Dad of Divas

One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom

Visiting The Set of #MysteryGirls – Amazing! #ABCFamilyEvent

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MysteryGirls
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When I found out that I would have the chance to go to the #MysteryGirls set when I went to the #ABCFamilyEvent in Los Angeles, I did not know what to expect. I had never really been to a television set in the past so I knew that this would be a great opportunity and definitely a learning experience.

When we arrived on set, we came to find that they were taping the final episode of Mystery Girls  for the season. Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling were on set recording a scene, and you could see the chemistry that they had working together. I was really impressed with the whole process, of take and retake until they got the scene right. As a sitcom, I came to learn that they spend the first few days of the week practicing lines and running scenes. Midweek, they tape some of the special scenes and at the end of the week they run the show with a live studio audience.

Mystery-Girls

Photo taken by: Eric McCandless

In between scenes, we saw how they use stand-ins for the actors to get the scenes right. I loved how these individuals wore signs around their necks to show which characters they were. Once they ran a scene, the actual actors would come in and the director would work with them to make it even better in the end. While running the scene, the director would have the actors run the scene a few times and each time give them some feedback about their scene and what they could do to change the scene, until it was as perfect as it could be.

You could tell that the whole crew and actors work hard on set and work long hours, but you also could tell that they all love what they do too.

Outside of watching the episode, we also got to interview both Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth, as well as Miguel Pinzon. I did not have a ton of eMysteryGirlsxperience in interviewing actors, but being on a few feet (at most) away from these actors was surreal, especially with Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth, as I have known them through their work for years, and not I get to hang out with them.

Mystery-Girls

Photo taken by: Eric McCandless

To start out Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling were very gracious with their time and were more than willing to share themselves with all of the 25 bloggers at this event. We asked them many questions and I actually recorded it, if you care to listen (click below).  Tori mentioned that the idea for Mystery Girls came out of a Christmas Movie that she was in about a year ago. She had decided that she wanted to create a series that was something like Remington Steele and a Comedy, all rolled into one. As she was creating this, she hoped that Jennie would be willing to do the show with her, especially because of their special relationship. In the end Jennie was interested and they ended up moving forward with the show. As I mentioned earlier these two actresses have great chemistry and you can see why it works to have them working together in the show too. Jennie and Tori were asked about their best parenting advice. Jennie stated that she believes in structure because she wants to protect her kids to let them be as young as they can for as long as they can. She even mentioned that she hoped that her kids would not want to be in the acting business while they were young. Tori mentioned that as parents we all need to follow our instincts, over love our kids and talk about feelings with our kids!

MysteryGirls

#MysteryGirls Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth Interview

 

MysteryGirls

In interviewing Miguel, I found him to be as funny and genuine in real life as he was in person. I was very impressed with his candor and his self-deprecating wit. He mentioned how amazing it was to play a queer character on television and how he loves being able to use humor everyday. He was asked what he would suggest to aspiring actors and he shared the following:

    1. Take classes to hone your abilities (training)
    2. Specificity – what do you want to do and how can you target your actions to get yourself there
    3. Pray
    4. Steal from other actors/people that you admire – learn from them!
Mystery-Girls

Photo taken by: Eric McCandless

One of the best parts though was talking to Miguel about his nomination for a teen choice award that he received a bit earlier that morning.

 

If you are interested in reading more about the great interviews that I was able to take part of you can see the transcripts here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nnpwvmyu523tdqa/AAB3EQWpVbpGI5TYMDPTp65Ba

Mystery-Girls

Photo taken by: Eric McCandless

Overall this was an amazing event and experience. All of us had a blast watching, interviewing and even having fun on set!

 

Remember to Tune in tonight at 8:30pm ET/PT on ABC Family“Joe E. Tata (“Nat of “Beverly Hills, 90210”) will guest star on tonight’s episode

 

More information about the show can be found at the below sites:

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An Interview with Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle

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An Interview with Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle,
on being part of “Beauty and the Beast”
Did they incorporate any of your features when they drew Belle?
Oh yeah. The eyes and cheekbones and the way she raised her eyebrow and pushed her hair out of her face—that was me. Little things and expressions. When I looked at the wall, there were pictures of Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn up, and my little funny picture was there too. The fact that she wasn’t so perfectly beautiful made the film that much more successful. She is a little odd. Of course that’s the character and I identified with her. I was odd as a kid. I was into Gershwin. I definitely identified with Belle. More girls than not feel that way I think.
How excited were you to be part of such a legendary Disney title?
You know, Mary Poppins is my favorite film and I loved Bambi and all the other Disney animated films. I was always an artist as well so I appreciated the animation too. Playing Belle was a dream come true.
The film won two Academy Awards. Tell me what it was like being there.
Oh it was incredible. It is the only animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture so it holds that stature as well. I was really excited. We had heard rumors about the songs being nominated and there was a lot of discussion about celebrities performing our songs, but Mr. Eisner and Mr. Katzenberg insisted that the original artists get to sing their songs. That was really, really wonderful. It was the only time I sang with Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach. Angela introduced me at the Academy Awards. I remember we were backstage and of course I was going to be singing live which was scary so I was shaking. She was shaking too. She patted me on the butt and said if, “I had your voice, I wouldn’t be shaking. Don’t be nervous.”
What else do you remember about the experience?
It was fun being a part of the parties. Honestly, the worst part about the Oscars was that I didn’t like my dress—the one I performed in. They told the designer to put me in blue and it was this blue and white dress that looked more like Bo Peep or Dorothy. It was way too frilly and not very “Belle-y.” It was a checkerboard pattern. I had to perform in that dress, but afterwards I got to change into a beautiful Bob Mackie teal green gown. I even made one magazine’s Top 3 Best Dressed list!
You won a Grammy for a song from “Beauty and the Beast’s Children Singalong” too. What was that like?
It was incredible. Of course it won Best Children’s Album, which is the Grammy I have on my wall. The whole ride has been phenomenal. I am still recording as Belle all the time…CD ROMs and toys. I was just in the studio recording Belle the other day. 99% of the time I record in a studio here in Vegas. They patch me in over the phone.
You are now painting original pieces of art for Disney based on some of your favorite moments from the film. Can you tell me about that?
I’ve always painted, since I was a little girl. I was drawn to Turner and Sargant and da Vinci. When they asked me about it, I thought why not? It would be kind of fun to show my version of Belle and stay as true as possible to the animators. I wanted to create moments to take them to a different level. Over the last year and a half, I’ll paint something and send it in and get comments and then make the changes and fix it and send it back. Three of the 8 were approved outright without changing anything.
What form of painting do you do?
Water mixed with oils. It is an oil texture but water-based and there’s only one company that puts the paints out. It takes a lot longer to dry than acrylics but it feels like oil paint without the smell. Most of the other Disney artists do watercolor or acrylics.
Have you painted your favorite scene, the one in the snow?
Ironically I have painted that scene 15 times and I haven’t submitted it because it’s just not good enough. That’s one I am still going to work on. I’d love to do the Beast with the little bird.
You’ve played Fantine in “Les Miserables”, Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific” and Ellie May Chipley in “Showboat” on Broadway—all of whom are beloved characters. How does voicing Belle compare?
Well it’s totally different, performing on stage, versus doing Belle on film. You use totally different chops as they say. I love the live audience, but I don’t know, I have a softness for Belle because she is the closest to me as I was as a young girl.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Diamond Edition Bluay + DVD Combo Pack is Available October 5th!


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An Interview with Best Buy

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I was given a chance to interview a great guy by the name of Chris Kirwin who is a “Blue Shirt” at a Best Buy store here in Michigan about some of the great “hot” things to watch for this summer.

As far as must have’s for this summer season, there are a few devices that I think are really exciting.
 The first, and I dare say the most obvious, is the Apple iPad 3G model.  It is a great solution for a family on the go throughout the summer because you have the opportunity to use 3G internet without being locked in to a contract.  The beauty of the 3G is that you can pay $30 to get internet access through AT&T on a month-by-month basis.  Great value for the family: pay for June, July and August while you are out traveling, but not the rest of the year when you can access Wi-Fi at home. Have the kids watch movies, Dad can download the MLB.com app and watch live game play-by-play of his favorite team, Mom can download new music to her iTunes library and download the latest novel to read on the car trip.  There is a solution for everyone and an app for nearly everything.  The difficulty with the iPad is finding one.  They are certainly in high demand, but for those who want it, Best Buy is here to help.

The second must-have gadget this summer is the HTC Evo cell phone.  It is the world’s first 4G phone.  This phone is an outstanding piece of technology.  It is, first and foremost, a Google Android phone with a 4 inch screen and dual cameras; an 8 mega pixel camera on the back, and a 1.3 mega pixel camera on the front.  Being a 4G phone, you get access to the Spring 4G network, a new generation of internet access.  While currently only available in select market, 4G is twice as fast as current broadband internet (it uses radio frequencies similar to that of a radio station, and it’s infrastructure was designed from the ground up just for internet, nothing else) with unlimited data access (no download cap!)  Another GREAT feature, especially for the family, is that this phone creates it’s own mobile hotspot.  In other words, the phone will allow up to 8 wi-fi capable devices to connect to the internet!  You can sit out at the beach and your kids can take their iPod touch, netbook, laptop, digital camera with wi-fi SD card, and they can access the web, using your phone as the internet access point.

Always popular as far as devices go are the latest digital cameras and camcorders.  There are too many models to list, but the technology available on even some of the most basic digital cameras available today far exceed the abilities of cameras from just a few years ago.  HD video, super zoom capability, image stabilization, special scene modes, among other features make these a must have for preserving your memories of the summer vacation.  

Another cool device that you can ad to your digital camera/camcorder, as mentioned above with the HTC Evo, you can now get wi-fi capable SD cards that allow for immediate upload of your photo’s/video to a computer through a wi-fi network.  There is no need to connect the camera up to the computer.  As long as your computer is on the same wi-fi network as the card, it will automatically upload your photos for you.  This technology has great potential.  Picture this: You are throwing a graduation party, and you go are going around your home snapping photos on using your Eye-Fi (wi-fi SD card).  Those photo’s are automatically uploading to your photo library on your laptop, which is connected up to your television showing a slide show of your photo library.  You would literally have an instant slide show of the party as it’s taking place.

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My Interview With Daphne Brogdon

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I felt lucky to be able to interview TV host and prominent mom blogger Daphne Brogdon the other day in regards to her blog as well as a new campaign that she is working on with Upromise World MasterCard card from Bank of America.

Daphne Brogdon is best known for the following:

1) How did you build you blog into being one of top influential blogs today?

I think it‘s a couple factors. For one, I partnered with Deca to create the site; I knew I would need help with my vision of one minute comedic videos for moms. I used to host shows for CNET and sort of knew the online world, but knew it enough to know I needed greater expertise then I had. Michael Wayne, president of Deca, was the one who said to me that I would also need to blog and have a sitting site. I had some vision of blasting my videos out there and that they would be picked up by sites and seen so I essentially backed into blogging. The other reason is I think there was a void. If a street doesn’t have a frozen yogurt store and you put one on that block, people will come because people love frozen yogurt, especially the do it yourself kind. Thus, the analogy CoolMom.com is the frozen yogurt store. I know I wanted to see a relatable voice and I didn’t have much time.

2) What are the top five things that you would you recommend to other bloggers that are working to build their own blog?

  1. Tell shorter stories. Some people ramble. I usually read during nap time or when I’m holding my baby. Get to the point.
  2. Be consistent. It’s a drag when you find a blog you like or a voice that connects and their last entry was 3 weeks ago. Doesn’t ‘make you want to come back.
  3. Take a risk. It’s easy as mom bloggers to all want to play nice, but so much more interesting when you have a real opinion and people don’t slam you for it like you may think they will
  4. Make friends with other bloggers. Link to each other. Twitter follow. . .all that.
  5. Don’t listen too much to me, because I’m still trying to figure it all out as well!

3) What are the plans that you have for the future for your blog?

Next year I want to change it so it scrolls down. I like the sites that do that. Like Perez Hilton. I think it makes it more “sticky,” easier to navigate. You start reading and can just scroll down. If you have to click around, you can loose the thread and it takes more work. You can see I’m lazy and assume others are as well. I’d like to try to have a forum on a subject and would like to try a giveaway, which I haven’t done before. Curious about those.
4) There is much talk lately about Dad Bloggers (like myself) coming into the limelight, such as Mom Bloggers have done in the past, what are your thoughts on this?


I love that. It’s a little like seeing an involved dad who changes diapers though. Like, oh, wow, what a 21st century guy! It’s easier to be the classic dad. Come in with the big tricks and leave the nuances to mom. If a dad is blogging I think he gets the nuances and he is paying attention, which a lot of dads don’t. I think the dad bloggers seem to have a good sense of humor which I love.
5) Tell me about the program you are working on with Upromise and MasterCard…
I was asked if I would like to partner with Upromise, MasterCard and Bank of America and their Upromise World MasterCard credit card from Bank of America. Upromise as a program seems like such a no brainer that I was happy to partner up. The Upromise World MasterCard is a credit card where 1% of your purchases goes into a college savings account. There is no cap. And if grandma has a Upromise World MasterCard card she can also save for junior. Same with the Upromise website, which I can’t believe I didn’t know about before. Over 650 retailers participate and even relatives, godparents, grandparents, etc. can also have their purchases count towards your child’s education and their Upromise savings account.

It’s simple, you just sign up for the program and then let’s say you need a winter jacket for your kid and you want to buy from L.L. Bean. Click through from Upromise.com and when you buy from L.L. Bean, 3% of what you paid for that jacket will now go into junior’s college fund. I know I love to do the “kids are asleep” shopping, so the program is a natural for me. So, I’ve been chatting it up and will also do a live Q&A on Upromise’s facebook page at 1pm EST on December 17th. It will be about ways to save for college, which weighs heavy in my house. And for everyone who joins the conversation at www.upromise.com/facebook, MasterCard will donate $100 to the Upromise Scholarship Fund, up to $10,000. So join in on the 17th!


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