Bella Thorne is a name to watch out for in 2014, as she is set to star in a series of exciting film projects.
This week she teams up with Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore with new comedy Blended: which sees Frank Coraci back in the director's chair.
We caught up with the actress to chat about the film, working with Coraci, and what lies ahead.
- You are about to return to the big screen in new comedy Blended, so can you tell me a little bit about the film?
Blended is a family comedy that sees Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunite. Terry Crews and Kevin Nealon are also on board.
It follows two single parents who go on a really awful blind date, and end up going on a family vacation together.
- You take on the role of Hilary in the film, so what was it about this character and script that initially appealed to you?
This character is a girl that is often mistaken as a boy: while she takes it, she hates being mistaken as a boy.
She is just a girl who decides to get out of her own skin and become the girly girl that she has always wanted to be.
I didn't really enjoy the wig, putting it on, and having to deal with all of the glue: it was 99% alcohol on my bare skin.
However, when I look back at it, I really enjoyed that dorky character. She is so silly and so sweet that you cannot help but love her.
- Blended sees you star alongside Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore, so what was it like working with them? And what was their chemistry like on set, as this is their third film together?
They appear just how you would imagine them off screen. In all of their movies, they don't play characters, the play themselves: that is really great because they have such a fun and young energy about them.
They really are like brother and sister and they are so silly when they are together. They really did set a positive vibe on the set, which was great.
- The movie saw you get the chance to film in South Africa, so how was that experience?
That was so cool. Obviously, there are lot of precautions that you need to take when working with wild animals, so that was a little dangerous at times.
There were some lions that kept visiting us - we had no gates - and we would just be standing there. As you can imagine, that was a little frightening. We had such a great time on set. Adam got attacked by a Cheetah.
- Frank Coraci is also in the director's chair, so how did you find him as a filmmaker? And how collaborative a director is he?
I love Frank Coraci, as he is such a talented director. He is so funny, so sweet, and always in a good mood: even when he shouldn't be. I am always like 'Frank, be mean for one second'.
He is always supportive and complimentary on everything that you do. Even if you mess it up he still loves you and is like 'it is ok, we can do another one'.
I found him to be very collaborative, he really was a sweetheart. You have to have a good relationship with your director to have a comfortable character.
This was the first time that I have ever worked with Frank, and we got to really know each other. It does take a little bit of time to get comfortable with somebody and be able to throw out your own ideas for characters and scenes.
- Away from Blended, you have also completed work on Big Sky & Home Invasion and are currently working on Amityville, so can you tell me a little about those projects?
Those are really fun projects to work on. I have also finished filming Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and it was really great to be able to work with Steve Carell on that.
Big Sky is a really interesting film: it was just me and a handicam wandering around in the desert the whole time.
It is about a character who is agoraphobic: which is really difficult to play because I had nothing to draw from. There is really not a lot of research about that condition, so it was quite difficult to act that out.
Home Invasion was a film that was fun, but I was really really sick during the shoot: that part wasn't all that fun.
Director Sean Carter turned to me and said 'Bella, this is where you use being sick to your advantage as you really look miserable in this scene' Home Invasion in a horror/thriller film.
I have just finished Amityville, which is right at the top of my list of favourite films to work on.
- You have also signed a book deal and the first book is going to be Autumn Falls. So what can we expect from the debut novel? How did you find yourself going down the author path?
The book is called Autumn Falls and is about a girl called Autumn Falls. She moves to Miami when her father passes away, and he leaves her a book to write - a bit like a journal.
When she writes in the book, things start to come to life. However, because she is dyslexic, they come to life a little bit wonky: that backfires on her throughout the book.
I really just wanted to prove to kids that if I - who is dyslexic - can write a book, then they can do anything that they want.
I want everyone who told me I couldn't do it, to go and read that book and see that I could do it.
- Finally, what's next for you?
I have six films coming out, so that should be fun. I also have the album coming out in August, and the single Call It Whatever is out now.
Blended is released May 23rd.
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