Mandy Moore
Interview By: Dan Portnoy
DanielPortnoy@TheCinemaSource.com
The entertainment world and its audience have known Mandy Moore for quite some time. At the tender age of fifteen she exploded onto the scene as a musician whose crowd pleasing talent and voice refused to be ignored. It was only a matter of time before she drifted into acting, where her career has continued to thrive. Whether she's letting us check out The Princess Diaries, giving Hollywood heart throb Vinny Chase and his Entourage the run around, or taking us on A Walk to Remember, Moore has just begun what she hopes to be a long and fruitful career in film and television. This year Moore is able to unsheathe both her talents as she sings and acts in the film American Dreamz.
The film takes a page from the book of hit reality television show American Idol and brings the nationwide craze to the big screen. In the film (and the show), contestants are pitted against one another in a singing competition for the chance to become the next big star. Mandy plays Sandy Kendoo (creative last name) a go-get-em' girl who may have what it takes to win the contest. But before she can start signing record deals she has to beat out the other contestants and win the favor the judges. This is no easy task, especially when one of the judges is Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), an Englishman with a forked tongue and a reputation for sending young hopefuls home with their tail between their legs. With all these obstacles, who knows if Sally will be able to achieve her Dreamz. Guess you'll just have to hit the theaters and find out.
American Idol Sally seemed like a typical contestant, driven, hopeful, and yes a bit extreme and over the top. But it's the variety of personalities, including those like Sally's which make the show and the film what it is. Cause who really wants to watch a show where everyone is cool and composed the entire time' I guess that's just not reality.
As it turns out, Mandy happens to be a fan huge of Idol and admires the people that have the courage to get on stage and do what they do under the circumstances of the show. It's no lie that 'making it' is tough and for some of these people it's the only chance they have to make it in the industry. 'I would never discredit anyone that is working their way up a show like American Idol, I mean I'm a fan of the show and I do watch it every week. But I think they work so hard overcoming all these obstacles to get on the show in the first place and then every week they're judged in front of all of America. And it must be overwhelming all the pressure, so I give them complete credit for getting up on stage. I think I would crumble under that kind of pressure so'I think they deserve all the success they get.'
It's the human drama folks, played out in a season or in this case the entirety of a film. Not everyone can win and everyone has their favorites and the contest has become a sensation that has spread rapidly through out the country. Fans of the T.V. show will definitely be drawn to Dreamz and who knows it may pick up some new recruits along the way.
After American Dreamz Mandy is in no way slowing down. She is currently working on eight films. That's right, EIGHT MOVIES. 'I wanna be doing this as long as I wanna be doing this. When that day comes when I'm sort of done with the acting and singing thing I'll just pack it in and go home. But I'm 21, I don't really plan on that happening soon.' So keep your eyes peeled because the face of Mandy Moore's is one you'll be seeing a lot of. If you've never seen her films or are unfamiliar with her work, just wait, you will be soon enough.
