Connie Talbot, Britain's Young Singing Sensation, is Set to Conquer America!

Connie Talbot, Britain's Young Singing Sensation, is Set to Conquer America!

New Blog HollywoodMomBlog.com Ready to Launch

I'm so close to having the real Hollywood Mom blog site launch, I can hardly stand it. Bookmark the page http://www.hollywoodmomblog.com/ and when it's up I'll email all 3 of you that know about this site. LOL.

Truthfully the site would have launched earlier but the entire Crib Rock website is undergoing an overhaul (complete with it's own blog); we're adding content to Jordan's site; developing a second business site (name forthcoming); and creating a promotional site for Russell focusing on his illustrious film career, both in front of and behind the camera in preparation for receiving his BIG HOLLYWOOD AWARD this November, which I'll be blogging about soon.

In other words - it's been complete web wackiness for the last week. Here's the HM logo teaser...

CRIB ROCK® LEGENDS: Tees for your little monsters

CRIB ROCK® Brand DARES TO BRING YOU LEGENDS™ AN EDGY NEW LINE OF CREATURE TEE SHIRTS ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR LITTLE MONSTER!

Can you imagine crypto creatures and folklore legends uniting the children of the world? Thanks to the imagination of the CRIB ROCK® design team it’s actually happening!

By bringing together the world’s lore creatures in their latest collection, CRIB ROCK® hopes to impart to children and parents that we share much more in common with our global neighbors than we realize; that all of the people of the earth share similar hopes, fears and dreams, as evident in the similarities of our magnificent folklore creatures.

Grinded collars, sleeve hems and waistbands on each tee give the garments an “I-just-wrestled-with-a-LEGEND” look. Legends tees (Made in the USA) are available in subdued, masculine hues of Stone (dark gray) and Bone (off white) in children’s sizes 2/3, 4/5 and 6/7. Retail: $34 One hundred percent ribbed cotton onesies come in subdued hues of gray and white in sizes 0-6m, 6-12m and 12-18m. Retail: $30

CRIB ROCK® LEGENDS™ is a brand new line of distressed tee shirts and ribbed cotton onesies, featuring a collection of seven mysterious, folklore creatures from all points of the globe:
The enormous tentacled Kraken of the Netherlands. Already monopolizing the closets of every A-lister's offspring – including those of celebu-tots Apple, Shiloh, Moses, Coco, Maddox and Violet - Crib Rock® Couture & Decor is world renown for their imaginative line of mock rock nursery rhyme concert tee shirts and onesies.

Momagers from Hell courtesy of Tracey Ullman

Must see momager video spoof by Tracey Ullman. Ugh. Warning - Turn the volume down if you're at work; "Dina" has a potty mouth.

Actress Iyari Limon on Breaking in to the Biz

I blogged the other day about the "transition factor," my own term for the elusive quality that carries children and teen actors into adult acting careers. While the transition factor is a crucial trait for an all ready working child actor, I was recently made aware of other important qualities for acting success in the early years: self-belief and determination. You absolutely need both to become a successful working actor, child or not. Actress Iyari Limon has both qualities in abundance and recently shared with me about how she forged her early career in Hollywood. Something I bet you didn't know: It involves avocados. BTW - the photo above is of my child actor (Jordan) not a photo of a young Iyari.

Iyari Limon Interview 2008

Hollywood Mom: How did you get started in the industry?

Iyari: How did I get started? Oh my goodness. Several years ago I went to one of those, you know, acting schools were you pay an arm and a leg for a commercial acting workshop, um but I didn’t know any better. My mom didn’t want me to pursue [acting] as a career. She always kept trying to keep me away and then when I was almost old enough to do it on my own – I did.

HM: Was that all here in Los Angeles?

Iyari: That was all here in Los Angeles. I was raised here. Born in Mexico but I moved when I was one, so yeah, L.A.’s my home. When I was in high school I didn’t have money to pay for the classes so a girlfriend of mine and I would pick avocados off her tree every weekend and go to the swap meet and sell them. So I paid for the classes like that – selling avocados. I was completely determined. Once I was in the school they had what’s called "a showcase," where agents come and see you. I think I was at the top of the school because I was so determined. I stuck myself in an elevator for 4 hours rehearsing my copy making sure there was no way I was not going to get anything. I think there were a total of 8 agents there and I booked 7 appointments.

HM: How old were you at that time?

Iyari: I think I was about sixteen.

HM: Just a baby.

Iyari: Yeah. And I got an agent. I had no idea what was involved in the industry. I had no idea what a pilot was or what I was auditioning for or how to audition – anything like that. It took me a year to book my first commercial and then I was just hooked after [doing] my first commercial. I remember I just prayed, “God, please just one commercial – please just one commercial.” And then I was hooked I was like “Oh my god, Oh my god.”

I did my first co-star on the show "Maloney" a long time ago – old show. It was an episodic drama. I did the teaser on it and I got killed. It was so fun. After that, I was hooked. [Acting] was like a drug to me. I was so high. I thought this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And that was it.

HM: What was the name of your acting school?

Iyari: At that time it was called Beverly Hills Studios.

HM: Was it one of those shady places?

Iyari: Well, it was one of those places where you pay money and you get your opportunity but you have to grab [your opportunity.]

HM: It’s what you made out of it.

Iyari: Exactly. Most people didn’t do anything with it. I did. It was my only door and I made sure it opened.

My cousin came with me [on “Maloney”] and they used him as an extra. At that point he wanted to be an actor as well. But after that day he said, “This is so not for me. I don’t want to act.” For me it was the other way around, “This is so for me.” I think you know what your calling is, what moves you and what doesn’t.

HM: With your obvious good looks were people telling you your entire life, “Iyari you should model, you should act?”

Iyari: When I was little, around 5, my best friend’s mom always used to say that I was going to be a star. But that was it. Growing up I was more shy. We moved around a lot, lived here and there. I wasn’t as extroverted because we kept moving around. No one ever told me that. I would ask my mom, “Please take me to acting, drama, theater. I want to do a TV show.” She would say, “You’re crazy. Stop that nonsense. You’re going to be a doctor or a lawyer. All girls want [to be actresses] and it’s not a wise choice. You’ll never make it…”

The first year I auditioned, like I said, it took a year for me to get anything. [My mother] would have to drive me because I was too young to drive and it was always a struggle because she would say, “You’re not going to get anything so what’s the point of going?” It was such a struggle or me to keep motivating myself and to keep going…”

HM: Because you didn’t have that support.

Iyari: None. Not in high school, not with my friends, not with my parents. My boyfriend (at the time) was completely jealous of all that and we would get into a fight at every audition I went to. It was really hard for me to keep going because the only person who believed in me obviously was my agent.

HM: And yourself?

Iyari: And myself. Many times I thought, “Oh my gosh, my mom’s right. I’m not going to make it. Who am I kidding?” And that moment I remember, I walked up to my closet door. It was one of those mirrored closet doors, and I walked straight up to myself and said, “You know what? You’re gonna make it. You just keep going.” And I just kept pushing myself.

Back to business after some "Idol" time

This week was packed with both business and pleasure, and thankfully very little on the momager front.

Pleasure: We attended the American Idol finale - which of course Rocked! And we had first class, kid friendly transportation on a limo style party bus which rocked both literally and figuratively. Watching David Cook take the crown was amazing for all of us. Jordan's favorite moment was probably when the Jonas Brothers appeared on stage. It goes without saying that watching Carrie Underwood was the highlight for Russell.

The best part of the night for me (aside from watching celebrity dads Robert Downey, Ben Stiller and Jack Black perform as Gladys Knight's Pipps via video) happened before we ever boarded the party bus.

The Crib Rock design studio has a central location so all the families invited to this shin dig boarded the party bus for AI at our office. As each family arrived they would inevitably end up wandering though the space, admiring our clothes, wall hooks, panels and decor stuff and let's not kid ourselves, using the bathroom. During the walk through, two kids told me (independently of each other) that our jobs "looked like so much fun" and that it was such a "cool office."

Reality check. While it's not a glamorous space or high tech environment, it is colorful on every level. The creative work were engaged in is such a gift and provides much more of an outlet for expression than many other professions. I'm thankful.

Business: On the PR front, we've begun the publicity jaunt for Crib Rock's new line of kids decor, called Metal Mania. In just a few short days we've received inquiries from the top publications and rave reviews have popped up on 2 sites I adore, Babble's Droolicious and Baby Universe's Posh Cravings site. I'll post the rest as they go to print.

In the "unexpected but entirely welcome" category, I received a high gloss magazine in the mail called Star Inc. (cover pic above) written entirely in French. A baby boom article raves about Crib Rock's onesies and tees and name drops on a few of our celebrity connections: Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon. Ooo La La.

The morning after Idol it was back to business with a rush screening job on the line LEGENDS for boys. Seems a preorder for a VIP snuck through ahead of schedule and we're all about making it happen when we can and sometimes when we can't. Thank you to Christy at Savvy Salon and her wonderful husband Christian of Countyline Threads for saving my behind.

Immediately after extinguishing the screening fire, I had a rush delivery of Crib Rock to an expectant celebrity couple. Not an emergency for them I assure you, but for me because the value of having your product in the right place at the right time cannot be underestimated and she's about to pop out that sweet bundle of joy any day.

Today, Friday, was a day of wrapping up the week and preparing for more... Pleasure: My dear friend Christine (and Jordan's Godmother) arrives at LAX tomorrow morning for a week of relaxation which is sort of comical since it seems like we never relax.

I'll let you know if she's able to...

Congrats Sean Patrick & Aonika Laurent Thomas on the birth of their daughter Lola Jolie and a word about Teen actors & the elusive "Transition Trait"

Celebrity couple Sean Patrick Thomas (Raisins in the Sun; Barber Shop) and Aonika Laurent Thomas (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) delivered a healthy baby girl on Friday, May 16, 2008, at Cedars Sinai. They've named her Lola Jolie. I had the pleasure of attending their baby shower a few weeks ago and interviewing the couple about their journey to parenthood.

What I didn't mention in that interview is that Sean and I actually worked together back in 1997 on a little teen flick called "Can't Hardly Wait," which was jammed packed with young actors (Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose, Jaime Pressly, Freddie Rodriguez, Melissa Joan Hart and Selma Blair) who would go on to have wonderful careers as adult actors. Kudos to the casting department on that one.

"Can't Hardly Wait," also showcased young talent whose careers were peaking or tapering off (Charlie Korsmo, Ethan Embry, Jennifer Love Hewitt) at least for the time being. I would personally love to see Ethan Embry pull a Patrick Dempsey and come back full force in his late 30's or early 40's. Time will tell. And I'm not worried for Charlie Korsmo - last I heard, he graduated from MIT at the top of his class and made the choice to leave Hollywood behind.

What quality is it that carries a teen actor successfully into adulthood in Hollywood? Is it luck? Looks? Talent? Popularity? A combination of all these? I don't know, but I can tell you that it was not obvious to me while working on the film which of them would go on to have adult acting careers with the exception of Seth Green who is brilliant; and Jamie Pressly, (My Name is Earl) a stunning beauty whose moxie was all ready clearly evident. Freddie Rodriguez (Grind House) also had that "special something," a vibe that was for lack of a better description, memorable.

It's one of the most elusive elements in child acting and actors - the transition factor. For every child and teen actor who transition into successful acting careers in their 20's and 30's (Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, Kurt Russell) there are 1000 or more who don't. Will your child actor be able to transition? Do you even want him or her to pursue a lifetime career in acting? And if they can't or don't continue to book as they get older, how will you help them cope? If you're a former child actor who has gone on to bigger and better things outside of the industry or you know someone like this, I'd love to hear from you.

As for Sean Patrick Thomas, he obviously made the "transition" into his chosen profession with ease. It was wonderful to see him again, all grown up, married and starting a family of his own. Lola is a beautiful baby name and they're a beautiful couple - all my best wishes to the entire family.

"GREASE!" is the word. "EXHAUSTION!" is the other word.

Mother's Day weekend officially kicked some Hollywood Mom butt.

My child star rehearsed for the musical "Grease!" Friday night and worked as background in 2 performances on Saturday. Not bad, except these musical theater shenanigans all took place in Santa Monica, California which is NOT where I reside. In fact the theater is about 30 minutes (one-way with no traffic) from where I reside. And because I live in the world of "nothing is simple," there was a 5 hour gap between performances one and two on Saturday.

So, I did what any good Momager wrangling a gang of 9-year-olds dressed as Danny, Sandy, Rizzo and Frenchy would do in order to kill time. I took them to see "Nim's Island," which I actually blogged about just the other day. Admittedly not their first choice (sorry kids) but one Greaser's parents are strict sticklers for "G" ratings.

All in all, "Nim's Island" is a pleasant film that kept the group entertained and it refrains from tear jerking ploys like dead pets (Sounder, Old Yeller) and dead friends (Bridge to Teribithia). Although in the spirit of mother's day, as in most classic children's films (Bambi, Finding Nemo, Lemony Snickett, Nanny McPhee), the story begins with the age-old formula of "Dead Mom."

The "dead mom" theme was actually apropos because after two days of constant driving and child star wrangling I myself felt a lttle on the lifeless side and was really looking forward to a relaxing mother's day, filled with cards, flowers, a kid-made breakfast and what is that you say? Driving? Yes! More driving!

But not to the beach like yesterday - to the DESERT this time! A really nice, LONG drive, with lots of big rigs on torn up roads. Quite frankly, a drive to put all other drives to shame. But it's mother's day after all and we must pay our respects to the Grandmothers, Mothers, Aunts and Sisters in our lives - regardless of their remote locations.

Isn't that what we do everyday as moms and as Momagers? Spend a great deal of our lives chauffering the little stars in our life around town? How about it ladies, how much time do you spend each week driving to auditions, photo shoots and booked gigs not to mention school, work, soccer pratice? I'm willing to guess it's more time than you bargained for and that a few of those trips are at neck breaking speeds down the 405 trying to make that call time. So in honor of "Grease!" and Mother's Day, I leave you with this driving mom mantra:

Go greased lightning you're burning up the quarter mile

(Greased lightning go greased lightning)

Go greased lightning you're coasting through the heat lap trial

(Greased lightning go greased lightning)

You are supreme, the Kids will Scream for greased lightning!

(Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go)

Aonika and Sean Patrick Thomas Interview

My interview with Aonika and Sean Patrick Thomas is on the Celebrity Baby Blog tonight - not as revealing or lengthy an interview as Iyari's but it was about covering the baby shower festivities after all. Aonika was very open about her fertility difficulties and I hope to interview her on an in depth basis to learn more about her experiences. It's immensely rewarding for me as a writer when people read my interviews/articles/posts and can relate to or learn from them.

This was a busy week on all fronts for this Hollywood Mom which began on Sunday with a Laker's Game date (we won!) and then another family birthday party. Monday I was terribly busy procrastinating and trolling other people's blogs; Tuesday I chatted with new vendors and came ever so close to purchasing my own screen printing machines. I was interrupted (and my check book was spared) when Jordan felt ill and called me to pick her up early from school. By finishing the day in my home office it was quiet enough to knock out the Thomas' baby shower article - the day's silver lining.

Yesterday was all about finalizing the decor line, the new line sheets and packaging; while today I spent the morning with a darling PR person (who looks exactly like a former employer of mine) discussing publicity plans for Crib Rock, Hollywood Mom Blog and Russell Designs (the hubby's new side biz - very artsy).

In between events I was submitting my daughter the actress on jobs, returning casting calls, updating all the corporate websites, gathering gifts for teacher appreciation day at school and preparing for Jo's debut as Rizzo in Grease: purchasing costumes, running lines, singing lessons, etc. She's rehearsing non-stop over the next 72 hours or so which means I'll be driving to-and-fro for the next 72 hours or so. What a Martyr right? Nah...I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Newbie film directors share fears of casting kids

I stumbled upon a blog entry this morning that's a "must share, " primarily because I don't have time to really BLOG today. And I don't really have time to blog today because I was busy reading other people's blogs. Which is how I came about this blog post. Yes, it's a vicious cycle.

As the parents of child actors, we should be aware of what prospective directors are thinking about us (the parents) and about our children. And how sometimes, working with kids can be much more rewarding and much less painful than anticipated.

In this blog, newbie writer/directors Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky share their fears of working with children and their relief upon discovering talented child actor Madison Davenport. Honestly, she's accrued so many credits in her short 11 years, my fear as a newbie director would be, "Am I worthy?"

The well-reviewed Jacobs/Grodsky effort is "Humboldt County" which according to IMDB follows *"a disillusioned medical student, stranded for a summer in a remote community of counterculture pot farmers, the last place in the world he imagined he would discover himself."

http://humboldtcountymovie.blogspot.com/2008/02/casting-part-vi-kid.html

*plot description from IMBD Pro

Hollywood Mom Iyari Limon

My interview with actress Iyari Limon is up on the Celebrity Baby Blog today. She's seriously one of the most beautiful women alive and her daughter Kimaya, is miles beyond adorable. The photo above shows them wearing their matching London Bridge tees from the Crib Rock® Concert Series.

And speaking of Kimaya, she and my daughter Jordan have something in common besides being adorable. They share an agent at Abrams Artists, Jeremy Apody. The man obviously has stellar taste.

In what I hope will become an ongoing column of speaking with celebrites and little actors, and parents of little actors (when we launch on http://www.hollywoodmomblog.com/) I'll be posting an interview with Iyari touching on the topic of "child actors" in a week or so. In the meantime, please check out my lengthy article on the CBB.

Mother-Daughter Model Search

For those of you interested in pursuing a modeling career with your child, Family Circle Magazine and Wilhelmina have the answer in the Mother-Daughter Model Search 2008. Click on the link above and you may be one step closer to stardom... By the way, this won't be how my daughter Jordan takes her modeling career to the next level. LOL. However, some of the prizes make it momentarily tempting:

Grand Prizes
A five-year Modeling Contract with Wilhelmina Models ($10,000 for the mother; $5,000 for the daughter)
An appearance in Family Circle and on Better.TV
An all-expenses-paid trip to NYC for photo shoot and judging
A $2,000 JCPenney shopping spree
Chocolate pearl necklaces from Jewelry Television ($10,000 total value)
A collection of products from Essie Cosmetics ($500 value)
A laptop, valued at $2,000
A Sephora gift basket ($500 value)

Runner-Up Prizes
An appearance in Family Circle and on Better.TV
An all-expenses-paid trip to NYC for photo shoot and judging
JCPenney gift card ($100 each)
A Sephora gift basket ($50 each)
Jewelry Television shopping spree ($500 per team)
N.V. Perricone M.D. Face Lipid Replenishment and Moist Lip ($144 per team)

Casting Notice - From Hell

Okay. I'm sure some of you other Hollywood Moms have received casting notices that just don't sit right with you. Perhaps one like the notice I just received calling for "Frightened Children?"

The kind of casting notice where you think to yourself, "Mmm, perhaps it would be wise to Google this director/band/casting company/fill-in-the-blank prior to emailing my precious young child's photo."

Although many of you would have hit delete upon reading "frightened children," I kept going. Heck, I scare my own child at least once a day - why not do it professionally. I kid.

So it's for a rock video, (whatever), low-paying (red flag) and casting off head shots (even redder flag). Upon closer inspection, I glean the other parts they're casting for: "Child-Eating Beast Creature," and "Medieval Soldiers." Mmm. Child-Eating Beast Creatures are one thing, but Medieval Soldiers? I don't think so.

So I do what any parent with a MySpace account would do. I look up the "band."

OMG

After reading the bands homage to all things evil, I will say this only once. DELETE.

If you are the parent of a child actor research the casting notices' associates/topic/job title/etc. on MySpace and on Google. It can save you (literally) from the darker side of the biz. Nuff said.

Iron Man Rocks!

Just returned from the cast and crew screening of the Marvel Movie, Iron Man on the Paramount Lot. It was (to coin an 80's adjective) totally awesome! Seriously. And not just because my husband (Russell Bobbitt) worked on it for a year. The cast, Robert Downey Jr., Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and Leslie Bibb, was stellar. It's bizarre watching Academy Award Winners in a comic book movie but they lent believability and edginess to the overall vibe.

So what in the world does this film have to do with my blog topics? Well, on the topic of balance and fulfilling business responsibilities it was a low scoring day. It's hard to make headway when your heading home at 2:30 in the afternoon.

On the other hand, in the motherhood arena I scored a home run because we took the little one with us to the screening. Marriage category - scored there too with just a little hubby admiration and cheerfully agreeing to dinner in Larchmont Village after the show. Simple stuff.

Now on to the topic of the blog that focuses on my kids career. As I was watching the film I couldn't help but focus on the kids in the cast - they're weren't many and their parts were all pretty brief. Glorified extras actually. My husband mentioned during filming of Iron Man that a part was coming up that was possibly a good fit for our daughter, Jordan. In the end it turned out to be sort of an emotional scene, with gunfire, squid blasts, shouting, dust, etc. Not the ideal set for a young first timer. He changed his mind, I agreed and Jordan was none the wiser. Was it the right choice? I don't know, but I think so.

The good news is, Jordan makes it into the film anyhow. In the final scene, Robert Downey Jr. is reading a newspaper while Pepper Potts (G.Paltrow) dabs his face with make-up. If you look quickly & closely at the newspaper, and I mean QUICKLY & CLOSELY, you'll see my kids smiling face. As we watched the scene with the paper she lit up. Her father and I missed it completely until she reminded us later that her photo was in the scene. It's poetic actually, I'm concerned that she's not in the movie and as far as she's concerned, she is in the movie.

Score 1 for motherhood and marriage.

A word of caution to smiley Miley from former child star Jamie Lee Curtis

I've got two deadlines for the celebrity baby blog tonight so I won't be posting; however, here's Jamie Lee Curtis' take on the child star drama du jour:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/topless-on-tv-the-miley-c_b_98990.html