, the Volturi?
EG: Stephanie Meyer said the Volturi glide. So it’s not a clumpy foot stomp. It has to be liquid looking
JCB: My character is very still. For the one small bit of walking I did from my perch to my next perch, I was like a snake almost.
EG: We went to a moving like a cat workshop with exercises and cat movement. The idea is more like a tiger, lion, or panther. This is a new mythology of vampires, no fangs, no crosses. The Volturi have no blood in their bodies. They never have to move. There is a lot of stillness. We are not trying to pass ourselves off as human like the Cullens are.
NM: Tell me about the look of your characters. What do you wear?
JCB: The look of the Volturi is more stylish in its aesthetic. We are very well dressed even though we don’t get out much. We take what we can from our victims, so it is not always coordinated.
EG: It was a collective ensemble, the group look. Laurent was more rock star-y. He’s 300 years old, well traveled, picked from his favorite fashions of the day. He is fearless, doesn’t have to impress anyone. If it pleased him, he would wear a bright purple Russian car salesman suit.
NM: What’s the most fun about playing Volturi?
JCB: Getting to be incredibly evil and stare. We make use of the contacts, even though they are Irritating and decreased my vision.
EG: That’s the funny part! We are supposed to be the most gorgeous, perfect vision creatures in the planet, and with the contacts in, none of us can see!
Gabourey Sidibe of ‘Precious’
Posted on November 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I love Ellen’s interview with Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character in “Precious.” Director Lee Daniels told the New York Times he knew it would be difficult to find an actress to play the role of an abused pregnant teenager who weighed 350 pounds.
“I couldn’t call Hollywood and say, ‘Send over all your 300-pound black girls,’ ” Daniels explained. “They’d laugh”….Daniels saw 500 girls, including one of his nieces. Ten finalists, none of whom had ever acted before, were put through an aspiring-thespian “boot camp.” “It was kind of like ‘American Idol,’ ” Daniels said. “But I still wasn’t happy. We were weeks away from filming, and I still hadn’t found Precious.”
But when he met Sidibe, he knew he’d found his star.
Unlike Precious, Sidibe is well spoken and cheerful. “I’m not her,” Sidibe said emphatically. “But, when I was 14 or 15, I saw myself in a different way. Back then, I envied a life that I’d made up in my mind. I broke free of that unhappiness and I decided to change — I was going to be happy with myself. No matter what I look like, no matter what people think.” Daniels realized that Sidibe’s attitude was crucial to playing Precious.
In this interview, Sidibe talks about how the love she shared with Mo’Nique helped them get through the most brutal of the movie’s abuse scenes. It is a thrill to witness this talented young woman’s confidence and joy. Like Ellen, I want her to stay just who she is.