transform their bodies the way they do, itâs because they go on diets like that and follow them to the letter. They do their workout every day, giving 110 percent effort, and follow their trainerâs direction exactly. Actors can do it, in short, because theyâre getting paid to do it and itâs their job. Part of being an actor is dedication to your craft, and your craft might include physical transformation to inhabit a character. Itâs that simple . . . not easy, but simple.
We shot the film in Perris (just outside Los Angeles) and in Los Angeles, California, and wrapped it up in six weeks. Jerry, Gabriel Olds, and I got along fine as the three friends, and I felt that we played off one another quite convincingly. If this was shooting a major motion picture, I was all for it. There was absolutely nothing about the process that I didnât like.
Of course, once the movie wrapped, I had to jump right back into season three of 90210 with barely a breather. For the rest of the year, however, I knew in the back of my mind I had a movie coming. It premiered the following March in a blaze of Columbia Studios publicity. I flew to New York to do a press junket, donated the shoes I wore in the film to Planet Hollywood, the cool place at the time, and did a ton of press. Then the reviews started rolling in. They were not kind. Brutal, in fact. Again . . . just like 90210 .
When the film opened, the returns were not great, and the movie quickly vanished. It was disappointing at the time, of course, but I certainly did not realize the repercussions this one project would have on the rest of my career. Calendar Girl did not perform, and I had no idea that in âthe industryâ it had been my one big chance. In the eyes of the major Hollywood studios, this was my chance to show whether or not I had what it took to be a movie star, and I had failed the test. Utterly.
I was still in my early twenties, starring in one of the most popular shows on TV. I would not have believed that my one and only shot at movie stardom had come and gone. It was probably a good thing for my morale that it took years to realize that such a major career crossroads had come and gone in the blink of an eye without my having even realized it.
To this day, I think I made the right choice as, fortunately, the other two scripts I turned down were never made. Itâs not like I turned down the lead in A River Runs Through It for Calendar Girl . As disappointed as everyone associated with the film was by the box office performance of Calendar Girl, it does seem, many years later, that it struck a chord with at least a couple of filmgoers. I know this because I still have people tweeting me about that movie, and quoting lines from it, so I know somebody saw it! âI just want to lay on top of you and see where it goes from there,â anyone?
Magic Mountain
Valencia
91355
S ince the first episode of the show I had been bugging Aaron to give me a shot to direct. It was something I was very interested in exploring, and I knew that this show might be my best chance. I also understood that learning television, and the television business from Aaron Spelling, was an opportunity that I needed to maximize.
So much of the entertainment business is having the ability to recognize opportunities and capitalize on them. You have to be able to keep building on your successes. And I have found, you have to do these things for yourself, regardless of how many people you employ to help you. You always have to stay on top of your career, your finances, everything. Always keep your eye on the prize. Every time in my life that I let my focus waver, it has led to disaster.
Toward the end of the third season of the show, Aaron gave me my shot at directing. When I think back on it, I have to wonder exactly what Aaron was thinking, handing the reins of his hit show, his baby, to a twenty-four-year-old punkass actor kid. It happened to be a
We shot the film in Perris (just outside Los Angeles) and in Los Angeles, California, and wrapped it up in six weeks. Jerry, Gabriel Olds, and I got along fine as the three friends, and I felt that we played off one another quite convincingly. If this was shooting a major motion picture, I was all for it. There was absolutely nothing about the process that I didnât like.
Of course, once the movie wrapped, I had to jump right back into season three of 90210 with barely a breather. For the rest of the year, however, I knew in the back of my mind I had a movie coming. It premiered the following March in a blaze of Columbia Studios publicity. I flew to New York to do a press junket, donated the shoes I wore in the film to Planet Hollywood, the cool place at the time, and did a ton of press. Then the reviews started rolling in. They were not kind. Brutal, in fact. Again . . . just like 90210 .
When the film opened, the returns were not great, and the movie quickly vanished. It was disappointing at the time, of course, but I certainly did not realize the repercussions this one project would have on the rest of my career. Calendar Girl did not perform, and I had no idea that in âthe industryâ it had been my one big chance. In the eyes of the major Hollywood studios, this was my chance to show whether or not I had what it took to be a movie star, and I had failed the test. Utterly.
I was still in my early twenties, starring in one of the most popular shows on TV. I would not have believed that my one and only shot at movie stardom had come and gone. It was probably a good thing for my morale that it took years to realize that such a major career crossroads had come and gone in the blink of an eye without my having even realized it.
To this day, I think I made the right choice as, fortunately, the other two scripts I turned down were never made. Itâs not like I turned down the lead in A River Runs Through It for Calendar Girl . As disappointed as everyone associated with the film was by the box office performance of Calendar Girl, it does seem, many years later, that it struck a chord with at least a couple of filmgoers. I know this because I still have people tweeting me about that movie, and quoting lines from it, so I know somebody saw it! âI just want to lay on top of you and see where it goes from there,â anyone?
Magic Mountain
Valencia
91355
S ince the first episode of the show I had been bugging Aaron to give me a shot to direct. It was something I was very interested in exploring, and I knew that this show might be my best chance. I also understood that learning television, and the television business from Aaron Spelling, was an opportunity that I needed to maximize.
So much of the entertainment business is having the ability to recognize opportunities and capitalize on them. You have to be able to keep building on your successes. And I have found, you have to do these things for yourself, regardless of how many people you employ to help you. You always have to stay on top of your career, your finances, everything. Always keep your eye on the prize. Every time in my life that I let my focus waver, it has led to disaster.
Toward the end of the third season of the show, Aaron gave me my shot at directing. When I think back on it, I have to wonder exactly what Aaron was thinking, handing the reins of his hit show, his baby, to a twenty-four-year-old punkass actor kid. It happened to be a
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