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Updated
2/2/02 We're Hangin' With.... MANDY MOORE
AGW's entertainment reporter Lynn b. got to meet and talk with Mandy recently in Los Angeles. Her hair is now dark as it is in the movie and she looked very pretty but non-"glam" in her tan pants, white tee and tiny diamond cross necklace. She was very friendly, honest and revealing about her career struggles, goals and what it's like to be a pop princess at 17. AGW: Are you really dark-haired like you are in this film? Mandy: No. I'm in between this and blonde. I had to color it blonde again just after the movie because my album was coming out so about three months ago I decided to color it back brown. AGW: Do people approach you differently as a blonde than as a brunette? Mandy:
Yes. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, but I feel a lot of
people kind of skipping over me a little now that I'm a brunette but for
some reason I feel a lot more confident. I feel like (the real me) sticks
out a little bit more. I feel more like myself, more comfortable. I just
decided to color it this way. AGW: Was doing this film a natural transition for you to make? Mandy: I wasn't looking for a lead role. I'd had a supporting role in The Princess Diaries and was thinking that I'd continue that run for a little bit and just build my confidence but I was so in love with the book that when I read the script there was no way that I couldn't be involved with it. AGW: Do you identify with your character in the film? Mandy: There are similarities between us but there are a lot of differences. There was a lot that I needed to learn and by playing Jamie and that was my biggest motivation. There was the confidence that she had and the fact that she didn't let anything get to her. The fact that she's so stereotyped in school and people don't treat her the best. She doesn't let their comments get to her and make her change herself. That's a kind of confidence that I haven't found yet in my life at 17. I think a lot of 17-year-olds haven't and that's something I wanted to learn by playing Jamie. AGW: You were probably stereotyped when you first appeared on the music scene. Mandy: Absolutely. The blonde "pop-tart". But it wasn't so much that. I'm not confident in my own skin at 17 and I don't think a lot of teenagers out there are either. You learn as you mature and get older but I was hoping to learn from Jamie. She has faith in humanity and relationships and humanity and love. AGW: Do you have to make a conscious effort to separate yourself from Britney and Jessica and all the others? Mandy: I don't think it's a conscious effort. It's an ongoing effort to remain yourself. Because of all the pressures of the industry and so many people trying to tell you how to dress, wear your hair, this and that. People are constantly throwing their opinions at you. Sometimes you could listen, have a weak moment and do the wrong thing and doing something that's completely not yourself. AGW: What do you think that makes you different from those other pop stars? Mandy: I don't know if it's something I can do that they can't. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm 17 makes a difference in what we're singing about, who we are as people, where we are in our lives, how we dress, what we look like. No one in this world is the same just because we happen to sing pop music. It's stupid to think that it's not possible for me to have my own personality. AGW: Is it a healthy competition, then? Mandy: I think, in the music industry, you're in competition with everyone. The main goal is to have many people around the world hear your music. So you're in competition with every single artist that releases material. AGW: You write your own stuff? You write as well as perform. Mandy: Yes. I think everyone is trying to get into writing their own music. On the past record I had a couple of songs and more in the future too. AGW: Does being a singer help you with acting? Mandy: Yes and no. I think if you are lucky enough to have any bit of success in this industry, windows are going to open. Some people take advantage of (the offers). Other's don't. It's something I've had in my heart since I started doing musical theater when I was ten. Who wouldn't want to do a movie? To have the opportunity at 17, to read scripts and meet with producers and directors is amazing to me. It's beyond my wildest dreams. AGW: What do you think makes some singers unsuccessful at it? Mandy: Maybe, the fact that the love of acting isn't there. It's like singing, if you really don't have a passion for the music, you're gonna crumble. There's too much hard work, things you don't take into consideration. You just think, 'Oh, I want to be a musician or an actor'. There are so many elements that go into it that people don't realize and that's how they fall. AGW: In
this film you do both. Did you play a pivotal role in selecting the music
for this film? Mandy: Not really. I thought it was appropriate. Jamie was in the church choir and it was in the script that she sang in the school play and that's the moment that Landon falls in love with her. I sort of helped with the songs a little bit. I'm a huge fan of a Christian rock band called Switchfoot and a girl in my manager's office happened to be friends with them, went to high school with them and brought us this song "Only Hope" and we fell in love with it, used it for the play and then used their version of it on the soundtrack. AGW: How religious are you? Mandy: I don't know. That's kind of personal. I consider myself to be very religious and think doing this film didn't make me question my faith but made me want to strengthen it portraying Jamie. AGW: Jamie is intensely in love at a young age. Was that a strange place to go for you? Mandy: I'm in my first real relationship and it's weird to compare because they're at different levels and I felt so far removed from Jamie's situation and what she was going through. What was going on in her head? I don't think I could be that strong. I don't think I could be a brave as Jamie was. There are a lot of elements that went into falling in love and what her situation is all about. It was hard to get there sometimes. AGW: In your life, is it hard to balance your first relationship with the busy career?
AGW: Does it help that he's in the business so he can understand your schedule? Mandy: I'm sure that having a boyfriend who is in the industry, he's more understanding and supportive that way but I don't think I meet too many people that aren't in the industry. I always told myself. I'm never gonna date anyone in the industry. The boys are so jaded and they're womanizers. I guess I found one of the only ones here that's not. He's completely the opposite. It's not important what he does in life just who he is and how he treats me. AGW: What is it about Orlando Florida that is producing pop stars? Mandy: People say it's something in the orange juice. I'm just a random girl that happened to live in Orlando. I think everyone else was there for the Mickey Mouse club thing. I grew up there, doing community theater around town. I have no idea. AGW: You usually look so glamorous. Was it weird to be plain for this film? Mandy: I loved it. It's weird too. I've been reading responses on the internet, "God, Mandy looks ugly in this movie' and I'm like 'Cool, I love it'. I got to come to the set every morning and for two and a half months I could have the biggest bags under my eyes and they'd accentuate it. They painted my face pale. The cut bangs and I loved it. I got to wear baggy clothes and keds and mis-matched sox. You usually think of doing a movie, walking out of the trailer looking beautiful and I felt okay. I didn't feel ugly. She's just not concerned about things other teenagers are. I got to relax. I wasn't supposed to be the Goddess. It was fun playing a plain Jane. AGW: What are you up to now? Mandy: I'm still looking at scripts but I want to start recording because music is my life. I've been writing a lot. I want to start recording, doing some, doing some demos maybe next month. I'd love to do an independent film. Anything, as long as it's a good script, something I felt passionately about. I have an album out right now. AGW: Does it reflect who you are now? Mandy: I still feel that that album is very much me. I had a great time making it. I so proud of this movie and the album. I finished the album right before making the movie and it came out right after so it's very much in my heart. AGW: Do you want to continue doing wholesome films like this or are you ready to go the opposite direction and be a wild woman? Mandy: I'm not much of a wild woman. I guess the fun of acting is being someone totally different than yourself. But I like this movie because I feel it's needed right now. It's the antithesis to every other teen film, in my opinion. It offers a positive story. You still see the realistic aspects of peer pressure. I want to do something that I feel strongly about whether it's a comedy or action film or epic. AGW: Teens can be really cynical. Is it hard to get them to let loose and maybe cry? Mandy: I hope that people are looking for something different. Sometimes a lot of movies cater to teens as stupid. It offers me something else. AGW: What was it like to meet Nicolas Sparks who wrote the novel the movie is based upon? Mandy: I was extremely nervous because the character of Jamie is loosely based on his sister and type of person she would have been at 17. I think she recently passed away so that made it tough. I was even more intimidated. I'm a huge fan of his but, at the same time, how weird must it be for a writer, whose book has been successful, seeing his words come to life with two people that he doesn't know very well. The script has changed from the book so I felt like, I hope he's happy with everything and that I'm dong an okay job. He came like the second day on set and reassured me, pulled me aside and said 'You're doing a great job'. I could breathe easy for a little bit. AGW: What do you do when a fan of yours comes up all nervous to meet you? Mandy: It's awkward. If someone cries, it's like why are you crying when you just see ME? If you'd get to know me for ten minutes you'd realize I'm the dorkiest person out there. You don't know what to say but all you can be is happy and grateful and flattered and honored that they take the time to come up and say hello. You can really see the difference between guys and girls. Girls will come up and 'Hey' and give you a hug. Guys will stand in the background with their "boys" say said, 'yeah, I see you'. They'll like circle you for ten minutes in the mall. Boys are so shy to come up. Why? AGW: Jamie in the film has a list of things she wants to accomplish. Do you? Mandy: I started making a list in my mind. I want to go to college and study journalism. I want to learn to speak French fluently. My mom is a journalist so it's in my blood I guess. It made me think about making plans. I'm still working on it. I'm going to start college through correspondence like I'm doing high school right now. AGW: What message would you like young people to take from this film? Mandy:
A lot of my guy friends that have read the book and are excited about
the movie say 'Mandy, I want to find my Jamie. You have to tell me that
she's out there.'
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17-year-old
singer Mandy Moore writes many of her own songs. She started in musical
theater in Orlando, Florida at age 6 and by the time she was 15, she released
her debut CD "So Real". The hit single "Candy" was
huge on the charts. Her new album "Mandy Moore" is out and she
continues to host a show on MTV. We first saw Mandy on film as the snooty
cheerleader in The Princess Diaries. She was the voice of a cute
bear in Doctor Dolittle 2. Now she has her first leading role as
Jamie Sullivan in the romantic movie A Walk to Remember.
Mandy:
Yes and no. I think any girl is going to make time for a relationship
if they really want it to happen. It's all part of being a teenager. If
you want it to happen, you're gonna make it happen.