Ugh Just what we need. Another Hillary Duff/Lindsey Lohan/Brittney Spears
Trey Harlow
A Disney Star Is Born
Behind the star-making formula of tween-TV hit Hannah Montana
By JEANNE MCDOWELL/LOS ANGELES
She embodies every pre-teen's fantasy: a cool 13-year-old with great hair
and a secret life as a pop star. But to executives at the Disney Channel,
Miley Cyrus is more of a dream come true.
Cyrus stars as Miley Stewart in Hannah Montana, the cable channel's
live-action show about a girl who leads a normal life by day but at night
dons a blonde wig to perform as a famous pop star (Hannah). It's a role that
has turned Cyrus into a real-life TV star and Hannah Montana into a monster
hit among a generation of tweens too young for Degrassi and too old for Dora
The Explorer. "In Miley we found the perfect girl to carry off this part,"
says executive producer Michael Poryes. "She has a kind of strength and
sweetness that make her character appealing, an unmistakable something that
makes you believe she's a star."
That's what Disney is counting on. Having just celebrated her 14th birthday,
Cyrus is at the center of a synergistic whirlwind of guest appearances,
concert dates and recording sessions aimed at hyping Hannah Montana. She's
performing in several cities as opening act for The Cheetah Girls - a
made-by-Disney tween-targeted girl group - on their 40-city tour. She rode a
celebrity float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade before returning to
Los Angeles to start production on the series' second season.
Since its March debut - which drew 54 million viewers and was the biggest
premiere in the cable channel's 23-year history - Hannah Montana has become
the most popular show on television among pre-teen girls ages 9 to 14 and is
consistently watched by more kids ages 6 to 11 than any other TV series. The
Hannah Montana soundtrack, which features Cyrus performing eight songs,
debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart several weeks ago and
is still holding its own in the top five. There are Hannah Montana fan
clubs, web sites, mobile phone clips, branded apparel, and a movie isn't far
behind.
But if you think the success of Hannah Montana is due solely to Cyrus' charm
and talent, you've been watching too many Disney movies. Like her
predecessors, Hillary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) and Raven Symone (That's So
Raven), the twangy-voiced Cyrus was plucked from the ranks of minor actors
by Disney and anointed to be its newest star. While she certainly has
musical talent and charisma, she's also the product of a winning formula for
creating shows that tweens love and make stars out of its leads.
"Disney has become a hit machine and all cylinders are clicking," says Jason
Maltby, president of New York-based MediaShare, a New York based ad buying
firm. "Its successes breed more successes and provide a platform for new
shows like Hannah Montana."
The formula starts with a simple concept: an ordinary person in an
extraordinary situation. "It has to have an aspirational quality," explains
Disney Channel Worldwide President Rich Ross. The idea for a show about a
teen girl leading a double-life as a pop star had the right fantasy quotient
for the target audience. "Celebrity is huge for kids because of the sense of
empowerment. Especially with all the reality shows now on TV," says
executive producer Steven Peterman.
But the most important part, which Disney has perfected, is identifying and
developing unknown talent to star in its shows. Like other Disney Channel
series, Hannah Montana was cast-contingent when the network green-lighted
the concept in 2005. The search for the right actress to play Miley
Stewart - Hannah Montana by night - went on for a year. The young woman had
to be appealing and cool for tweens but also parent-friendly. Producers say
they want actors who can balance school with the demands of a TV show - and
not end up in the tabloids. She also had to have musical talent. Eventually
the script was shelved because they couldn't find the right actress to play
the part. "It takes patience," says Ross of the search "We needed someone
with talent but also the maturity to handle the pressure." Adds Disney
Channel Entertainment President Gary Marsh: "We have brand promises to
keep."
It so happened that Cyrus, who is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray
("Achy Breaky Heart") Cyrus - who plays her dad in the show - was raised on
music, a prerequisite for Hannah, and had acted in several small roles. But
she was sent home after an audition because she was too small. So Miley went
back to Tennessee and spent the next year inundating the producers with
tapes of herself performing, until they relented and gave the her role.
From the start there was no question that music would be a big part of the
series. Around 2001, when the Disney Channel started to catch on with its
kid-driven family friendly shows like Lizzie McGuire and Kim Possible,
executives realized that music was an important part of the formula for
serving a tween audience. By sponsoring concerts and turning series leads
into pop stars, they could launch music acts and beef up the show's brand.
Walt Disney Records' 2003 release of Hillary Duff's album and soundtrack
proved them right, followed by The Cheetah Girls, a music-based TV movie
about four friends aspiring to be pop stars featuring Symone of "Raven."
From that platform the Hannah Montana soundtrack was launched.
Cyrus takes her newfound success in stride. She says she understands why
Hannah Montana is so popular. "Kids relate to it," Cyrus told TIME. "They
see Miley Stewart as a normal girl with a huge dream. It shows them never to
give up on their dreams, which is a cool thing."
chef_boyhowdy!
> Cyrus takes her newfound success in stride. She says she understands why
> Hannah Montana is so popular. "Kids relate to it," Cyrus told TIME. "They
> see Miley Stewart as a normal girl with a huge dream. It shows them never to
> give up on their dreams, which is a cool thing."
Hah. what it really should tell them is you'll never make it in Disney
unless you're a Barbie doll, everything on TV is fake, and interviews with
manufactured celebrities are to be taken with an enormous grain of salt.
In short, if you dont look like a cheerleader by the time you're 14, better
start pounding the text books. Disney will fund no huge dreams for the less
than attractive.
katorzejames
chef_boyhowdy! wrote:
> Hah. what it really should tell them is you'll never make it in Disney
> unless you're a Barbie doll, everything on TV is fake, and interviews with
> manufactured celebrities are to be taken with an enormous grain of salt.
> In short, if you dont look like a cheerleader by the time you're 14, better
> start pounding the text books. Disney will fund no huge dreams for the less
> than attractive.
well, raven symone is not a barbie doll.
i've seen more than a couple episodes because the disney channel sees
fit to show 'that's so raven" at 3am or so...
she can't be less than 160 lbs!
she's "pretty", but not in a conventional sense.
as talented and cute as she is, there is an undeniable monstrousness
to her.
anyway, i think your point is overdrawn and incorrect.
eme...@charter.net
I think it's sad they way they chew up these girls and spit them out
at 20+ with alot of money but little else. This experience leaves
them so warped.
I hope her mom watches out for her or she'll wind up like Tara Reid.
A strung out has-been.
On 30 Nov 2006 14:29:02 -0800, "katorzejames"
chef_boyhowdy!
I think you should start looking at all the other Disney manufactured stars
and open your eyes a little more. Raven, is attractive i think, correct,
not a barbie, but probably the exception to that rule. Lookit the rest of
them. Ever watched Disney TV in the afternoon? All those bottled blondes
look exactly alike. Its incredible. Britney Spears was a mouseketeer.
Christina Agualamaramma was promoted by disney, the genie in a bottle
thing, and she looked exactly like that, bleached bottled barbie, during
that time.
chef_boyhowdy!
> I think it's sad they way they chew up these girls and spit them out
> at 20+ with alot of money but little else. This experience leaves
> them so warped.
>
> I hope her mom watches out for her or she'll wind up like Tara Reid.
>
> A strung out has-been.
>
>
oh well. they always will have AGC to follow them and obsess over and
ridicule their every move, for the rest of their lives. Thats gotta be
worth something.
Suey
eme...@charter.net wrote:
> I think it's sad they way they chew up these girls and spit them out
> at 20+ with alot of money but little else. This experience leaves
> them so warped.
>
> I hope her mom watches out for her or she'll wind up like Tara Reid.
>
> A strung out has-been.
>
>
book...@bellsouth.net
"Christina Agualamaramma"
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
chef_boyhowdy!
and look, heres another perfect example... twins this time
http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/5076403.html
thats aly and aj, two blonde barbie doll sisters who attempt to play and
sing.
Raven is the exception to the disney rule. they keep churning out the
barbie dolls.
katorzejames
chef_boyhowdy! wrote:
> I think you should start looking at all the other Disney manufactured stars
really?
> Ever watched Disney TV in the afternoon?
no!
anyway, you are preaching to the converted.
tell me again how great "song of the south" was.
chef_boyhowdy!
>> Ever watched Disney TV in the afternoon?
>
>
> no!
of course. i mean, that would suggest you know what you are talking about,
instead of just posturing and blowing smoke out of your ass.
> anyway, you are preaching to the converted.
> tell me again how great "song of the south" was.
zip a dee doo dah!
some fine lyrics, there. oscar material.
katorzejames
chef_boyhowdy! wrote:
> of course. i mean, that would suggest you know what you are talking about,
> instead of just posturing and blowing smoke out of your ass.
disney is only trying to duplicate their "lizzie mcguire" formula.
grownups only know "that's raven", because the star is so unique and
special.
raven symone rocks.
the previous poster's and my point was that you shouldn't condemn
disney for perpetuating the barbie myth without also giving them props
for "that's raven".
i realize you forgot about her because you are more focused on those
afternoon shows that get you so guiltily hot.
it's on you, dude!
avery
"katorzejames" <quator...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1165539284.5...@f1g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Hey! Nobody ever talks about that show! It's my 9-year old daughter's
favorite. I have to admit that I sat down with a large dutiful plastic grin
on my face to watch it with her once and I was really quite pleasantly
surprised. It was some story about (I can't believe I'm going into the plot)
how Raven was showing off to her friends that she knew some big boy band
and, to prove it, got cajoled into promising that she could get them to
perform at the school dance, and then they refused to do it ; so she and her
friends dressed up as them and performed as them and were caught -- and all
adolescent hell and humiliation was going to happen but of course in the
last minute the real boy band showed up and saved the day. But it was funny!
Shoot me.
Anyway....
chef_boyhowdy!
> i realize you forgot about her because you are more focused on those
> afternoon shows that get you so guiltily hot.
said the drag queen who brags about wearing silver hot pants and getting
turned on by Captain Marvels undershorts.
Quator, you just havent learned yet. Your own insanity prevents you from
being able to criticize anybody else's take on anything, without your own
being questioned. "CONSIDER THE SOURCE".
> it's on you, dude!
scrape it off, scrape it off!