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MSN TV visits the cast and crew of a Disney Channel original movie in Vancouver
By Minh Nguyen
Special to MSN TV
On a chilly day earlier this year, Disney Channel invited MSN TV to come to Vancouver, British Columbia to join the cast and crew of its latest movie, “Girl vs. Monster”. Extremely nice and welcoming, the cast all genuinely loved working together and worked extremely hard the day we were on set, but were always professional, fresh and fun.
Bing: More about 'Girl vs. Monster' | More about Olivia Holt
The movie stars a very confident 15-year-old named Skylar (played by Olivia Holt) who finds out she is a fifth-generation monster hunter on Halloween. Skylar must face her fears as she comes together with her friends: Her boy crush Ryan (Luke Benward), her best friend Sadie (Kerris Dorsey), the unpopular Henry (Brendan Meyer) and the mean girl Myra (Kat McNamara). They all unite to save the day.
Related: Disney goes for old-school laugh with new sitcoms
MSN TV: What can you tell us about your character?
Olivia Holt: Skylar is a girl any girl can look up to because she’s confident, fearless and talented. I love playing that kind of character!
Luke Benward: Ryan’s the typical boy next door. He’s a musician, but he’s a really nice, genuine, trustworthy guy. He and Skylar have always been friends, but they started to like each other.
Kerris Dorsey: Sadie is Skylar’s best friend, and she had a little bit of lack of confidence. She’s really honest, practical and to the point. She sometimes can be a little bit afraid to do things.
Kat McNamara: I play Myra, the stereotypical mean girl: nasty, conniving, possessive of Ryan. I get possessed by this monster, so I get to be more evil and nasty…it’s awesome!
Brendan Meyer: Henry is pretty happy-go-lucky. He likes to make his friends laugh. He gets bullied at school and he’s not the super popular kid at school.
What do you during your downtime on set and while filming?
Olivia Holt: The cast and I have gotten really close. We all love watching movies and hanging out. We all go out to dinner pretty much every night.
Luke Benward: On set, a lot of the time it’s in school because I’m still a minor, and I still have to do that. Afterwards, when we go back to the hotel, we watch movies and we play hotel tag. It’s when the person counts to, say 50, you all run and the person chases them. It’s fun!
Kerris Dorsey: I read. I always have a good book if I have to stay on set. We all make videos, and hang out with each other.
Kat MacNamara: My grandmother taught me how to bake with my great-grandma’s recipes. I love anything having to do with cooking, baking and making things! I also knit sometimes. I’m a dancer, too. I dance every day, for three hours a day.
Brendan Meyer: I love watching movies, reading plays, seeing plays and all that kind of stuff. My brother and I will go out and play tennis or throw a ball around.
Who is your role model?
Olivia Holt: Reese Witherspoon. I love every movie that she’s in; she’s gone down a really good career path. I’d love to be like her!
Luke Benward: Mel Gibson. I did a movie with him when I was 5 years old and he was incredible! He’s a family guy. He would wrestle with us on set. He came and sat with these little kids and their moms every lunch and showed us magic tricks. I’m also a big Leonardo [DiCaprio] and Edward Norton fan.
Kerris Dorsey: Natalie Portman because she really navigated the child-actress-to-adult [path] actress really well. I also love Emma Stone.
Kat McNamara: Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis are some of my favorites. Anne Hathaway, I love her acting. I really look up to them as role models and I’d like to model my career after theirs.
Brendan Meyer: Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They’re both young male actors who’ve worked with great directors, do great projects and are really talented.
What’s your favorite movie?
Olivia Holt: “Beaches”. It’s a really good movie! I can watch that all day long!
Luke Benward: One of my favorite movies of all time is “Braveheart."
Kerris Dorsey: “Funny Face," with Audrey Hepburn.
Kat McNamara: I love old Hollywood movies like “Funny Face” and “Cover Girl”. I also love “Super 8," “Julie and Julia," “The Notebook” and “The Help”.
Brendan Meyer: “The Dark Knight," “Casablanca," and I like a lot of Woody Allen movies. I have really eclectic taste, but I think all that matters is that it’s a good story.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Olivia Holt: Be yourself, and when you’re yourself, everyone looks at you like you are a leader. Then people are going to love you for that.
Luke Benward: The best advice that I’ve ever gotten regarding my job is to not believe my press. Not press in general, but because in this job there’s a lot of praise and service that is given to you. Every day I make a conscious effort not to be served but to serve and to not make it about me because that’s really not what it’s about. My job’s not any more important than anyone else’s job on this whole set.
Kerris Dorsey: From my mom, to do what I love and not have to compromise.
Kat McNamara: When I was growing up, there was one quote that I had up on my wall that really helped me through a lot of it (because everybody goes through bullying). It’s "What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular." Everybody has their own special talent that they can give to the world and it’s not always popular.
Brendan Meyer: Always be honest and true to yourself...that’s the best way! Do things that make you happy. Don’t do something because someone else wants you to or because you feel you have to do that. You should do what makes you happy because you only get the one life, right?
“Girl vs. Monster” premieres Friday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel.
Some parents thought storyline was insensitive towards kids with food allergies
Disney Channel has pulled an episode of "Jessie" from its lineup after parents complained about the storyline.In the episode "Quitting Cold Koala," the character of Stuart, who can only eat gluten-free foods, is portrayed as being high-maintenance and annoying and even has pancakes thrown at him.
Bing: More about 'Jessie' | More about Debby Ryan
Mom Amy Rasievich watched the episode with her two kids and told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette they all were upset by what they saw. She told the newspaper her kids are often isolated from others because of the limitations on their diets and she felt the episode only promoted intolerance of those with food allergies.
Rasievich started a petition on Change.org to try and convince Disney Channel to stop airing the episode.
Disney Channel has since responded to the backlash on the network's Facebook page:
"To our viewers, we received your feedback about [the] 'Jessie' episode which some of you accessed early on Video-on-Demand. We are removing this particular episode from our regular programming schedule and will re-evaluate its references to gluten restrictions in the character's diet. Please accept our apologies for the upset this episode caused you and your family. We value your feedback and thank you for watching Disney Channel."
Do you think Disney Channel did the right thing by pulling the episode? Sound off in the comments below and tell us on our MSN TV Facebook page and on Twitter.
'Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2' leads the way
The nominations for the 2013 Teen Choice Awards have been announced and the final "Twilight" movie, "Breaking Dawn Park 2" leads the way, picking up more nods than any other film.Bing: More about 'Breaking Dawn Park 2' | More about Teen Choice Awards
The awards show are scheduled to air on FOX on Sunday, August 11.
Here are the rest of the nominations:
Choice Movie: Action
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation"
"Iron Man 3"
"Skyfall"
"The Bourne Legacy"
"The Dark Knight Rises"
Choice Movie Actor: Action
Christian Bale, "The Dark Knight Rises"
Daniel Craig, "Skyfall"
Robert Downey, Jr., "Iron Man 3"
Chris Hemsworth, "Red Dawn"
Dwayne Johnson, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation"
Choice Movie Actress: Action
Jessica Biel, "Total Recall"
Anne Hathaway, "The Dark Knight Rises"
Adrianne Palicki, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation"
Gwyneth Paltrow, "Iron Man 3"
Rachel Weisz, "The Bourne Legacy"
Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
"Beautiful Creatures"
"Iron Man 3"
"Oblivion"
"Oz the Great and Powerful"
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Tom Cruise, "Oblivion"
Robert Downey, Jr., "Iron Man 3"
James Franco, "Oz the Great and Powerful"
Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Mila Kunis, "Oz the Great and Powerful"
Gwyneth Paltrow, "Iron Man 3"
Saoirse Ronan, "The Host"
Kristen Stewart, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Michelle Williams, "Oz the Great and Powerful"
Choice Movie: Drama
"Argo"
"Les Miserables"
"The Great Gatsby"
"The Impossible"
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Choice Movie Actor: Drama
Ben Affleck, "Argo"
Bradley Cooper, "The Words"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Great Gatsby"
Hugh Jackman, "Les Misérables"
Logan Lerman, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Choice Movie Actress: Drama
Halle Berry, "The Call"
Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
Carey Mulligan, "The Great Gatsby"
Emma Watson, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Choice Movie: Comedy
"Identity Thief"
"Peeples"
"Pitch Perfect"
"The Incredible Burt Wonderstone"
"Warm Bodies"
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Skylar Astin, "Pitch Perfect"
Jason Bateman, "Identity Thief"
Steve Carell, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone"
Nicholas Hoult, "Warm Bodies"
Craig Robinson, "Peeples"
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Anna Kendrick, "Pitch Perfect"
Melissa McCarthy, "Identity Thief"
Kerry Washington, "Peeples"
Olivia Wilde, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone"
Rebel Wilson, "Pitch Perfect"
Choice Movie: Romance
"Beautiful Creatures"
"Les Misérables"
"Safe Haven"
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
"Warm Bodies"
Choice Movie Actor: Romance
Josh Duhamel, "Safe Haven"
Alden Ehrenreich, "Beautiful Creatures"
Nicholas Hoult, "Warm Bodies"
Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Eddie Redmayne, "Les Misérables"
Choice Movie Actress: Romance
Jessica Biel, "Playing for Keeps"
Alice Englert, "Beautiful Creatures"
Julianne Hough, "Safe Haven"
Amanda Seyfried, "Les Misérables"
Kristen Stewart, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Choice TV Show: Drama
"Gossip Girl"
"Nashville"
"Pretty Little Liars"
"Revenge"
"Switched At Birth"
Choice TV Actor: Drama
Penn Badgley, "Gossip Girl"
Joshua Bowman, "Revenge"
Lucas Grabeel, "Switched At Birth"
Ian Harding, "Pretty Little Liars"
Nick Wechsler, "Revenge"
Choice TV Actress: Drama
Troian Bellisario, "Pretty Little Liars"
Blake Lively, "Gossip Girl"
Vanessa Marano, "Switched At Birth"
Hayden Panettiere, "Nashville"
Emily VanCamp, "Revenge"
Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
"Arrow"
"Beauty and The Beast"
"Once Upon a Time"
"Supernatural"
"The Vampire Diaries"
Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Jensen Ackles, "Supernatural"
Stephen Amell, "Arrow"
Jared Padalecki, "Supernatural"
Ian Somerhalder, "The Vampire Diaries"
Paul Wesley, "The Vampire Diaries"
Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Katie Cassidy, "Arrow"
Nina Dobrev, "The Vampire Diaries"
Ginnifer Goodwin, "Once Upon a Time"
Kat Graham, "The Vampire Diaries"
Kristin Kreuk, "Beauty and the Beast"
Choice TV Show: Action
"Chicago Fire"
"Elementary"
"Hawaii Five-0"
"NCIS: Los Angeles"
"Nikita"
Choice TV Actor: Action
Scott Caan, "Hawaii Five-0"
LL Cool J, "NCIS: Los Angeles"
Jonny Lee Miller, "Elementary"
Jesse Spencer, "Chicago Fire"
Shane West, "Nikita"
Choice TV Actress: Action
Lyndsy Fonseca, "Nikita"
Lucy Liu, "Elementary"
Grace Park, "Hawaii Five-0"
Maggie Q, "Nikita"
Monica Raymund, "Chicago Fire"
Choice TV Show: Comedy
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"New Girl"
"Suburgatory"
Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Chris Colfer, "Glee"
Jake Johnson, "New Girl"
Ashton Kutcher, "Two And a Half Men"
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Kaley Cuoco, "The Big Bang Theory"
Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"
Mindy Kaling, "The Mindy Project"
Lea Michele, "Glee"
Bridgit Mendler, "Good Luck Charlie"
Choice TV: Animated Show
"Adventure Time"
"Bob's Burger"
"Family Guy"
"Gravity Falls"
"The Simpsons"
Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
"American Idol"
"The Bachelor"
"Dancing with the Stars"
"The Voice"
"The X Factor"
Choice TV: Reality Show
"Dance Moms"
"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo"
"Keeping Up with the Kardashians"
"Married to Jonas"
"Tia & Tamera"
Choice Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Phillip Phillips
Pitbull
Justin Timberlake
Choice Female Artist
Selena Gomez
Demi Lovato
Pink
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Choice Music Group
Big Time Rush
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted
Choice R&B Artist
Beyonce
Alicia Keys
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Trey Songz
Choice Hip-Hop/Rap Artist
Drake
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Nicki Minaj
Pitbull
Kanye West
Choice Rock Group
AWOLNATION
Imagine Dragons
Mumford & Sons
Paramore
The Lumineers
Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist
Deadmau5
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Kaskade
Skrillex
Swedish House Mafia
Choice Male Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Hunter Hayes
Blake Shelton
Choice Female Country Artist
Jana Kramer
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Choice Country Group
Florida Georgia Line
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Thompson Square
Choice Female Hottie
Miley Cyrus
Megan Fox
Selena Gomez
Mila Kunis
Demi Lovato
Choice Male Hottie
Justin Bieber
Liam Hemsworth
Taylor Lautner
Harry Styles
Channing Tatum
Choice Smile
Selena Gomez
Taylor Lautner
Demi Lovato
Harry Styles
Taylor Swift
Choice Female Athlete
Gabby Douglas
Missy Franklin
Alex Morgan
Danica Patrick
Lindsey Vonn
Serena Williams
Choice Male Athlete
David Beckham
LeBron James
Colin Kaepernick
Michael Phelps
Shaun White
Choice Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres
Jimmy Fallon
Melissa McCarthy
Daniel Tosh
Rebel Wilson
With the release of 'Epic,' a look at other fantasy lands in movies
In the new 3-D animated film "Epic," based on William Joyce's "The Leaf Men and the Brave New Bugs," a young girl named Mary Katherine shrinks down and discovers a beautiful hidden world that is threatened by evil creatures known as the Boggans. She joins forces with a group of warriors called the Leafmen to save this magical forest as well as her own world while also trying to return home. Let's take a journey to other fantasy worlds from a variety of beloved films. While these magical places are often breathtakingly beautiful, incredible dangers lurk just beneath the surface!Bing: More about 'Epic' | Video: Watch six exclusive clips of 'Epic'
Click here to see the rest of the gallery.
What's your favorite fantasy land from a movie? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
The craziest households are sometimes the most entertaining
What makes "Modern Family" about a modern family? The Pritchett family is big, sure, but families have long been big. The Pritchetts are weird, but weird families are as old civilization. When "Modern Family" debuted in 2009, audiences loved it because the Pritchetts were complicated. Their genealogy is confusing. Their kin are all a little off-kilter. And some members hail from as far away as Asia and South America.
Bing: More about 'Modern Family' | Watch clips and more
Long gone are the days of two parents, 2.5 kids and a dog, and as the times have changed, so have TV families. In a world of constant divorce, remarriage, cosmopolitan lifestyles and every kind of childhood, TV clans get more convoluted than ever. Some of these families are loving and wholesome; others are conniving and fratricidal. But one thing's for sure: They're hard to puzzle out.
To celebrate another successful season of "Modern Family," we offer some of television's most tangled family trees.
Click here to see the rest of the gallery.
Which TV family is your favorite? Tell us at MSN TV on Facebook and Twitter.
The Season 4 finale of "Modern Family" airs Wednesday, May 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
The battle between good and evil is about to begin to keep the natural world alive
MSN Movies is excited to exclusively debut six clips from the upcoming animated comedy adventure movie "Epic." The 3-D feature reveals a fantasy world in which good and evil have to battle it out in order to keep the natural world alive.Bing: More about 'Epic' | More about Aziz Ansari
A teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe and ends up teaming up with a band of warriors to save the world.
The voice cast for the movie includes: Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Beyoncé Knowles, Aziz Ansari, Chris O’Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, Blake Anderson and Judah Friedlander.
Are you excited to see "Epic" with your kids? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
"Epic" is out in theaters Friday, May 24.
Animated movie sequel flying into theaters in April 2014
The sequel is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 11, 2014.
Original voice cast Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, will.i.am, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez and Leslie Mann are all set to return.
Bing: More about 'Rio 2' | More about Anne Hathaway
Joining the actors this time will also be Andy Garcia, Bruno Mars, Kristin Chenoweth, Rita Moreno, Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Crow, Pierce Gagnon and Natalie Morales.
In the sequel, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and their three kids are living the perfect domesticated life until Jewel decides the kids need to learn to live like real birds and takes the family into the Amazon.
Are you excited for "Rio 2"? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
Ismael Cruz to play Mando, a writer from Brooklyn
"Sesame Street" is adding a new Hispanic character to the show.The Associated Press reports Ismael Cruz has been cast to play Armando or "Mando" for short, a writer from Brooklyn.
Bing: More about 'Sesame Street' | More about Ismael Cruz
The 26-year-old actor who grew up in Puerto Rico said, "'Sesame Street' is a magical place. It doesn't matter if you are working there or just visiting, or if you're watching on TV, that magic is always there."
Cruz watched "Sesame Street" as a child and added, "It's a show that's always cutting edge, that is always aware of what's going on with the population, so by including a character that is young, with new perspectives, Latino, and that bring that new generation, it is carrying on with that message."
"Mando" will make his debut on the 44th season of "Sesame Street," which starts airing on September 16.
Do you like that Sesame Street continues to promote diversity with its cast? Tell us on our MSN TV Facebook page and on Twitter.
We rate the hottest mothers in movies
By Mary Pols
Special to MSN Movies
In honor of Mother's Day, MSN has put together a list of incendiary cinematic mothers, or in more simple terms, hot mamas. Given how many beautiful actresses there are in the world, you'd expect this list could be endless, but the truth is not that many roles call for actresses to play women who are both mothers and sultry. Mothers in the movies are usually more to the ladylike than the earthy and seductive. Femmes fatales don't have babies. Women in rom-coms tend to be husband shopping, not producing children. But still, we found 13 mothers from the movies who are anything but matronly.
Bing: More about Diane Lane | More about Anne Bancroft | Related: TV's hottest moms
Click here to see all the photos.
Who do you think is the most mamalicious movie mom? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
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meet the bloggers
Deanna Barnert | Los Angeles, Calif.
Entertainment journalist Deanna "TVDeeva" Barnert visits sets, interviews industry players and critiques the final product. Buzz's daytime TV queen covers it all for MSN TV, but loves her sitcoms, soaps and any juicy drama that doesn't call itself Reality TV.
