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Hangin' With Archives
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We're Hangin' With..... CHRISTINA MILIAN by: Lynn B.
We sat down in L.A. to kick it with bubbly Christina who was stylin' in belly jeans, gray hoodie and baseball cap. We noticed a Longhorn belly button ring and the charming and friendly gal told us it is a souvenir from the University of Texas where she stars as a cheerleader in Cheer Up. In "Love", Christina plays a top of the pops rich high school girl who falls for an inappropriate "nerd". We wondered what Christina's own high school experience was like: Christina: I only had one week of real high school. I was living in Maryland, and my week was dreadful. I actually got into a fight with the popular girl at school. She had really no reason to want to fight me. Compared to the movie, I wasn't very popular. I was kind of more to myself. For one year I did go to Performing Arts School and I had very weird friends. I like hanging out with different eclectic people. Paris [her character] only hangs out with the popular people. But throughout the movie she comes to learn about that, and comes to love herself and know that's not really who she is. AGW: Even in Performing Arts School, is there a real cool set? Christina: There is. You would think that everybody wouldn't be like that, but actually the whole entire school was like that. There was the dancer group, the theatre group and there was the music group. The dancing people were really popular and they were really cool. I was with the music people, but my friends were all the acting majors. AGW: Does this movie improve on Can't Buy Me Love? Christina: I think it does. I'm happy they didn't go with the exact story of Can't Buy Me Love. It's a cute story but I think I find now there's a little more depth to it as far as Paris learning about herself. It's more of a romance rather than them making fun of it. That Rachel Leigh Cook movie She's All That was all about the kids making fun of each other, it's not all about that, it's really the relationship between Alvin and Paris and what happens with them. AGW: In the original film your character ruined her mom's dress. Do you think a car accident is more appropriate than a stained dress? Christina: Oh yes, especially nowadays, a stained dress, the girl would be like, 'Oh well Mom, sorry, but I did it.' A car is way more - that's worse. My sister just did that to me and I wasn't too happy so, believe me, I understood the feeling. I was out of town and she was driving around with her boyfriend, who was driving, and he totaled my car. So now if you see me around town I'll be driving a little Honda Civic, which is hers, because I need to go buy my new car. She's my younger sister; she's seventeen. She's just like Paris, she's a cheerleader, all that stuff, kind of weird. AGW: You had a big chance to do some music in this but you chose not to. Is that because you don't want to combine the two careers? Christina: I didn't want it to come off as though here's Christina Milian the singer that got lucky to do a movie. A lot of the musicians are doing that now, where they combine the music and the movies, and I'm like, 'Maybe I'll do that later, I want to do it for the right thing.' I don't want to do every movie, and be the singer in the movie. Like now she just sings a song all of a sudden. I thought that would be kind of cheesy, so I kept it separate. AGW: Can you do a little about the staging of the choreography for the cheerleading? You said it was a lot easier for you than the other girls. Christina: It was a lot easier for me because I'd been used to getting prepared for music videos and doing shows and I was on tour right before I went to do the movie. I was used to every day doing a show for an hour dancing, so I was always learning choreography. When we were doing the cheerleading for this, I was excited about doing it because I always wanted to be a cheerleader anyway but I didn't get to because I was working. It wasn't really like, 'Yeah, go team,' it was more choreography and more dancing. I had a lot of fun. The other girls learned really quickly too. AGW: And you're also playing a cheerleader in your next movie? Christina: Yes. I'm a cheerleader for the University of Texas. I have a Longhorn's bellybutton ring - they're really into it over there - everything's all about the Longhorns and you have to make sure that you represent it well in the movie. They had us in Austin, Texas three weeks before we started shooting, and I had to train with real cheerleaders from UT. We don't have any stunt doubles except for cartwheels. The guys are lifting us up in the air, they throw us up and hold us with one hand, it's crazy. I didn't want to get hurt. Sometimes I was like, 'Are you sure we've got to do this?' AGW: What's the name of the movie? Christina: It's called Cheer Up. It's an action-comedy about five cheerleaders that witness a murder and Tommy Lee Jones is a Texas Ranger and they put us under witness protection, and he has to stay with us in a dorm. It's going to be very funny. It's five different personalities, all these different girls, and then him. AGW: In this movie, what was Nick Cannon like to work with - did you know him before? Christina: I've known Nick for about six years. I had a show on the Disney Channel, and he used to be on Nickelodeon, so we kind of bumped into each other all the time and always kept in contact with each other. They had asked me who I wanted for the guy in this movie we were meeting with guys and I didn't really find any chemistry with anyone. Then they were like, 'There's this guy, his name is Nick who's got a movie coming out called Drumline, I heard he was really good.' At that time it wasn't out yet. We read for them together, and they loved it and we had a great time working on the set together. Nick's a cool guy, he's just so focused and he's very driven and he's got his eye on the ball, so I love that guy. He's really great. We had a lot of fun. AGW: If you could reinvent yourself like he does in the movie, what are the things you would change? Christina: If I could reinvent myself I would probably go all out and learn how to play the drums and the guitar and all that stuff and do like a rock band. I would probably go out and do something grungy and different like that. AGW: Your character has a sad break-up in the film. How do you deal with breakups? Christina: I think when I've dealt with breakups my two younger sisters are always there, even though I'll be crying, 'He didn't call me,' they're always there and they're always listening. My sisters have been the best. And then, just within myself, I usually believe everything happens for a reason, so I usually think about it and I won't be so upset about it. AGW: Are you currently dating? Christina: No, I'm just kind of chilling. Chilling out. Looking for a new car. AGW: When were you first aware that guys' heads turned when you walked by? Christina: I first found that out when I was about eleven years old. I think that's when I was starting to go boy crazy, and I could swear that every guy was looking at me, which they probably weren't. I was like eleven or twelve years old, and I was like, 'I think he's looking at me.' When I came out with the song "Between Me and You" with Ja Rule, that was very weird for me, because I was used to doing the Disney Channel and stuff, and I'm kind of a really goofy, nerdy person, so when I came out with that video, where I'm all hot, I was getting all these pages from guys, 'Hey, I want to take you out to dinner,' and I was like, 'Do they realize that I'm like a big dork?' I'm nothing like the video. So I thought it was cute, I still think it's funny when guys think I'm like what I am in the videos. If you had to make somebody over would you do pretty much what Paris does with Alvin in the film?
AGW: Some actors embrace their Latin roots and they just want to be considered Latino actors - how do you feel about that? Christina: I feel I want to represent everything and everyone. Being Cuban, Cuba is so mixed up, it's a big melting pot, it's got everything from Asians to Caucasians to Blacks. I was raised in the suburbs around all these different people and we didn't really live the same life that my parents did. They were born in Cuba, and then they were raised in New Jersey amongst Puerto Ricans and Cubans and everybody. In our household we did speak Spanish to each other but we didn't have to do it. My parents cooked Cuban food and we danced to Salsa music and I'm very proud of my roots, I'm proud to know where I come from, but I don't stress and make sure everything has to be Latino that I play. AGW: Who are you dying to do a new music video with? Christina: Gosh, I would love to do something with Janet Jackson. I've been saying that for the longest time. I love Janet Jackson. AGW: What music are you listening to right now? Christina: Myself (she laughs) I just finished my album so I listen to it all day every day. But not to sound so vain, Robin Thicke, he's Alan Thicke's son, he's so talented. He's just called Thicke. I love his style. He's got everything from like Prince's style to old Michael Jackson, to Lenny Kravitz, he's got everything on his album. I'm a big fan of his. AGW: What's your dream project for a movie? Christina: I would love to do some kind of mystery movie, or an action flick. I would love to do something like Catwoman. Look at Halle Berry right now, she looks amazing. I would just love to do something where I'd have to train and work really hard. A lot of women are doing that now, so it's great. AGW: Do you see yourself as a singer first or an actress? Christina: As an entertainer; a full-on entertainer, because if I can do it all I love to do it all. I couldn't choose one over the other, because I've dreamed about doing them both my whole entire life. AGW: If you could plan the ideal date, what would you want to do? Christina: It has to be really spontaneous. I like doing arts and crafts, so I would probably go to one of those fun little ceramic places and go paint some plates and do something fun like that, and then after that, just drive around the town, just quiet, even if it was in the middle of the night and just get to know somebody and just talk. I like doing simple things like that, just driving around and talking and maybe hang out at the beach and talk. AGW: Your character learns a lot about herself during this movie, what have you learned about yourself? Christina: I've learned a lot, I've matured a lot, I think that comes with age and just also with the industry and with work. I've learned a lot about myself as far as relationships and friendships. I think I've lost friends, and made really, really good friends and realized who's not a good friend. In relationships, I don't get my hopes up because I know I'm young and I've got plenty of time later in the future. Right now I just take it day by day and just enjoy it and when I meet somebody, I hang out with them, and it's all good, but I don't take it too seriously. As far as the business, being in the music business is a totally different industry. You have to be a strong person to be in music especially. Acting is a great thing. I love both businesses anyway, and I'll take it for what it is. |
 
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22-year-old
petite cutie Christina Milian started her career in musical theater. On
a tour she ended in L.A. where, at age 13, she started recording music
demos and by 17, she was hitting the bigtime. She was noticed internationally
in the song and video "Between Me and You" by Ja Rule. Christina
is also a successful songwriter. She wrote Jennifer Lopez's 2001 hit "Play".
Milian has recorded a second album and has added acting to her accomplishments
in the new film Love Don't Cost a Thing, a remake of the popular 1980's
film Can't Buy Me Love, co-starring with cutie Nick Cannon. In January
the singer/actress will appear in the biker gang actioner Torque. 
Christina:
If it would have been me redoing Alvin, I wouldn't have done his hair
that way. I would have hooked Nick up a little bit more, probably shaved
his hair off or given him some cornrows. It was cute for the character
and girls love Nick no mater how he looks. How are you going to make Nick
look like a nerd? So I guess you do a cute Afro. There's a lot of guys
that I've seen now since we've done the movie, I'm like, 'Hey Nick, he
looks like you in the movie.' Afro and like little grungy clothes. It's
funny, because I didn't realize they were out there.