Tommy2.net - Music for Your Generation

Quote of the Day:

“I love how I set my alarm for 8:30 and hit snooze til 9:30.”

Megan Mace
Megan & Liz

Sad! Yesterday, Google+ announced that it was lowering it’s minimum age from 18 to 13. As a result, many teen stars opened new Google+ accounts which will serve as a lure to get more teens to join. To be fair, these entertainers have been pressured to create accounts after Google changed their search algorithms earlier this month to favor people with Google+ accounts. Think before joining a social network run by a company that currently searches your email (Gmail), tracks your cellphones location (Android) and the websites you search (Google) to build a profile about you.

I’ve heard that Allstar Weekend ran into a few snags while getting clearance for certain samples used in their new single, I Wanna Dance With Somebody. As a result it will not be released today. They’re hoping it’ll be at iTunes sometime next week. (Pictured above: Allstar Weekend meets up with George Merill last night – he co-wrote Whitney Houston’s, I Just Want To Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know.)

ABC News recently produced a video segment entitled, Tween-Age Dreams, where they interview ‘the man’, Radio Disney DJ, Ernie D and talk about being part of The Lion King: The Broadway Musical. This week I’ve given my thoughts on the content and today I have the answer for a trivia question from yesterday: When and why did the The Lion King on Broadway and Radio Disney end up on Michael Eisner’s day planner as top priorities in 1997?

Prior to opening at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, The Lion King – The Broadway Musical had an eight week run in Minneapolis, MN that began on July 31, 1997. Just like many productions, they opened off broadway to work out the kinks and get the show polished. In this instance, it also needed the approval of former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, who flew in that August to see the show. While in Minneapolis for the day, Michael also scheduled time to hear Radio Disney broadcast on-the-air the first time. So the answer is – Michael Eisner experienced both The Lion King: The Broadway Musical and Radio Disney for the first time during a one day visit to Minneapolis. (In 1997, Radio Disney only had four stations – Atlanta, Birmingham, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City).

2. Kidz Bop Kids – Kidz Bop 21
12. Joyful Noise – Soundtrack
14. Kelly Clarkson – Stronger
22. The Ban Perry – The Band Perry
29. Scotty McCreery – Clear As Day
34. Taylor Swift – Speak Now
36. Maroon 5 – Hands All Over
42. Daughtry – Break The Spell
53. Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
58. Taylor Swift – Fearless
65. Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Soundtrack
68. Mindless Behavior – #1 Girl
81. Selena Gomez – When The Sun Goes Down
100. Demi Lovato – Unbroken
101. Glee: The Music, Season 3 – Soundtrack
105. Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift
106. Big Time Rush: Elevate – Soundtrack
146. Taylor Swift – Speak Now: World Tour Live
165. Hot Chelle Rae – Whatever
168. Selena Gomez – A Year Without Rain
174. A.N.T. Farm – Soundtrack
187. OneRepublic – Waking Up

There’s some more new music online from Mitchel Musso this week. Yesterday, he posted a new video to talk about his upcoming single, Lonely. Just make sure to stick around to the end to get a quick sample. Easy, breezy and feeling good!

Savannah Outen has another new cover on line featuring Jake Coco. Head on over to YouTube to see them perform Run (Sugarland and Matt Nathanson) with a live band.

The Spring campaigns are heating up! Yesterday, Kohl’s announced that actress and singer Lea Michele (Glee) will appear in its Spring 2012 marketing campaign. Candie’s is sold exclusively at Kohl’s Department Stores nationwide and Kohls.com. Here’s a few behind-the-scenes images from her recent Candie’s photo shoot.

Just in time to get you warmed up for London’s 2012 Summer Olympics. Make It or Break It will return to ABC Family on March 26th.

Remember this crazy girl? On Wednesday, Actress/singer Brie Larson’s (United States of Tara) short film, The Arm, won the Special Jury Award for Best Comedic Storytelling at the Sundance Film Festival. That’s not all though, the film she co-wrote and directed is also online at Yahoo.com/sundance. Be sure to head on over and VOTE for it (the contest ends tonight at midnight). Also worth noting, The Arm, features Original Music by Landon Pigg, and Sarah Ramos co-wrote and directed the film too. Remember, back in the day when Tommy2.Net’s Raul, interviewed her in the American Dreams episode, Commencement on NBC?

Tomorrow, Bella Thorne will be making a personal appearance at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IL for the Central Illinois Drive basketball game. Tipoff is at 1:05pm, for more details visit DriveHoops.com.

5pm CST – Takeover (Radio Disney)
Featuring Jared Gilmore (Once Upon A Time).

5pm CST – The Wannabes: The Plagiarist Part I (Starz Kids & Family)
Alan goes to carnival instead of writing his sonata. Out of time, Alan decides to steal an obscure piece off the Internet to turn in. Meanwhile, trouble arises on Sarah’s first date.

6pm CST – Burnham Live Chat (Ustream)

7:30pm CST – A.N.T. Farm: performANTs (Disney Channel)
The ANTs try to sneak out to an older kids concert, but their plan backfires; Cameron tries to get backstage.

8pm CST – Jessie: Take the A-Train… I Think? (Disney Channel)
Jessie has everyone take the subway to the cultural fair; Bertram and Ravi look for a spider in their apartment.

In Concert Tomorrow:

Allstar Weekend, Hollywood Ending, The After Party and Before You Exit
House of Blues
Anaheim, CA

Brad Paisley and The Band Perry
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, NV

Dia Frampton with Blake Shelton
Pensacola Civic Center
Pensacola, FL

Jamie Grace
Mountain Christian Church
Joppa, MD

Kelly Clarkson
Cambria County War Memorial Arena
Johnstown, PA

Plug In Stereo, The Scene Aesthetic, and Romance On A Rocketship
Chameleon
Lancaster, PA

The Summer Set, The Cab, He Is We, Days Difference and Paradise Fears
The Rave
Milwaukee, WI

Another new interview! Click here to read our latest interview – this time, with Hugh Jackman of Real Steel. In it he talks about working with child actors, training for the movie, and his kids actually getting to see the film (which was a first).

Lemonade Mouth rocker and former Stunner, Hayley Kiyoko has been busy working on some new music of her own in the Alt. Rock vein. You can view a performance of her song, Hunting Man, on YouTube. (Jinkies! This time she’s traded in her guitar and is laying down the bass line).

ABC News recently produced a video segment entitled, Tween-Age Dreams, where they interview ‘the man’, Radio Disney DJ, Ernie D. In it he says a handful of things that are quite interesting when you deconstruct them.

Part 4

Well, this doesn’t really have to do with Ernie D. but it has to do with the media. What IS the real story here? It’s all about about The Lion King on Broadway… Ernie D. and Radio Disney were just the bait. In fact, it’s pretty clear this was a well rehearsed interview. (Think Radio Disney can challenge Disney Theatrical when it comes to revenue?)

Tomorrow we’ll end this on a happier note. A little history on a fact that not even ‘the man,’ Ernie D. isn’t aware of. When and why did the The Lion King on Broadway and Radio Disney end up on Michael Eisner’s day planner as top priorities in 1997?

Burnham has announced their Catch Me If You Can Tour will be kicking off in March. Opening acts, include Weatherstar and Romance On A Rocketship. Here are the confirmed dates (more are coming).

March
2 Providence, RI – Firehouse 13
3 Rockville Centre, NY – The Vibe Lounge
7 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
11 Joliet, IL – Mojoe’s
16 Joplin, MO – Solace Music Venue
17 Terre Haute, IN – THMV The Venue

Also, Ariana Grande (Victorious) has booked a couple of shows in Los Angeles, CA next month. Those making it out to the shows will have the opportunity to hear some brand new material. Details coming shortly.

Earlier this week, Zoe Myers was a guest on the morning show, Atlanta & Company on NBC 11 (Atlanta, GA). You can check out her 8 minute video at 11alive.com. (Pictured above: Zoe Myers with Christine Pullara, host of Atlanta & Company).

After disappearing off of the roster at Hollywood Records last year, Anna Margaret is still managing to keep busy. Her latest efforts include acting in the made for TV movie, Brother White. She stars in the film alongside: Victoria Jackson (Saturday Night Live), Jackee Haley (Sister, Sister), Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters) and Bebe Winans. Brother White will premiere on GMC TV on March 11th at 6pm CST and the home release has been set for May 29th.

5:00pm CST – The Wannabes: Prank Wars (Starz Kids & Family)
After pulling a prank on Andrew, a full-blown prank war is ignited. He and Sarah join forces to get back at the guys. Meanwhile Mariah and Shaylen get in on the pranks after both lie about auditioning for the school play.

7pm CST – American Idol: Auditions No. 5 (FOX)
Hopefuls in Galveston, Texas, perform for the judges.

In Concert Tomorrow:

Allstar Weekend, Hollywood Ending, The After Party and Before You Exit
House of Blues
San Diego, CA

Brad Paisley and The Band Perry
Maverik Center
West Valley City, UT

Dia Frampton with Blake Shelton
The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Duluth, GA

Impakt, Chasing Colors, and Reluctant Hero
118 West
Simi Valley, CA

Plug In Stereo, The Scene Aesthetic, and Romance On A Rocketship
Planet Trog
Whitehall, PA

The Summer Set, The Cab, He Is We, Days Difference and Paradise Fears
M Shop
Ames, IA

Tonight Alive
O2 Empire
Shepherds Bush
UK

Tommy2: Your character, Charlie, has a tough relationship with his son, Max. Being a dad yourself, was that hard to play?

Hugh Jackman: After a few days of shooting, Shawn [Levy] pulled Dakota and me aside. He said, “Look, Dakota, you’re obviously a very well brought up, polite kid. And Hugh, you like children. Both of you need to stop it immediately.” After that, there were several times after Shawn called, “Cut!” that I’d see Dakota look over at his mom like he was going to get in trouble. It was kind of like, “They told me to say this, mom, so it’s okay.” It obviously went against the grain for him to talk to me the way he did.

Having said that, I do have two children and there are times when you want to say things that you’re not allowed to say. It was nice to be able to let it rip for three months. It was good therapy.

Tommy2: Have your kids seen the movie?

Hugh Jackman: Yes, they love the movie. It’s the first one of my movies they’ve seen. If you think about it, there hasn’t been anything else that’s really appropriate for them, apart from a couple of animated movies I’ve done. They can’t wait to see it again. They really got into the story of the robots. They were cheering for them and I saw both of them getting a tear in their eye. My mother-in-law was at the same screening and she was crying too.

Tommy2: Would you like to have a robot at home?

Hugh Jackman: I’d love to have a robot at home. I tried to smuggle one off the set, but it was difficult. They’re very heavy and hard to put in the trunk of the car.

Tommy2: Do you choose roles with your children in mind?

Hugh Jackman: Not really. It’s icing on the cake when they can watch it and love it. My kids are not that interested in my movie career, by the way. My son in particular just wants to be with his dad and never talks about it. It was great to sit and watch “Real Steel” with all three generations and see them love the movie.

Tommy2: What is your character, Charlie’s, biggest flaw in “Real Steel”?

Hugh Jackman: My character, Charlie, is impulsive, but I’m not like that. As my wife says, I’m a Libra and I’m just an even-Steven. I don’t really understand the lure of gambling. I don’t understand working hard for your money and then just giving it away. That’s just not my personality. Even when I was younger, if I’d go out with my mates and we’d go drinking, I’d be four or five drinks in and say, “Time to stop. Diminishing returns.” All of my mates would say, “Come on!” but I just never really had it in me, which I’m actually kind of grateful for. Ironically, my wife is just like Charlie.

Tommy2: What is your biggest flaw in real life?

Hugh Jackman: If you ask my wife, my biggest flaw is my inability around the house. She likes to say that the only thing handy about me is that I’m close by. I also have a terrible memory and I’m bad at saying no. I often double book.

Tommy2: Did you impart any acting wisdom to Dakota?

Hugh Jackman: I really thought I was going to have to do a lot more with Dakota, but Shawn is a master of directing younger actors. He’s done it before and he has four kids himself. He really mentored Dakota, and there were things that I did, too, from the very beginning. I wanted to give him the feeling, very quickly, of, “Hey, this is your set as much as it is mine and we’re in this together. There’s no delineation of power here. We’re all actors.” Dakota caught onto that. I kept telling him that he was doing everything right and I always asked him what he thought of a scene when we were done shooting it. We also did quite a bit of improvisation, even if it was a bad idea, and Shawn would encourage him too. It kind of gave him the feeling that he wasn’t “the kid” on set.

The other thing was that Shawn and I really played with Dakota. We didn’t want him to feel an adult/child vibe because that’s not the dynamic in the movie. I would play practical jokes on him all the time and we just knocked around. We hung out on weekends.

Tommy2: Did you learn anything from Dakota?

Hugh Jackman: I always learn from child actors. They’re a great reminder of the simplicity of acting. As you get older, you can sometimes complicate things a little more. You can become too aware and start to think, “This is the scene emotionally and this is what I have to do. Okay, we’ve got the climax coming up….” You can start to analyze it too much. Kids are happy just to be and to listen. They have a real natural ability just to listen. Dakota is a very natural actor. It was easy to be in scenes with him.

Tommy2: This is the second time you’ve worked with Kevin Durand, correct?

Hugh Jackman: Yes. We were both on Broadway at about the same time and we met there. We’re kind of kindred spirits and he’s a great friend. I think he’s one of the most underrated, talented actors in Hollywood. People haven’t even begun to see the extent of what he can do. He took a character in “Real Steel” that could have been kind of uninteresting and made it very memorable. I’m happy to be in any movie with him.

Tommy2: Is it in your contract that you have to take your shirt off in every film?

Hugh Jackman: It’s funny, because when I started filming “Real Steel” everyone was asking me if it was in my contract to take off my shirt and it really took me aback. I told Shawn I didn’t want to do it and he agreed. He said, “This movie isn’t going to be about that,” and then we never thought about it again. But there’s a scene in the script where Charlie changes his shirt in the boxing ring and he does it because all of his clothes are in his bag and he’s living out of his truck. He has no bedroom, no house, no anything. We thought that was a great story point, so it turned out that I had to take my shirt off.

Tommy2: Talk about your workout regimen for this film.

Hugh Jackman: I was already doing a movie called “Sumo” with Lee Daniels and had put on a lot of weight for that. Then it got canceled about three months before we started “Real Steel,” so I was big, I was overweight. I called Shawn up and said, “My weight is going to work for this film, too, right? I’m playing an ex-boxer and you need to believe that he could have been in the ring.” Shawn said, “That’s a brilliant idea. In that first scene, when you fall out of bed, you’ll have a paunch and it will immediately signal to people that you’re not Wolverine. I love it. It’s going to be perfect.”

I came in for the fitting a month before the film started and I was twenty pounds heavier than I ended up being in the movie. It’s not easy for me to be that way, but I was eating a lot and pushing a lot of weight. Low reps, heavy weights. I hadn’t told the costumer that I was coming in heavier, so it was literally like I was putting on my son’s clothing. I could barely put the jeans on. I remember Shawn saying, “This is just too much. Let’s pull back on the realism.”

Tommy2: Is there a difference in your approach to theater and film work?

Hugh Jackman: Not really. As an actor, you have many tools—your body, your voice, your emotions, your mentality. If you’re performing in front of twenty-five hundred people, you need to get to the person in the back. There’s a mental process to that. On film, you’re going to make everything quieter. Your eyes are very important because they communicate your thought process. In fact, in film, what you don’t say is more important than what you do say. That’s not so much the case onstage. I’m forever grateful that I did theater first. I think it’s much easier to distill the technique from theater than to say, “Oh, let’s just add water to film.” There are definitely muscles that you need on the stage that you don’t develop in film.

Having said that, if you haven’t done your work as an actor and you don’t know what’s going on internally for the character you’re playing onstage, particularly if it’s a musical, and there’s no real thought behind the song, no one will feel anything.

REAL STEEL is Available now on Blu-ray & DVD!