Emma
and Jake
Go to the Dogs!
by Lynn Barker
 After
starring in her own TV show and playing Nancy Drew, teen actress Emma
Roberts took on some indie films and a part as Andi, a teen foster child
who, with her little brother Bruce ("Wizards of Waverly Place"'s
Jake T. Austin), tries to find a true home and family and also make a
home for a ragtag crew of L.A. stray street mutts in the fun film Hotel
for Dogs. We visited the set in downtown L.A. early in 2007 on a
crisp, cold morning and were amazed at the large herd of dog trainers
who were able to keep all the pooches in line. Jake was enthusiastic and
Emma was snacking on healthy veggies, fruits and dip between scene set-ups.
Lots of dog petting went on.
Now, in 2009,
we met with the young actor duo again in Westwood, Ca. near UCLA. Jake
had on a cool "Joker/Heath Ledger" tee and jeans and Emma, who
turns 18 next month, looked dress-up/casual in tight black skinny pants,
very high brown boot/heels and a hot pink, Grecian-inspired, pleated silk
blouse by Elizabeth and James. Her dark red nails and big copper earrings
finished the modern look.
So, how is
working with a massive menagerie of mutts? What about the teens' own pets,
what is up on "Waverly Place", did Emma give up a singing career
and is college in the cards for her? Pull up a chair! Oh, also pretend
you hear a lot of munching noises in the answers... we'd provided some
of those yummy Ferrero Rocher candy balls and Emma and Jake chowed down....
AGW: This
movie is funny but there are some serious themes like siblings being separated
and put in different foster homes...
Jake: Yes.
I'm sure it happens every day. It's so sad. As an actor playing it, filming
it was such an intense experience, I can only imagine what it's like in
reality.
Emma: Yeah.
That's terrible. We deal with a lot of real things in the movie, which
I think is great because even though they're sad, they're real issues.
For example, the amount of dogs that are getting put to sleep in pounds
and the amount of people who go to breeders instead of just going to a
pound to adopt a dog. That's awful.
AGW: Emma,
you have a little Chihuahua named Twiggy at home. Have you ever taken
in a stray?
Emma: I never
really see strays. I have a friend who always picks up stray dogs and
I'm like "where do you find them?". I always see dogs but they
have collars.
AGW: Jake,
do you have pets?
Jake: I have
the whole Bronx Zoo at my house. I live in New York. I have three goats
which we inherited with the house.
AGW: You have
goats in the city?
Jake: I'm
not in New York City. I'm in the suburbs. I used to have a frog. I have
two miniature poodles. A boy and girl. One of them is actually a rescue
from Brazil.
AGW: Cool!
Emma, can you identify with your character Andi in any way?
Emma: I can
definitely identify with her in some scenes like how she kind of felt
awkward in social settings sometimes because I think we all feel like
that in high school. You know, when you got to a party and you don't really
know anyone so you feel uncomfortable. I could relate to her in that way
for sure.
AGW: Andi
is really responsible for a young teen. She takes care of her little brother.
Emma: Yeah,
she's definitely responsible. I'm responsible too but she's moreso than
me I think. I'm very forgetful and she's not. I have a little sister that
I try and look after but she's very mature for her age and doesn't really
need much looking after from me.
AGW: How many
takes of a scene did you have to do to make sure the dogs got it right?
Emma: Sometimes
way more than usual. It depends. Some days the dogs would do everything
they were supposed to do and other days, they'd be like "We're tired.
We're not gonna do that". Sometimes we did like fifteen or twenty
takes which was crazy but usually, the scenes we did were very, very long
and had to be right in sequence. If one little thing was off, we had to
do it again. It was definitely a very technical kind of movie.
AGW: How did
you two bond for the bro/sis thing on this? Meet earlier?
Jake: We met
during casting.
Emma: I think
we just got along. We just clicked together. Even in casting, I said flat
out, I like him the best. They were like, 'OK'.
AGW: What
was it like working with these dogs? Did you get attached to them?
Emma: You
don't because they're not yours. You know you can't have them. You're
like, 'they're cute but I can't take them home'. But they were really
sweet. We had fun.
AGW: Bruce
rigs up some awesome contraptions to feed and entertain the dogs. Did
you have a favorite contraption?
Jake: Half
of them I didn't even know how they worked. As an actor, you've got to
pretend that you've created them. My favorite was probably the simulator
where the dogs are hanging out the window and it looks like the car's
moving.
Emma: My favorite
was the shoe vending machine. I just really liked that.
AGW: What
was the most fun part of making the movie?
 Emma:
Probably, the cast was really fun and the dogs were great to work with
and the other kids in the movie were so much fun. For me, it's great to
be able to go to work and get along with people and hang out with them
on your breaks and during lunch is really important because it keeps the
mood up on set.
AGW: Do you
have a favorite scene?
Emma: The
dog stuff was fun. It was hard but it was definitely fun. I like the stuff
in the car that was in the shape of a dog. They pulled us on this trailer
and we had to pretend we were driving. That was fun.
Jake: My favorite
scene was probably when we broke the dogs out of the pound because there
was so much action going on, the music [was cool].
AGW: Emma,
had you read the book this was based on?
Emma: I hadn't
but it was funny because the author actually came to set and said to me
'you're much prettier and much skinnier than the Andi I imagined in the
book'. I was like 'thank you'. She was the sweetest woman. Her husband
came by 'we love what you're doing. It's so great'. I was really happy.
It was something really personal to her so I was glad that she liked what
she saw.
AGW: Do you
have a great dog story?
Emma: Well
[my dog] Twiggie is kind of a lazy dog. She gets pampered. She has like
ten different beds around the house that are more comfortable than my
bed [she laughs]. She's a long-haired Chihuahua. We surprised my sister
with her. She thought it was a kitten at first. I'm like 'Grace, it's
a dog'. 'A dog?' It was in a little cage and she totally thought it was
a cat.
AGW: Do you
like cats too?
Emma: I have
a cat named Stranger that showed up at our house one day as a stray and
hasn't left. That's the only stray I've rescued, a very beautiful cat.
AGW: If you
were a dog what breed would you be?
Emma: A cocker
spaniel or a border collie. In the movie, Shep, the border collie was
my favorite dog. I would play with it when we weren't shooting. I loved
it. I wanted to take it home. It was the most well-behaved and the most
beautiful dog. And cocker spaniels are so cute and fun.
AGW: Were
there a lot of rehearsals needed for this movie?
Emma: We did
a lot of rehearsals because there were a bunch of kids in the movie so
we rehearsed with each other and then we had to get to know the dogs.
We had bonding days with the dogs. They gave us gross treats for them.
We'd put baby food on our fingers and they would lick it off. I don't
really like it when dogs lick me; my whole arm and face.
AGW: If there
was a real hotel for dogs [like a doggie daycare] would you take your
dog there?
Emma: I would.
I think it would be cool to drop your dog off and have it get pampered.
AGW: How does
this compare to other films you've done in the past?
Emma: I think
it's kind of like Aquamarine and Nancy Drew; nice family
movies. I did a lot of different things lately.
AGW: What
was your favorite book in Middle School?
Emma: I read
every single "Gossip Girl" book there was. I was obsessed with
those. I still really like them, actually. As a kid I read Dr. Seuss.
AGW: Why is
reading important for teens?
Emma: It's
important because it fills our imagination and builds your vocabulary.
Instead of watching TV, it's great to pick up a book. It's a more substantial
hobby than just sitting in front of a TV I think.
AGW: Okay,
Jake. We didn't forget you. You work with a lot of effects on "Wizards
of Waverly Place". Those can be tedious as can waiting for a bunch
of dogs to get it right. Compare?
Jake: Yeah,
a lot of waiting in what I do. The dogs were good but a lot of times,
they just wouldn't hit it and with "Wizards" effects it's all
about positioning and holding still and pretending there's something there
when there's not. Half the time we're acting to green tape so two different
experiences.
AGW: Emma
you've got a big birthday coming up. Have you got a plan yet?
Emma: I don't
know. Everyone's like, 'are you going to throw a big party?' but I don't
think I'm going to have a big party. I don't think I have enough friends
to have a huge party. I think I'm just going to have a nice, fun dinner
with a bunch of my friends. I want to plan something but it'll probably
be after my birthday because I just can not pull it together in time.
AGW: You're
not going to Vegas and doing any of that weird stuff?
Emma: No.
(She laughs, hey she'll be 18, not 21!)
AGW: Emma,
back in the Aquamarine days you were singing. Do you still sing?
Emma: No.
Acting is first and foremost my favorite thing. I feel like most people
who sing and act usually just do either okay and they don't do one great,
and I'd rather be great at one than okay at both. I would like to write
music I think but I'm not really interested in the singing because everyone
does it now. It's not really special or that interesting anymore.
AGW: What
music are you both listening to now?
Emma: A lot
of stuff. I really like Jason Mraz and Katy Perry, the Watson Twins are
really cool. Sheryl Crow, I'm listening to a lot of her '90's stuff that
I just love.
Jake: I'm
listening to a lot of classic rock, hip-hop, a little bit of country,
not a lot, though. A lot of recent bands. Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox
20, Duran Duran. I'm not really specific with music.
 AGW:
Emma, you made a film called Wild Child. What's that about and
when is it coming out here?
Emma: It did
really well in Europe. I did a press tour over there and all over the
double-decker red buses was our poster. I was walking there with my friend
and we were crossing the street and this big red bus comes by with me
on it and I was like, 'we almost just got hit by our own bus!' That would
be really embarrassing. It's coming out in America in May. It's a really
fun movie, very much like Mean Girls. And it's basically about
this spoiled Malibu socialite who gets shipped off to boarding school
in England and tries to get herself kicked out.
AGW: Your
hair is very dark now. Are you blond in that film?
Emma: I wear
this platinum-blond wig that literally looks like Paris Hilton. It's really
funny. My friends saw the pictures and they couldn't believe it.
AGW: Did you
get more attention as a blond?
Emma: I did,
actually. We shot at this school during the summer and there were lots
of exchange students from all over the world. There were all these Italians
and they'd always talk to me when I had blond hair, and then my wig would
come off and it was like I was invisible. It was very much an identity
crisis I was having at the time.
AGW: Didn't
you do a movie called The Winning Season about a basketball team?
Emma: Yeah.
I had to train to play basketball. It's really difficult. I was a volleyball
and tennis girl. I never liked it but I started for the movie and I really
enjoy it now. It's really hard. I'm really good at shooting but I worked
on my dribbling. It's a fun sport, a lot of physical work and work with
teammates.
AGW: Acting
runs in your family, does athletics?
Emma: My mom
is very athletic. She used to ski and play tennis really, really well.
She tried to teach me to ski when I was younger but I had to have a clip
on my skis until I was like thirteen and she said she wouldn't ski with
me until I got rid of the clip so I decided to snow board and I've never
got back on skis again.
AGW: Ever
get any acting advice from your aunt Julia?
Emma: Not
really. When I see her, it's not as often as either of us would like just
because I'm always busy and she's busy. Now she has three kids. So when
I see her, we'll just hang out and play with all the kids and talk and
spend family time together. It's not really about work.
AGW: You haven't
worked with her. Would you like to?
Emma: Yeah.
If a project came up and they wanted both of us to do it. I'd definitely
love to. I really admire her as an actress. I think she's great so I'd
love to.
AGW: Are you
going to college?
Emma: I'm
sending in my applications. I'm just seeing if I can get in. I'm a senior.
So I'd be starting in the fall, which would be really exciting. It's crazy.
I can't even believe it.
AGW: What
would you study?
Emma: I'm
really into photography and I love reading. So I'd love to take some photography
classes and do literature and try and working on my writing skills because
I really do love writing; short stories at the moment. I'm not very good
at the format of writing screenplays so I'd love to learn how to do that
because I have some good ideas-or I think good ideas-for that.
AGW: Is there
a downside to an acting career?
Emma: I guess
the downside would be you have to be away from your friends for long periods
of time. You miss out on going to school-at least I did. But at the same
time, you gain so much more, like you really get to travel to places you'd
never go.
AGW: Jake,
are you wrapped on "Wizards" now?
Jake: I just
got wrapped today on episode 26 of the season. There is a Wizard competition
at the end and all three characters are competing to see who gets the
powers in the family. Nobody knows who it is. They know at the big Disney
building but they're trying to keep it hushed. We don't know anything.
We just get a script every week and act it out.
AGW: Emma,
would you do a TV show again?
Emma: I don't
want to say I'd never do TV again (but) at the moment I want to focus
on movies. There's tons of great TV shows and I'd love to do another one
one day. Maybe someday.
AGW: What
messages or feelings do you hope teens take away from this film?
Emma: It's
a feel good movie, I think so I hope they come out of the movie with a
smile and enjoy it. There are messages like 'be comfortable with yourself'
and 'it's important to look after other people and not just think about
yourself and be selfish'. That's what I really liked about the movie.
AGW: And adopt
a homeless pooch.... or kitty!
Poster copyright
Dreamworks Pictures, 2009
Photos by Lynn Barker, copyright 2009
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