"Starstruck" by the Industry

In my research, I found myself wondering how I could write so much about celebrities without actually talking to one, so I did just that. Today I interviewed a movie star in our own school, Danielle Campbell. Danielle is a senior here at Central, and she's been acting now for years. Her claim to fame is the Disney Channel original movie, Starstruck, but she was also cast in the big screen Disney flick, Prom, as well as other productions such as Madea's Witness Protection Program and a reoccurring role on "Prison Break." Here are some bits from our interview...

Q: How is Disney in terms of commitment compared to other companies?

Danielle explained to me that it really depends on which part of the company you're involved in. When she signed on with Disney for the TV section she had to sign a two-year contract where the producers could pull you in for other TV productions or have you pilot for new TV shows, but when she signed on for Disney on the big screen, those contracts didn't apply. Now, though, since she has accumulated enough experience with Disney, she doesn't have to enter a 2 year contract to do a movie for Disney. Also, she told me about how easy it was for to be on "Prison Break" because the writers were really lenient- "if they wanted to bring your character back, they would contact you, but if you couldn't do it, they were really good with writing you out."

Q: What do you receive in terms of royalties for your work?

Danielle: "For movies, everything is paid to you upfront before production. For TV, you do get paid each time they rerun your movie or episode, but by the time the money gets distributed to your agents, managers, etc., you're not left with that much."

Q: There's this stigma with Disney stars that they can't just be actors- they have to sing and model and have other talents. What's it really like?

Danielle: "It's good to be versatile because Disney is such different acting than other acting because it's very over the top dramatic. The people at Disney are always going to push you to try the singing thing and the modeling thing, but if it's not for you, then they get that, and you don't have to do that."

Danielle was such a pleasure to interview. She gave me a lot of good, honest information, and was really nice with taking out time from her double life to meet with me. Thanks to Danielle Campbell!

Images: auditions-for-all.blogspot.com; justjaredjr.com; enjoythepics.com