June 2nd, 2007

COMING SOON! EYE OF THE DOLPHIN!

Our sweet Spotlight girl is also making splash on the big screen in EYE OF THE DOLPHIN this summer. (For release dates, check the official website from time to time.) This indie movie has already hooked a sea of critical acclaim, including a “Best Child Actor” award for Carly at the International Family Film Festival! But now, without further adieu, here’s Mandy’s review!

OK, I have a confession. Growing up, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. I mean, my dream was to work with manatees, but I was totally into dolphins, too. So this movie kind of made me think, “If only I was good at science, maybe I could have been a marine biologist and studied the dolphins!” Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, but the beautiful water, pristine beaches and amazing animals in the film are pretty powerful. At the very least it makes me want to head to the pool!

Dolphin is a coming-of-age tale about Alyssa, who has been living with her grandmother since her mom drowned a year ago. Our girl is definitely going down a bad path and gets into some serious trouble in school. That’s when Grandma decides to to take Alyssa to the Bahamas. (No, it’s not a vacation!) That’s where she meets the dad she never knew she had.

Dad’s a stressed-out scientist who studies dophins and just might lose his research facility so investors can build a tacky tourist attraction. The father-daughter relationship is complicated and uneasy (and realistic!). Alyssa befriends a wild dolphin and two islanders, and in the process learns a lot about her family and more importantly, herself.

Playing a feisty, rebellious teen, Carly is totally believable as a girl struggling to find an identity and deal with her anger at the world. Even when she’s being, well, a little bratty, you’ll be rooting for her all the way.

I’ve worked in the magazine industry for a few years now, and I’ve had the amazing opportunity to interview a number of celebs—some up-and-coming, some already-established. But I have to say, my interview with Carly Schroeder, 16, ranks among my favorite ever! She was so down-to-earth and so chock full of fun stories, I could totally imagine her as a friend to all of us fab G-Blog gals. So, I just have to share some snippets from the interview that didn’t quite make it in the mag! xoxo, Mandy F

Bahama Bummers? “Eye of the Dolphin was a very difficult shoot because we were in the Bahamas and it was so, so hot. Every morning I would go into hair and makeup and they would slather me in all this suntan lotion, SPF 5 billion. We’d have to have a sun umbrella with us everywhere we went. And when we got in the water, there was the reflection, so you had to have sunglasses on at all times, or else you got massive headaches.”

Dolphin Tricks: “When we were completely finished [filming Dolphin], I got to go out with the dolphins and they let me do all the dolphin trainer moves. I would stand on the dolphins’ noses and I would basically water ski. I did this other one where you would be sitting in the water, and you would put your legs straight out, and they would come up underneath you and put you straight up in the air. Then you would fall with the dolphins at your side.”