Raven-Symone’s

Road Trip

by Lynn B

Pretty, curvy young actress/singer Raven-Symone has come a long way from the little cutie she played as a child on TV’s “The Bill Cosby Show”. Everything the raven-haired actress does has her trademark bubbly, physical comedy touch, as evidenced each week for so long on her ultra-popular Disney Channel show “That’s So Raven”. Her teen help website RavenSymonePresents.com entertains as well as gives advice to fans.

Now, the 22-year-old actress is paired with comedy legend Martin Lawrence and plays Melanie, a bright, college-bound young woman whose dad (Martin) is way too overprotective. Her planned College Road Trip with her BFFs turns into a one-on-one journey with dad who wants to pick her college and sing old disco-era songs on the way to visit the campus! Your worst nightmare? Yep, but Raven, as Melanie, turns it into gold.

We sat down with Raven in Beverly Hills recently and found her to be sassy and in charge with a firm grasp on what she wants for her future. She looked very professional with a touch of class in her Banana Republic tan suit and patent leather Gucci shoes. A low-cut black blouse and cute gray tie femmed up the suit. Here’s the haps on her experience filming and co-producing her first big-screen movie.

AGW: How did you like being a producer on this film?

Raven: I enjoyed being a producer. I kind of just took a step back because this was my first executive producer title on a big screen movie. I didn’t want to walk into it acting like I knew what I was doing. So, I just made sure I paid attention to the people that gave me this opportunity. Producing on ‘The Cheetah Girls 2’ and ‘That’s So Raven’ I understood TV, but it’s definitely different with the big screen. A lot more politics involved.

AGW: You have a fun music sequence on the bus. That wasn’t on a lot? It was a real bus?

Raven: It was a real bus. We shot it at 60 miles an hour in the rain. Very interesting. Very fun. And I loved remaking the song, with the Clutch, the producers, and put it on as a bonus track that’s released in April.

AGW: Your next album comes out in April. Is your sound evolving a little from your last album?

Raven: I think it’s more commercial this time. The last one was a little bit more pop. This one is more Hip-Hop, more pop, in that area. It has the same message which is self-confidence and respect and understanding that you’re worth everything that you are. But its still Hip-Hop. I had people like Shawn Galley, The Clutch, The Nightriders, Frankie Storm, and The Jam; a whole bunch of people working on this album.

AGW: Cool. How many tracks are going to be on the album?

Raven: I think the base is gonna be 12 and there will be two or three bonus depending on where you buy the album.

AGW: Are you going to go on tour to support the album?

Raven: Yes, my tour starts in April and ends in August. It’s gonna be a pajama tour. Whoever comes to my tour you have to wear your pajamas. Keep it PG people [we laugh].

AGW: Back to the movie. What was it like spending hours with Martin in that car?

Raven: Actually the air conditioning in the car didn’t work, so it was a little hot. But, I enjoyed my time with him. We had a lot to talk about because the car scenes were done in the beginning so we could learn about each other. So, that was good scheduling on Roger Kumble’s [the director’s] part.

AGW: Did you or Martin adlib any of the scenes?

Raven: Yeah, I have to say there is definitely in each scene a couple of lines that are taken. I think that comes with the people they hired. We love to have fun. We loved to take something and twist it and work it to make it mold to us. Martin Lawrence is very like, ‘This is in the script and if it’s not, I’m changing it this way and this is what’s going to happen.’ Which I really loved about him, because he’s improving but he makes sure his co-stars are right there with them so that you don’t get caught off guard so that everybody looks smart in it. Not just him talkin’ off the mouth.

AGW: Disney tends to have a lot of its stars work on movies together. Was this like a reunion with Brenda [Song] and Margo [Harshman]?

Raven: Well, yeah. Brenda and I worked literally next door to each other and I’ve known Margo at different events or whatever. So, yeah, it was good to have familiar faces. Kind of distant cousins chillin’ with you. And also with Kim Whitely, she played my cousin on ‘That’s so Raven’ during ‘Country Cousins’ and it was good to have that definitely. I love that Disney keeps it all in the family.

AGW: Any funny road trips with you and your dad growing up?

Raven: I definitely went on a road trip with my entire family: my mom, my dad, my brother and my 70-pound-dog in a truck across country from Los Angeles to Atlanta. And I really wish you could experience what I did: fighting with a 70-pound-dog and a brother who is bigger than you to sleep on the couch rather than sleeping on the floor of the truck with the McDonalds’ bags.

AGW: Doesn’t sound too fun. Was Martin on the film first? Or were you cast first?

Raven: The pig came on first. [Laughs, the family in the movie has a pet pot-bellied pig]. Oh, no you’re laughing, but I’m dead serious. I remember the day they were like, ‘So, do you want to do this movie? Oh, you do? Good, good, because we are gonna get the pig right now.’ So, they already had it scheduled. So, I think he and I were simultaneous…

AGW: Why did you choose to do College Road Trip as your first feature film?

Raven: Actually I was attached to a lot of different scripts and none of them went through. So, this is the first one that went through. But, if the script wasn’t something I liked, I wouldn’t have gone with it. But I love it. I love the father/daughter story. I love that it’s especially touching on a subject that’s important to talk about in today’s day and age. The father/daughter relationship is very strained right now. And I think it’s very important to show that it’s possible to have a healthy relationship with your daughter. And you just have to work at it. Because, yes, there are so many things that are tearing you apart, but if you care enough, it will fit back and just do it.

AGW: When you first moved out and got your own place, was it anything like the drama in the movie?

Raven: The day that I left my mom was like, ‘No!’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And she was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ And I was like, ‘I’m packing.’ And she was like, ‘O.K.’ So, I left. I went to go live with my friend for a little while and then I found my own place, but I made sure she knew I was responsible and could take care of myself. [At one point Raven and Lindsay Lohan were roomies]. I am telling everybody auto payment [of your bills] is amazing. Especially when you are young and moving out. I learned how to balance a checkbook when I was in middle school. So, I understood the concept of money. My parents taught it to me well. I understood it and I knew I wasn’t responsible enough to write checks and keep up with paper, but I will use the Internet all day. So, I just found the right way to live by what I knew I could do.

AGW: How do you keep it together and not go down the wrong path as a young woman in Hollywood?

Raven: I have a lot of goals I need to reach and I don’t want anything to stop me. I have people around me that tell me the truth. When it comes to the business aspect of it, I don’t want to talk to someone who can tell me no, because I want what I want done. But, I don’t want you to tell me yes just because I think I might look cute, because if I look crazy I need you to tell me. If I look bad in this outfit I need to change it.

AGW: Did you ever have a rebellious phase?

Raven: I’m still rebellious. Rawr! That’s why I had to put a tie on. [She laughs, referring to her kinda lowcut blouse]. No, I mean, I wasn’t like ‘Mom, I’m leaving the house and I’m not coming back for three days.’ It was never like that. I’ve always known my life is a business in a sense and I have to take care of that, because I really want to succeed and require hard work now, so I can relax later. And I’ve had my time. I’ve been on punishment. I failed algebra and went to summer school twice and got in trouble.

AGW: Have you ever taken any college courses or want to go that way eventually?

Raven: I do want to take business courses, it’s just so much work that I am doing now and I think college is a job all in itself and I want to give it 3,000 percent and I just don’t want to throw my money down the drain. You can go to college at any age in your life, I do believe. Especially now with the technology that we have. I think that some people may not think college is for them right out of high school. Go to college when you are ready to so you can give it all of your attention. Because people drop out and then you waste your parents’ money or your money and it’s a waste of everyone’s time.

AGW: What advice would you give to young girls who are ready to move out?

Raven: I think you have to help your parents get ready for that jump just as much as you have to get ready for it. I think you need to show responsibility early in the house. I think you just can’t be lollygagging around the house saying, ‘Omigod I’m going to my friend’s house, I’ll clean up later.’ You can’t do that if you want your parents to trust you. You have to show that you can take care of yourself. Because that’s the only reason some parents hold on longer, because they are not seeing the adult side of you. So, suck it up, get it done.

AGW: Do you ever catch old ‘Cosby Show’ reruns from when you were so little?

Raven: I couldn’t do it. I watch it but I don’t even look if it’s me. And I can only watch it once. It’s weird. I saw College Road Trip already and I’m afraid to go to the premiere just because, one, sitting in that room with all those people? Omigod. I’m so scared. When I watch something, I don’t watch it for enjoyment when it has my face. I watch it to see if the cues are right and the editing is right and all that kind of stuff.

AGW: You have all these great tips on your website. Where do you get them and have you thought about your own talk show?

Raven: Yes, called ‘Raven Symone Presents’! I would love a show. Where do I get the tips? I have a great team that I work with. Some of them I come up with on my own. Some of them I have other people find them. We have ‘how to wash a bra’. With the new material we are doing things hopefully that will really help you like how to get deodorants out of your shirts. Y’know when glasses stick together? How do you get those out without breaking? Hot water in the bottom and you twist it. Raven Simone Presents [she laughs].

AGW: You said earlier you have some plans for your life. How far along do you plan?

Raven: I plan pretty far, but I plan in pencil. So therefore, I can always erase and change up where need be. But, something I learned from Mr. Wayne Dyer himself, he said, ‘Always look at the finished product and work backwards so that you make sure you reach where you need to go.’ And that’s what I still do. Everything that I say. Everything that I do. Even down to what I wear, what I look like, goes along with the plan I’m trying to reach. I’m trying to retire on a mountain and have a fabulous company. That’s what I want.

AGW: Would you like to direct?

Raven: I would love to direct later in life. I definitely want to master producing. I really like it.

AGW: Have you ever talked to Queen Latifah because she’s done a great job with her company?

Raven: Yes, she has. I really want to work with other people as well. I think that being as young as I am, you kind of have to. Some people might not take you seriously. I want to make sure I have people in my corner already who believe in what I do, so at least when I come up with my own project, ‘Raven Symone Presents’, and it really does become a show, then, I can present it to other people and say, ‘Look. I do have the history, come work with me.’ I don’t want them to just take me on just because of who I might be or what I have done before. I want them to really respect that I can do it.

	Angela & Gina's Room \| Brigid & Kayla's Room \| Christine & Erika's Room \| Lauren & Sarada's Room \| Circle of Friends PenPal Club \| Site Map
	Since 1996, your space on the web : written and edited by girls and teens from all over the world. Media Kit Feedback Newsletter Write FOR us Contact Us