Film Gecko

Interview: Lauren McKnight of "HottieBoombaLottie"

by Jane Boursaw on June 29th, 2008

HottieBoombaLottie definitely gets the award for one of the funniest movie names, but it also looks like a great movie. I caught up with actress Lauren McKnight (who plays Cleo) on her way to the movie’s premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival:

Jane: Hey, Lauren, how are you?

Lauren: I’m doing good. I’m actually in the middle of nowhere right now, driving to California. So, if the signal fades, I’ll call you right back.

Jane: Sounds good. So tell me a little about HottieBoombaLottie.

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Lauren: It’s about a kid named Ethan who’s a social outcast, and he’s infatuated with the hottest girl in school, Madison Sweet (Shay Williamson). Ethan has an older brother named Clay (Matthew Webb) who’s the exact opposite of Ethan. He’s like, really cool. Anyway, Ethan tries to get Madison’s attention in all these elaborate ways, but she still doesn’t know he exists.

In the process, he gets in trouble with his mom, and she sends him off to California to live with his cousins, Asher and Cleo. While he’s gone, Clay takes an interest in Madison – he can attract her attention a little easier, because he’s cooler than Ethan. Anyway, when Ethan’s in California, his cousin Asher prompts him to be more of a free spirit. And Cleo, who’s your typical tomboy girl, decides she wants to become a bit more feminine to get Ethan to notice her.

Jane: It looks really cute from the clips I’ve seen. It kind of reminds me of Juno…

Lauren: And Napoleon Dynamite. A lot of people have compared it to “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Jane: Oh, I love that movie.

Lauren: Me too, so I’m really stoked that people are saying it’s like that.

Jane: So, it’s playing at the L.A. Film Festival tomorrow?

Lauren: Yes, it premieres tomorrow night.

Jane: Oh, that’s cool! Are you going to be there?

Lauren: Yes, I am. We’ll be in LA tonight. We’ve submitted it to a couple of other film festivals, and Fox Searchlight is coming to check it out, so it might get a theater release (Note: Fox Searchlight also distributed Napoleon Dynamite). Then everybody could see it, which would be amazing. It definitely deserves it. I’ve seen most of the film, but not all of it put together, so I’m really excited to see it. It’s funny when you read the script, but seeing the actual parts played out, it’s hilarious.

Jane: And a lot of times…I think if you just read the script for “Napoleon Dynamite,” you’d go, what the heck is this? But once you put all of the quirky characters and music and catch phrases together, it’s drop-dead funny. So, have you been acting for a while?

Lauren: I’ve been an actress my whole life. Even as a kid, I was always pretending and acting. As I got older, I started getting into plays, and we quickly realized that wasn’t my strength. I was a bit of a theater outcast. In drama class in junior high and high school, it was very clear that I didn’t belong with the other kids in that kind of group. I actually got kicked out of two drama classes.

Jane: Well see, that’s the mark of true genius, right? The ones who get kicked out…

Lauren: Hopefully! It’s funny because the director of HottieBoombaLottie actually saw me in my high school drama class and told my teacher that I should be in film. The teacher was like, oh, she IS in film, but I wouldn’t hire her because she’s unreliable. And he’s like, what do you mean? Well, she doesn’t come to class because she’s out doing movies and stuff. So it’s a little ironic that I’d be getting kicked out of drama class.

Jane: What you really wanted to do was movies!

Lauren: Definitely. I got into that when I was about fourteen and immediately realized that’s where I belonged. Film is definitely my passion.

Jane: I’m looking at your IMDB.com page and it says you were in Forever Strong. Has that come out yet?

Lauren: I’m pretty sure it’s being screened in different places, and I’m almost positive it’s going to get a theater release. It has a bunch of big names in it – Gary Cole, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley, Sean Faris, Neal McDonough… I play Penn’s girlfriend, Gina. It was fun. She was kind of like a party girl.

Jane: I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Lauren: It’s a film about rugby, directed by Ryan Little, who is awesome, by the way. He keeps in touch with me and helps me make good career decisions. He’s one of the coolest directors I’ve ever met.

Jane: I’m looking at the picture of Seth Packard (pictured, right - writer, director and star) on the HottieBoombaLottie site. He looks so young!

Lauren: Oh, he does, doesn’t he?! Seth is so awesome, he really is. He’s definitely been my favorite person to work with so far in the film industry. It’s funny because he made this creepy guy so adorable. You know, that kid at school that you’d be like, oh, do not talk to him! He took that stereotype and made it into this adorable character that you just want to know.

Jane: I was thinking there’s this whole group of young people coming up in the film business that are sort of getting into the mainstream consciousness.

Lauren: Yeah, there’s a lot of people who are up and coming right now, and a lot of people with good potential.

Jane: I suppose it’s all about getting in with the right people and directors, like the ones you’ve mentioned.

Lauren: Yeah, making good career choices definitely helps.

Jane: I just watched the Hottie clip of you sitting on the couch, and he’s showing you that cardboard cutout. I couldn’t help but think you seemed a lot like Scarlett Johansson in that little clip.

Lauren: Really?

Jane: Yeah.

Lauren: Oh, wow! They actually dyed my hair blond for that movie, so I had to take away a bit of the stereotype that the popular girl is the blond girl. Madison Sweet is brunette, so they made me blond. I actually prefer being a brunette, so I dyed my hair back to brunette.

Jane: You could be like Madonna and keep reinventing yourself, so you don’t get pigeonholed into particular roles.

Lauren: Oh, yeah, I don’t get typecast, which is pretty cool. I’ve played a gothic girl before, and I’m actually going to be playing another gothic girl in a college short film. So, I’ve played a preppy party girl, the cute tomboy, a gothic girl… I like being able to be versatile.

Jane: What would you say to young people coming up in the business? Any advice to people who want to get into acting?

Lauren: If you really want to go for it, you have to pursue it hard. You can’t just do it halfway. When I first started out, I wasn’t as hopeful as I could have been. Now that I’m really going for it, I feel like things are starting to happen for me.

Jane: And it sounds like you’re really serious about the business. So many young people get off track and end up in the tabloids, it seems like you really have to be focused to be taken seriously.

Lauren: You really do.

Jane: What are you working on now?

Lauren: I’m doing a college short film, and that’s probably going to be one of the last independent things I do. I’m going to start looking for bigger things, but I like doing the independent stuff, because there’s always such a positive energy and everybody is there because they want to be there. That’s how it was with HottieBoombaLottie. We got so close on that set. We just had a great time and ended up making this great film.

Jane: It seems like you have a little more freedom with the Indie films that aren’t trying to fit into a particular commercial mold.

Lauren: Oh, yeah, and on the bigger films, everybody is so stressed out all the time. It’s definitely a different feeling between them, but I like doing both.

Jane: Any directors you’d like to work with?

Lauren: I love Wes Anderson, and I’ve been a Tim Burton fan ever since I was a little kid. I love directors who are creative with their films, who not only make a film, but also a work of art. I love the Coen brothers, too. They’re awesome.

Jane: Anything else you want to say about HottieBoombaLottie?

Lauren: Definitely check out the trailer. After I saw it, it just made me a million more times excited to see the movie.

Jane: Alright, cool. Well, thanks very much for the interview. I appreciate it!

Lauren: No problem. Thanks for talking to me.

Check out the HottieBoombaLottie Trailer here.

Images: HottieBoombaLottie, Black Sheep Productions, 2008

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