Starlet

10,000 B.C.

You never know what you'll see on Hollywood Boulevard...like the premiere of "10,000 BC"!

The News of My Demise is Grossly Exaggerated...

It appears the earlier photos of my "death" in scene 2 of my first feature "Metal Man" were too much for some of our younger readers....and a couple older ones were freaked out, too!  My poor sister had to assure her five children that I was still alive...just out in Hollywood where it's all dress-up!

Fake blood is just one of the tricks of the trade, as evdenced here by the make-up case on my latest movie "Just Play the Game" where I play the manipulative blackmailing mother of a high school basketball player...you see, my son has to be the star at any cost....heh heh heh...

After spending approximately two hours in hair and make-up to look about what I looked like when I arrived (but with bigger hair) I filmed for roughly 15 minutes.  Is it because I am such a pro...or possibly because we were losing our light??

Photos to come of the recent shoot (which continues later this week) but I did love this one of the "blood" pills in the make-up case.  Over to the right, the things that look like big vitamins are actually capsules you put in your mouth during a fight scene...when you bite them, they explode and blood dribbles out....effectively. 

The blood smeared on my face, neck and hair (yuck) for "Metal Man" was actually some goo they whipped up in a bucket (they needed a lot for the many fight scenes) then spread on me with a popsicle stick.  It was cold and jelly-like....when it dried it was stiff and crunchy.  I drove home with the blood on wondering what I'd tell police in the event I was pulled over....we had some pretty good stories planned but I assure you that I never passed the speed limit to tempt fate!

Giggletown is a fun place to be!

Giggletown....is now a colorful set slapped up on a rented stage in Woodland Hills...but, hopefully, with a little salesmanship, it will be the show every American kid waits to watch on a Saturday morning (or any morning, for that matter)!

The character seen on the left leading the cast of kids is Andy Glockenspiel and six to ten kids make up his team during different segments of the Giggle Show variety show (www.giggleshow.com).  Charlotte is the one on the right in this photo and she appears in most of the pilot show.

Of course, with a bunch of kids, long hours and limited speaking lines, there was infighting and cattiness, greed and suspicion...this is Hollywood, after all....

And there was a ton of pizza, chips, cupcakes and juice boxes....enough sugar for the  population of Giggletown...

Three cameras, a big crew, talented adults dressed up in lots of different character costumes, director, producers....not to mention the parents....all spending their Saturday on a dream.....but, If Giggletown gets picked up, who knows where it's young residents will be headed???  I know those adult actors were headed straight to the bar after nine hours with kids!  

iCarly Star in Improv Troupe

Watching yet another episode of the cute and creative Nickelodeon show, "iCarly," Charlotte was stunned to see a member of her "Total Improv" comedy troupe playing the high school con-man "Rip-off Rodney."

Funnyman Chris David now has a re-occuring role on the hit show....congratulations!  I hope success is catching 'cause Charlotte hand out with "Rip-off Rodney" every Wednesday as they prepare for their performance at Pasadena's famed Ice House Comedy Club.

www.icarly.com

My First Feature Film...Death in Scene 2

In my first feature film, the low-budget straight-to-DVD "Metal Man," I play the mother of the reluctant super hero whose body and head become a metal suit whenever he needs his powers.

It is his superhero status that takes me down soon after my first scene sending him off to college for the day.  The "Thugs" chasing my poor Kyle find me and me husband first....a very short-lived first movie but, hey, we have to start somewhere.

My son, Kyle,played by Sam Hoffmire, was exactly the sone I'd like in real life...and a very talented guy.  He will go places....and I can only hope he remembers his "mother" when he makes it big!

Charlotte hung out on the "set"...if you can call it that, a crummy house in an even crummier neighborhood in someplace called North Hills, and took some photos.  Craft services was Ruffles and cold Chinese food.  The director, producer and team were all rock star wannabes...but, hey, you have to start somewhere!

A HUGE Celebrity Sighting! Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham

In the most surreal celeb sighting to date....I walked into Charlotte's gymnastics two days ago passing by the snack bar to hear a very thin woman asking her little boys what kind of "crisps" they wanted....cheese, sour cream and onion???

Crisps?  Must be British. Thin with a classic bob, stilettos and three boys resembling David Beckham....WHAT????!!! What was Victoria Beckham doing in Gymnastics Olympica (www.gymnasticsolympica.com) in industrial Van Nuys on a Saturday morning????

I sat on the bleachers while they played around me.  She was a doting mother, the boys were well-behaved, and it was truly like any other American family juggling shoes, snacks and sweatshirts at the gym...well, not American and handily aided by a fresh-faced middle aged nanny....and, oh yes, the guy to the left is a guard equipped with headset and two other guys outside that I saw later on.

I was impressed...the kids were out at the gym playing with all of the regular kids...I'll be there next week hoping for David Beckham doing drop-off...(photos below of little Cruz Beckham and the black getaway car).  

The Hills are Alive...with Cate Blanchett wannabes!

In her role as Friedrich, the second oldest Von Trapp child in "The Sound of Music," Charlotte proudly proclaimed that 'if Cate Blanchett can play Bob Dylan, I can play Freidrich."  And she did.

Of course, Cate's costumers had a bigger budget and a make-up team suited to a major motion picture.  Charlotte's Young Stars Theatre (www.musicandtheatre.com) had a bunch of hand-me-downs and no budget at all.

Here she is to the right of Liesel and left of one of the other Von Trapp kids (who can remember their names?) and her friend, Matthew, plays Kurt...no need for cross-dressing there, he really is a boy.

The show runs for three weeks and is a hoot.  Great singing and enough comedy relief that you are still awake into the second hour!

I'll Dive for You...! Yes I will Nike!

In one of the stranger casting calls we've encountered, Charlotte was asked to come dive, or really do a flip or trick off a board, for a big Nike spot.

Not having much in her repertoire, she decided to abstain from the big dive without a second thought...and then the calls began.  Apparently, there are no 10-year-olds that can do a flip off the dive board in the entire metropoitan area of Los Angeles.  Frankly, it's all the liability that has made diving a practically non-existent summer pasttime.

The casting director called three times after we blew off the first audition to make sure we'd come to the next one....and, believe it or not, Charlotte's little flip off the board got her a callback last Sunday.

I was sure we were in the money, but in a classic case of "what does the client really want?" we found out that the arrogant client dude with entourage (ad agency rep or director, I'm unsure) wanted the kids to run, jump and flip with great distance....yet with absolutely no practice.

Needless to say we won't be cashing the Nike check anytime soon...another learning experience I would have preferred to skip!  FYI...the starlet is the frail thing in pink terrified to smash her face while satisfying Nike guy's demands....

How many kids does it take to make a Lands End Catalog??

Yes, the starlet is number 387 at the Lands End catalog go-see today in Hollywood.  Unbelievable....and we got through fast compared to the 200 people who came after us. 

The line just to sign in snaked down the stairs and out the door...all colors, types and sizes...wanting to be Lands End kids.

I took a chance and parked on a space marked "Loading Only" figuring that Saturday was safe...and I was right!  Good thing because where do the parents of 500 children park?

Who knows where it will go...I found it shocking that several kids that had been in Lands End catalogs before still had to take a number and wait like the rest of us....also amazing is how many kids and parents had no problem spending their Saturday on a remote possibility.

We're getting better...took the Nintendo DS and reading materials.  Forgot food, though....but had plenty of time to go out to the car, eat lunch and get back with an hour or so to spare....