Question: What is “Hannah Montana: The Movie” about?
“Hannah Montana: the Movie” is basically about Miley Stewart going back to Tennessee to her roots and to become the normal girl she was. Not necessarily give up Hannah Montana, but give up just a little bit more of the rock star life and become a normal girl again.
Question: How does the soundtrack tell the story of Hannah Montana?
The soundtrack is all about getting back to your roots. We have songs like “Back To Tennessee” by my dad (Billy Ray Cyrus) and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home,” which is a new Hannah Montana song. There are songs that really bring it back to Nashville and especially “Butterfly Fly Away.” It’s a country song. Even “The Climb” is more country.
Question: What was it like for you to record the soundtrack for Hannah Montana?
Recording the soundtrack was fun because you go a little out of order. I started recording even before we went into production for the movie and then finished recording after acting in the movie. It’s easier recording once you’ve seen the movie. But I liked kind of getting a feel for the movie before I went into production. So that was cool, being able to hear the music to get a gist of what the film was going to be like before we even got started.
Question: How was recording a soundtrack different?
Being in the studio for a movie is a little different, because the songs are definitely a little more animated because they’re trying to tell a story along with the script. They have to compliment each other. It made it fun and also a little more of a challenge.
Question: What does the music mean to you?
The music means a lot to me because “The Climb” is something that is so inspirational. I think that’s really cool. I think it really describes the movie. “Butterfly Fly Away” is probably my favorite song on the album because it’s me and my dad once again. I think that’s really cool to put that on the big screen.
Question: Talk about “The Climb”
“The Climb” is really cool because I think it isn’t only for fans that are necessarily fans of the movie or fans of the show. But it is for anyone around the world at any age. They can all relate to this song because it really is true. It’s not just about the destination. It’s about the journey. It’s about the getting there. It’s about the work you put into what you love.
Question: What’s the emotion in the song “The Climb”?
The emotion of “The Climb” definitely shows a lot of inspiration, courage and strength. I think that’s really cool. Definitely it shows more of the inner strength and how you have to push yourself. Because there’s always going to be challenges, but it’s all up to you to make it happen.
Question: How does the song relate to you?
“The Climb” relates to my real life because I still have more to work up to. I definitely want to keep going and doing more things. It really just shows that you’re never at the top. You’ve always got more places to go.
Question: What do you want people to get from the soundtrack?
With the soundtrack, I want people that haven’t seen the movie to listen to the soundtrack and go - Oh my gosh! I really want to see the movie now because the soundtrack tells the story a little bit. People that are fans of the music get just a little bit of the story but they’ll want to keep getting more and more. They want to see more. They want to see what happens.
Question: What about the people who’ve seen the movie, then listen to the soundtrack?
I think it’ll be cool because you’ll see the movie and you’ll have more of the visual picture when you’re listening to the song. I think that’ll be fun. When you turn the music on, you don’t only see how it inspires you or how you like a song but you get to see different scenes. You get to hear them throughout the movie and get introduced to the songs.
Question: How’d you come up with all the songs on the CD?
I wrote one song on the soundtrack. I wasn’t a huge part of the writing because I was filming and I was just so busy. But we did get a really good collection of songs together. I’m really proud of it and it is definitely fun to listen to. They all reminded me so much of the movie and were very inspiring to me and made me want to work harder for the movie. So that’s why we picked the ones we did.
Question: Talk about the song “Let’s Get Crazy”
“Let’s get Crazy” is basically just about wanting to have a good time and being able to dance with your friends and have fun. I think it’s more of a party song than anything else.
Question: What do the lyrics of the song mean?
“Let’s Get Crazy” is a song that is in the scene where Lilly’s having her Sweet 16 party. It’s mostly just about having a good time with your friends. At one part its like get up and dance! It’s dance and sing and do whatever makes you have a good time so I think that’s cool.
Question: So how does the boardwalk scene go?
The boardwalk scene is Lilly’s Sweet 16 party so it fits in well because everyone is dancing. There’s also a lot of chaos going on because Hannah Montana shows up to Lilly’s Sweet 16 Party. So I think that’s perfect because everyone is going crazy seeing this pop star at just their normal friend’s party. She wants people to have fun at her party but it wasn’t supposed to be about Hannah Montana. It’s supposed to be about Lilly Trescott.
Question: Talk about the “Hoedown Throwdown”
“The Hoedown Throwdown” is cool because there’s definitely a lot of dancing songs in this movie but it’s still not a musical. We’re not always dancing and singing at the same time. This scene is the one time we actually get to do a little of a musical. We don’t necessarily have everyone dancing all of the time. So this is where you get to see the entire cast and even some of the crew dance. We finally get to have a part that shows all of us really come together through a song. It makes the town and Miley a little closer. She starts to feel more at home. I think that’s really cool the way it bonds the community.
Question: Did you help come up with the dance moves?
Jamal Simms is my choreographer.. We know each other pretty well. There were parts we thought we could make it funkier and more of a hip-hop vibe and still catch a country base. We had fun creating the dances but he’s still the master. He’s the mastermind behind it all.
Question: What is it like getting to see other people doing the dance?
It is cool because I have all these kids at different events say I know the “Hoedown Throwdown” now! That’s really cool that they can get to dance to it and then in the theaters, hopefully they’ll get to dance to it too!
Question: What’s the remix of “Best of Both Worlds?”
The remix of “Best of Both Worlds” has different drums and different guitars. It’s pretty much the same song. It’s just more of a fun poppier version. I’ve been singing that song for 3 years now so I think it was time we updated it and made it more fun and crazier. It’s a little dancier too.
Question: Where does this song go in the movie?
The “Best of Both Worlds” is in the beginning of the film. It’s where you get to see where the Hannah glamour all starts out. Dancing to “Best of Both Worlds” then it turns into a music video.
Question: Where does “The Climb” fall into the film?
“The Climb” is mentioned in the film a couple times. It originally starts with Lucas Till who plays Travis. I ask if all he wants to do is work on a farm. He’s says it’s about where I am right now, it’s about the climb, it’s about getting to the top. I’ll be there someday. Another time, Emily asks me if I’m ready to go and she’s asking was this hard work, what you did? Because I put together a chicken coop! I’m like it’s just about the climb.
Question: What was it like to make the music video?
The music video was really cool. It wasn’t like any music video I’ve ever done before, because I was on the green screen. Its nuts to be able to work like that. Then see the end you’re like oh my gosh I was just on a green screen and look how beautiful it turned out! I was in the middle of the Grand Canyon .
Question: What’s so special about the Hannah Montana the Movie soundtrack?
The Hannah Montana the Movie soundtrack is cool because it really does tell the story of the movie. I think that’s fun to really understand where all the inspiration for the movie came from. “The Climb” is a really cool song and the only way you can get it is off the soundtrack, so that makes it really special.
Question: What do you want your fans to get out of the soundtrack?
When fans listen to the soundtrack I hope they are more inspired by the movie and that they relate to me and to the character a little better.
Question: How does the movie relate to you?
The movie relates to me because my character goes back to Nashville and it’s really nice to go back home. There are songs like “Back to Tennessee ” and “You’ll Always Find your Way Back Home.” They’re all about Nashville and that’s where I’m from and that is my roots. I think Nashville is a lot of the reason why I am who I am.
Showing posts with label Hannah Montana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hannah Montana. Show all posts
Hannah Montana The Movie Fun Facts
Extras were hired to play paparazzi during one scene in which Hannah Montana is making a music video in Santa Monica. Meanwhile, off screen real paparazzi were trying to capture the moment.
Star Lucas Till’s four-legged co-star, Seabiscuit, was the horse that played the title character in the 2003 film “Seabiscuit,” a true story about a Depression-era race horse that beat the odds.
Director Peter Chelsom was an actor for 15 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Hannah Montana’s concert, which opens the film, was shot at the Forum in Inglewood , California , the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Kings as well as the location of hundreds of concerts. During the concert, Miley Cyrus performed a couple of her revamped biggest hits for the 1,000 extras on hand.
Filming in Tennessee returned the Cyruses to their own home near Nashville .
The shoe fight sequence between Hannah Montana and Tyra Banks was filmed in two locations. The exterior was filmed on the very posh Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills , while the interior was shot in a department store in Tennessee .
At a fundraiser in the film, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) gets up on stage and teaches the audience the dance steps to the show-stopping “Hoedown Throwdown,” a hip-hop country fusion number in which the song’s lyrics are the dance instructions. The filmmakers nicknamed the number “Miley’s Macarena.”
Miley/Hannah performs classic crowd favorites such as “Rockstar” and “Best of Both Worlds” in addition to unveiling 10 brand new songs including “The Climb,” “Hoedown Throwdown,” “Let’s Get Crazy,” “Butterfly Fly Away” and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.” Also performing in the film are hit musical acts Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts.
Star Lucas Till’s four-legged co-star, Seabiscuit, was the horse that played the title character in the 2003 film “Seabiscuit,” a true story about a Depression-era race horse that beat the odds.
Director Peter Chelsom was an actor for 15 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Hannah Montana’s concert, which opens the film, was shot at the Forum in Inglewood , California , the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Kings as well as the location of hundreds of concerts. During the concert, Miley Cyrus performed a couple of her revamped biggest hits for the 1,000 extras on hand.
Filming in Tennessee returned the Cyruses to their own home near Nashville .
The shoe fight sequence between Hannah Montana and Tyra Banks was filmed in two locations. The exterior was filmed on the very posh Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills , while the interior was shot in a department store in Tennessee .
At a fundraiser in the film, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) gets up on stage and teaches the audience the dance steps to the show-stopping “Hoedown Throwdown,” a hip-hop country fusion number in which the song’s lyrics are the dance instructions. The filmmakers nicknamed the number “Miley’s Macarena.”
Miley/Hannah performs classic crowd favorites such as “Rockstar” and “Best of Both Worlds” in addition to unveiling 10 brand new songs including “The Climb,” “Hoedown Throwdown,” “Let’s Get Crazy,” “Butterfly Fly Away” and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.” Also performing in the film are hit musical acts Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts.
In the film, Miley experiences her first serious romance with a former childhood friend, Travis
In the film, Miley experiences her first serious romance with a former childhood friend, Travis (Lucas Till). Insecure and attracted to the blond-haired, blue-eyed cowboy, Miley drops Hannah Montana’s name thinking Travis will be impressed and possibly be more interested in her. After trying to hide her dual personas from Travis, Miley learns that he actually prefers her—not Hannah—and he feels betrayed when he discovers that she’s been fooling him.
Filmmakers say the role of Travis was the hardest one to cast. Once again, they passed on the idea of stunt or star casting in favor of finding the most real actor for the role of a young southern kid on his way to becoming a man.
“We were basically looking for that young Brad Pitt from ‘Thelma & Louise,’ and lo and behold, in from Atlanta, Georgia, on this tape comes Lucas Till. When we brought him in to screen test with Miley, they clicked, and we knew we had our guy,” says Gough.
Till says: “There are a lot of similarities between me and Travis, which really attracted me to this role. Like a lot of southern guys, he’s reserved, and I’m from the South, and I’m a reserved guy. I don’t really like to show my emotions too much, and Travis kind of holds his feelings back. He loves riding horses, and I found out I really love riding horses. So Travis and I, we have a lot in common.”
In creating a romance for Miley/Hannah, the filmmakers wanted to explore the excitement and innocence of a teenage girl’s first serious case of infatuation. “This wasn’t about riding off into the sunset together and everything is happy and done,” says Chelsom. “In this instance, we wanted the two halves of the interest to move in a certain direction and affect each other, particularly Miley. The character of Travis is not just a hunk. It’s about what he represents and how he brings her down to earth.”
For his role as Travis, Till took guitar and piano lessons and began horseback riding a couple of hours a day for a few weeks before shooting began. Till, who had never ridden a horse before beginning rehearsals on the movie, was hooked. “It felt so good and natural, I should have been on a horse my entire life,” Till says. “I fell in love with riding. It’s an awesome, awesome experience to be able to learn that as part of my job.”
His four-legged co-star, Seabiscuit, was the horse that played the title character in the 2003 film “Seabiscuit,” a true story about a Depression-era race horse that beat the odds.
Filmmakers say the role of Travis was the hardest one to cast. Once again, they passed on the idea of stunt or star casting in favor of finding the most real actor for the role of a young southern kid on his way to becoming a man.
“We were basically looking for that young Brad Pitt from ‘Thelma & Louise,’ and lo and behold, in from Atlanta, Georgia, on this tape comes Lucas Till. When we brought him in to screen test with Miley, they clicked, and we knew we had our guy,” says Gough.
Till says: “There are a lot of similarities between me and Travis, which really attracted me to this role. Like a lot of southern guys, he’s reserved, and I’m from the South, and I’m a reserved guy. I don’t really like to show my emotions too much, and Travis kind of holds his feelings back. He loves riding horses, and I found out I really love riding horses. So Travis and I, we have a lot in common.”
In creating a romance for Miley/Hannah, the filmmakers wanted to explore the excitement and innocence of a teenage girl’s first serious case of infatuation. “This wasn’t about riding off into the sunset together and everything is happy and done,” says Chelsom. “In this instance, we wanted the two halves of the interest to move in a certain direction and affect each other, particularly Miley. The character of Travis is not just a hunk. It’s about what he represents and how he brings her down to earth.”
For his role as Travis, Till took guitar and piano lessons and began horseback riding a couple of hours a day for a few weeks before shooting began. Till, who had never ridden a horse before beginning rehearsals on the movie, was hooked. “It felt so good and natural, I should have been on a horse my entire life,” Till says. “I fell in love with riding. It’s an awesome, awesome experience to be able to learn that as part of my job.”
His four-legged co-star, Seabiscuit, was the horse that played the title character in the 2003 film “Seabiscuit,” a true story about a Depression-era race horse that beat the odds.
Hannah Montana The Movie - line between fiction and reality
While characters returning home to find themselves again are a staple in classic storytelling, “Hannah Montana The Movie” transcends the line between fiction and reality. In taking Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana back to Crowley Corners, Tennessee, the film transported Miley Cyrus, her father and co-stars back to the Cyruses’ real-life hometown, Nashville, giving the young actress a chance to be home again following her meteoric two-year rise to stardom.
“It’s super important to stay true to yourself and your family and stay in touch with who you are,” says Miley. “When audiences walk away from the movie, I hope they feel like they’ve been to my home. I hope they feel like they understand Nashville because Nashville is my everything. Nashville is who I am.”
With Tennessee being so much a part of the Hannah Montana story—and the Cyrus’ family roots—filming on location there became essential. In fact, Tennessee, like Los Angeles, soon became a character in the film, representing Miley and Hannah’s both real and fictional roots.
For Billy Ray, having the chance to return to Tennessee to shoot the film and be at the family’s farm, where Miley lived until age 13, was truly having the best of both worlds. “In the evenings, after work, she’s out climbing trees, riding horses, she’s that little girl again. She’s Miley,” he says.
Watching and working with his talented daughter is a remarkable experience for Billy Ray. “I’m so proud of her, not only as a daddy in her personal life, but as a musician to see the kinds of songs she writes,” he says. “Then, as an actress to see her evolve from a Lucille Ball-inspired comedienne to a role with some real depth is amazing. I think she brings inspiration to a lot of kids out there to follow your dreams, to pursue what you love and never give up.”
For all the confidence she inspires in others, Miley admits she was nervous about the film role and grateful she’d had the opportunity to develop these characters over time on a series.
“What’s been really cool in making the movie is to already understand the characters because of the television show. I was scared out of my mind for half the movie. Making a film is like learning the ropes all over again,” says Miley. “Director Peter Chelsom would say, ‘OK, I believed that,’ and I thought, ‘What does that mean?’ Soon, I understood. Our television show can be a little more unrealistic because it’s supposed to be crazy and fun, that’s part of a kid sitcom. But a movie is different. Peter was always saying, ‘Make it small, very little, you don’t have to do much at all.’”
“It’s super important to stay true to yourself and your family and stay in touch with who you are,” says Miley. “When audiences walk away from the movie, I hope they feel like they’ve been to my home. I hope they feel like they understand Nashville because Nashville is my everything. Nashville is who I am.”
With Tennessee being so much a part of the Hannah Montana story—and the Cyrus’ family roots—filming on location there became essential. In fact, Tennessee, like Los Angeles, soon became a character in the film, representing Miley and Hannah’s both real and fictional roots.
For Billy Ray, having the chance to return to Tennessee to shoot the film and be at the family’s farm, where Miley lived until age 13, was truly having the best of both worlds. “In the evenings, after work, she’s out climbing trees, riding horses, she’s that little girl again. She’s Miley,” he says.
Watching and working with his talented daughter is a remarkable experience for Billy Ray. “I’m so proud of her, not only as a daddy in her personal life, but as a musician to see the kinds of songs she writes,” he says. “Then, as an actress to see her evolve from a Lucille Ball-inspired comedienne to a role with some real depth is amazing. I think she brings inspiration to a lot of kids out there to follow your dreams, to pursue what you love and never give up.”
For all the confidence she inspires in others, Miley admits she was nervous about the film role and grateful she’d had the opportunity to develop these characters over time on a series.
“What’s been really cool in making the movie is to already understand the characters because of the television show. I was scared out of my mind for half the movie. Making a film is like learning the ropes all over again,” says Miley. “Director Peter Chelsom would say, ‘OK, I believed that,’ and I thought, ‘What does that mean?’ Soon, I understood. Our television show can be a little more unrealistic because it’s supposed to be crazy and fun, that’s part of a kid sitcom. But a movie is different. Peter was always saying, ‘Make it small, very little, you don’t have to do much at all.’”
Hannah Montana Miley Hannah performs 12 new songs in the film
While “Hannah Montana” has always had music, the film takes the music to another level. As the Stewarts travel from Los Angeles to Tennessee, the audience discovers how deeply the family’s lives are rooted in music.
“Peter Chelsom describes the Stewart family as a bilingual family whose second language is music, and that’s very true in this movie,” says Gough.
Chelsom says the film’s numerous songs are tightly woven into the fabric of the story and the characters, which is why he believes the film will feel like a musical without being one. “We continuously dance very close to the convention of a musical but are more integrated. Songs are going to sit within the film, not apart from the film. At times, you won’t notice the music is happening; it’ll just move the story along.”
An example is the song “The Climb.” After troubles with Lilly, her brother, her father, her grandmother and Travis, Miley begins to realize how much her secret impacts the relationships with the people whom she loves. Confused and contrite, she ends up expressing her emotions by writing a song, “The Climb.”
“The song is her journey, the lessons she’s learned in the movie,” says Gough. “It’s an epic song, written by a Nashville songwriter named Jesse Alexander with her partner, John Mabe. It’s a power ballad that encapsulates Miley’s journey and the message of the film.”
In total, Miley/Hannah performs 12 new songs in the film, including “Let’s Get Crazy,” “Butterfly Fly Away” and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.”
The innovative mix of music in the film includes pop, rock, country, hip hop and even a familiar Hawaiian-themed melody. “We realized this was an opportunity to move forward with the music, to update it and make it more sophisticated, to move with Miley’s age,” says Chelsom. “I’ve never had a better musical experience on any film.”
Another musical highpoint comes when Billy Ray Cyrus (as Robby Ray Stewart) performs “Back to Tennessee”—the title song of his latest album—at a fundraiser to save Crowley Meadows from developers. Written by Cyrus, Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder, it has as its inspiration Billy Ray’s longing to return to his roots and breathe the sweet southern air of his home state.
Hit singer-songwriter Taylor Swift became involved when the filmmakers approached her about using her music in the film. Swift not only said the filmmakers could use her music, but she’d be happy to perform a song in the movie.
“When I got an email from Disney saying they wanted a song that was perfect to fall in love to and sort of a country waltz, I sent them ‘Crazier’ and they loved it,” Swift says.
Swift also co-wrote the film’s closing musical number, “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.”
Another song sure to inspire dancing is the “Hoedown Throwdown,” nicknamed “Miley’s Macarena” by the filmmakers, a hip-hop country fusion number in which Miley Stewart gets up on stage and teaches the dance steps to the audience with the song’s lyrics.
“We called it ‘The Project’ for the longest time,” says Chelsom. “I wanted a song that taught a dance in the lyrics of the song like the ‘Macarena’ or the ‘Funky Chicken.’ I wanted to maximize Miley’s real silliness physically. She’s physically funny and has great abandon, and I wanted to capture all of that.”
Because the dance steps are the song and the song is the dance steps, creating the musical number became an ongoing collaboration among the songwriters, the choreographer (Jamal Sims), Miley and the filmmakers. Chelsom’s determination to combine Miley Stewart’s L.A. hip-hop/pop style with her country roots in a seemingly improvised dance number eventually produced the show-stopping “Hoedown Throwdown.”
“Peter Chelsom describes the Stewart family as a bilingual family whose second language is music, and that’s very true in this movie,” says Gough.
Chelsom says the film’s numerous songs are tightly woven into the fabric of the story and the characters, which is why he believes the film will feel like a musical without being one. “We continuously dance very close to the convention of a musical but are more integrated. Songs are going to sit within the film, not apart from the film. At times, you won’t notice the music is happening; it’ll just move the story along.”
An example is the song “The Climb.” After troubles with Lilly, her brother, her father, her grandmother and Travis, Miley begins to realize how much her secret impacts the relationships with the people whom she loves. Confused and contrite, she ends up expressing her emotions by writing a song, “The Climb.”
“The song is her journey, the lessons she’s learned in the movie,” says Gough. “It’s an epic song, written by a Nashville songwriter named Jesse Alexander with her partner, John Mabe. It’s a power ballad that encapsulates Miley’s journey and the message of the film.”
In total, Miley/Hannah performs 12 new songs in the film, including “Let’s Get Crazy,” “Butterfly Fly Away” and “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.”
The innovative mix of music in the film includes pop, rock, country, hip hop and even a familiar Hawaiian-themed melody. “We realized this was an opportunity to move forward with the music, to update it and make it more sophisticated, to move with Miley’s age,” says Chelsom. “I’ve never had a better musical experience on any film.”
Another musical highpoint comes when Billy Ray Cyrus (as Robby Ray Stewart) performs “Back to Tennessee”—the title song of his latest album—at a fundraiser to save Crowley Meadows from developers. Written by Cyrus, Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder, it has as its inspiration Billy Ray’s longing to return to his roots and breathe the sweet southern air of his home state.
Hit singer-songwriter Taylor Swift became involved when the filmmakers approached her about using her music in the film. Swift not only said the filmmakers could use her music, but she’d be happy to perform a song in the movie.
“When I got an email from Disney saying they wanted a song that was perfect to fall in love to and sort of a country waltz, I sent them ‘Crazier’ and they loved it,” Swift says.
Swift also co-wrote the film’s closing musical number, “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.”
Another song sure to inspire dancing is the “Hoedown Throwdown,” nicknamed “Miley’s Macarena” by the filmmakers, a hip-hop country fusion number in which Miley Stewart gets up on stage and teaches the dance steps to the audience with the song’s lyrics.
“We called it ‘The Project’ for the longest time,” says Chelsom. “I wanted a song that taught a dance in the lyrics of the song like the ‘Macarena’ or the ‘Funky Chicken.’ I wanted to maximize Miley’s real silliness physically. She’s physically funny and has great abandon, and I wanted to capture all of that.”
Because the dance steps are the song and the song is the dance steps, creating the musical number became an ongoing collaboration among the songwriters, the choreographer (Jamal Sims), Miley and the filmmakers. Chelsom’s determination to combine Miley Stewart’s L.A. hip-hop/pop style with her country roots in a seemingly improvised dance number eventually produced the show-stopping “Hoedown Throwdown.”
Telling a feature-film-length “Hannah Montana” story
In telling a feature-film-length “Hannah Montana” story, the producers wanted to find a director who would knock down the confines of the sitcom walls and bring Miley/Hannah’s world to a big-screen reality. Producers Millar and Gough needed a performance-oriented director with the breadth of experience to take the film’s wide range of music, comedy and drama and craft a simple, genuine story of a teenage girl searching for her true self.
“If you look at Peter Chelsom’s films, all the ingredients for this movie are in those movies—comedy, family, melody and emotion. Peter covers the gamut in his films,” says Gough. “Peter always gets the performance, it always comes first, and we needed a director to take most of these kids through their first film, especially Miley. Peter was an actor for 10 years working with The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre and in TV and film, so to have a director who can actually speak to the actors and bring a range of vision and an experienced hand is exactly what we wanted.”
In addition to his strengths as a visualist and performance-oriented director, Chelsom also brought a couple of other highly desirable attributes, including a complete lack of knowledge about the secret pop-star sensation.
“He had never heard of Hannah Montana, which made it even better because we wanted fresh eyes on the material,” says Millar. “We wanted the script to work without knowledge of the show or the characters, and it did. After Peter became involved, of course, he became completely engrossed in watching all the episodes and became a Hannah expert.”
“This film reminded me of the Disney films of the ’60s that felt like real five-course meals the whole family could go and enjoy,” says Chelsom. “Disney let me make the film I wanted. Now a film about Hannah Montana is going to have certain elements—shopping, partying, music—but we really worked hard to incorporate a lot of substance in it, to make it genuinely a family movie with range, with a richness and beauty that reminds people of those classic Disney family films.”
“If you look at Peter Chelsom’s films, all the ingredients for this movie are in those movies—comedy, family, melody and emotion. Peter covers the gamut in his films,” says Gough. “Peter always gets the performance, it always comes first, and we needed a director to take most of these kids through their first film, especially Miley. Peter was an actor for 10 years working with The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre and in TV and film, so to have a director who can actually speak to the actors and bring a range of vision and an experienced hand is exactly what we wanted.”
In addition to his strengths as a visualist and performance-oriented director, Chelsom also brought a couple of other highly desirable attributes, including a complete lack of knowledge about the secret pop-star sensation.
“He had never heard of Hannah Montana, which made it even better because we wanted fresh eyes on the material,” says Millar. “We wanted the script to work without knowledge of the show or the characters, and it did. After Peter became involved, of course, he became completely engrossed in watching all the episodes and became a Hannah expert.”
“This film reminded me of the Disney films of the ’60s that felt like real five-course meals the whole family could go and enjoy,” says Chelsom. “Disney let me make the film I wanted. Now a film about Hannah Montana is going to have certain elements—shopping, partying, music—but we really worked hard to incorporate a lot of substance in it, to make it genuinely a family movie with range, with a richness and beauty that reminds people of those classic Disney family films.”
The series “Hannah Montana” has become a pop culture phenomenon
Since its 2006 debut, the series “Hannah Montana” has become a pop culture phenomenon, garnering Emmy® nominations, No. 1 ratings and an ever-expanding, loyal fan base. The idea of a young pop star who wants to live an ordinary life unaffected by her stardom found wide appeal with family audiences and placed the series at the No. 1 spot for series among children 6-14 on U.S. cable television during its first two years on the air.
“With ‘Hannah Montana,’ the character is the concept, so it easily translates to film,” says producer Gough. “It’s basically a superhero movie for girls. She’s a normal high school student by day and pop star by night. So, she’s dealing with identity issues, family issues, relationship issues. Most kids and adolescents who deal with the same issues feel as if they don’t have any power, so the idea of putting on a wig and a costume and being a powerful superhero is teen wish fulfillment.”
The Disney Channel and “Hannah Montana” series creators and executive producers, Michael Poryes and Steve Peterman, structured a strong ensemble cast around the charismatic star and lead character, played by a then-13-year-old unknown named Miley Cyrus, grounding her character in family and friendships while exploring the adventures of her secret double life. This included an easy-going but wise widower father (Billy Ray Cyrus), an older, but not exactly wiser brother, Jackson (Jason Earles), and a trusted and true best friend, Lilly (Emily Osment).
Once Miley and Billy Ray were cast, Poryes and Peterman took the basic premise and tweaked it to fit the realities of the Cyrus father-daughter relationship. So the father and daughter now come from a small town in Tennessee and have recently moved to Los Angeles. The characters are both singer-songwriters, and their homespun conversations are filled with southern sayings and recollections. With their exceptional chemistry, the father-daughter dynamic easily translated into an accessible blend of music and comedy. Miley and Billy Ray and Miley and Robby Ray had become inspiredly intertwined.
“It’s pretty much art imitating life imitating art,” says Billy Ray Cyrus about their onscreen counterparts. “We never planned it, but once it happened, Miley and I worked hard to make it and keep it real.”
“With ‘Hannah Montana,’ the character is the concept, so it easily translates to film,” says producer Gough. “It’s basically a superhero movie for girls. She’s a normal high school student by day and pop star by night. So, she’s dealing with identity issues, family issues, relationship issues. Most kids and adolescents who deal with the same issues feel as if they don’t have any power, so the idea of putting on a wig and a costume and being a powerful superhero is teen wish fulfillment.”
The Disney Channel and “Hannah Montana” series creators and executive producers, Michael Poryes and Steve Peterman, structured a strong ensemble cast around the charismatic star and lead character, played by a then-13-year-old unknown named Miley Cyrus, grounding her character in family and friendships while exploring the adventures of her secret double life. This included an easy-going but wise widower father (Billy Ray Cyrus), an older, but not exactly wiser brother, Jackson (Jason Earles), and a trusted and true best friend, Lilly (Emily Osment).
Once Miley and Billy Ray were cast, Poryes and Peterman took the basic premise and tweaked it to fit the realities of the Cyrus father-daughter relationship. So the father and daughter now come from a small town in Tennessee and have recently moved to Los Angeles. The characters are both singer-songwriters, and their homespun conversations are filled with southern sayings and recollections. With their exceptional chemistry, the father-daughter dynamic easily translated into an accessible blend of music and comedy. Miley and Billy Ray and Miley and Robby Ray had become inspiredly intertwined.
“It’s pretty much art imitating life imitating art,” says Billy Ray Cyrus about their onscreen counterparts. “We never planned it, but once it happened, Miley and I worked hard to make it and keep it real.”
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