Magical RewindCornelia Frame (VP of Casting and Talent Relations at Disney)
Cornelia Frame worked in casting and talent relations at Disney for 18 years!
Now, she joins Will and Sabrina to talk about everyone she has worked with… From Zac Efron to our own Cheetah Girl!
Welcome back, and thank you so much for joining us on this park Hopper episode of Magical Rewind. We are very excited for today's guests. I'm always super excited when we can get people from the other.
Side of the d com.
So it's awesome to get the actors and the people that were involved in the actual shooting of the projects. But when we get somebody from the channel who can kind of give us overall views of what's going on, I get really excited because I always learn a whole bunch of new stuff. So you know this person, don't you.
I do. Yes.
She was absolutely one of the top dogs that was handling so much around us during all three of the movies, I want to say, and for quite a bit after.
And she's always super fun and.
Easy going and just like you know, when she was on set or anywhere we were having to be, it was always so fun to just chat with her.
I love that. Well, I can't wait. Let's get right into it. Please help us.
Welcome Cornelia Frame, who was the vice president of Casting and Talent Relations at the Disney Channel for eighteen years.
I cannot wait to talk to her.
Cornelia Frame, Hi, Hello, Hello, Welcome Yeah.
One thing I forgot to say will she was always dressed to the tea.
Her style never fails. I love the top. Look at how cute you are, Ah, Sabrina.
You know though, you taught me a lot in the hair and makeup department, because what is your was your mom a hairstylist?
Yes, okay, you gave me this tip that I tell people to this day. You told me, you said, practice when you're like, practice doing your hair and makeup when you're not going out, like when you're staying home, so you can like make mistakes so you're not stressed, so you're not in a rush.
Because all my friends were like, you're here and makeups amazing. I'm like I learned it from all the talent on Disney Channel, but like you gave me that tip, and I would play around with a curling iron, like on a Friday night if I even if I had nowhere to be, and it was like how I learned how to make my heart a little more down.
Yeah, because then when you do have to you're not like really stressed because you're figuring out something for the first time.
Oh well, thank you so much for joining us. We love when we have people. I was just telling Sabrina. We were talking about this in the intro where we get a lot of the actors that come on the show, which we love hearing about the actual productions and what it was like to shoot you know, insert movie name here. But we're always so excited when we get somebody from the other side that comes from the channel to tell us kind of the overview of how it works, how the sausage is made. For lack of a better term, So, so you spent eighteen years at Disney and left as VP of Casting and Talent Relations, can you please let the people know what that job entails.
Well, it means you find talent, You find them from all across the world, and then you make sure they are taken care of in many different ways on the talent relation side, from promoting their own project and often asking them to help promote other other brands within the company, like a.
Disney cruise going to going.
On Radio Disney at Radio Disney Music Awards, or it could be even co promoting a Disney feature film too. So you kind of had your hand in a lot of different elements for all sorts of different talent, which was an opportunity for me.
And now is this correct that you oversaw over two hundred live action projects for the company. Yes, okay, so let me let me name just a few of them and see if we've got some of the bangers here.
This track record is insane, you guys, buckle up.
This is amazing.
High school musical, Wizards of Waverley Place, Hannah Montana, Jesse Casey, Undercover Girl meets were World, that's so raven, Sweet Life of Zach and Cody Descendants, Good Luck Charlie, and the list goes on and on.
We're all those correct.
Those are correct.
My very first day of my very first day, it was actually before my very first day, but my boss said, why don't you come in and just come in because we're testing this girl for this TV show.
And it was Miley Cyrus.
They were testing her for Hannah Montana that day and that was like the day that she ends up getting the role, and it was wild.
Then a month later, we're a just named zac Efron.
I mean, it just sort of everything kind of I had meetings with the Jonas brothers early on, and it just sort of like everything came one after the other.
Speaking of Miley, Cyrus.
Did we hear originally that the role of Hannah Montana was actually offered to Was it Ali of Ali and Aj Yes.
You know, I don't know if they offered it to her, although I do think they did present it to her.
Yeah, And she had said.
That Gary Marsh wanted to wanted her to and she said no.
Yeah, yeah, crazy, can't believe it. I mean, she would have been great too. She has so much of the fun quirkiness of what Miley brought to the role and everything. She's got a great voice that's like, Wow, how do you pass that up? How do you pass up at Disney Channel show? I don't understand, but hey, I'm sure there was a reason.
Well, and I think a lot a lot of people I'm sure have mentioned who've been on here before. It's sometimes you just want to get out of the Disney time. It's like you did your high school time. You did your school time. It's like, Okay, I want to go to college now, and that maybe on an ABC show or I may be on another a movie side of it, you want to sort of get your feet wet in a different, different part of your acting.
Bone. Sure, yeah, because I do think she would have been older than what Miley was when she took on the role for sure, right, she was closer to eighteen than Miley was.
Yeah, yeah, that's ancient and Disney when it comes to Disney Channel, that's like eighteen. My god, you're well past your prime on the Disney Channel at eighteen.
When I booked The Cheetah Girls, I was seventeen, going in for the role of a fifteen year old and thinking, you know, obviously I wanted it so bad, but I was so worried they were going to see my age and think, oh no, there's you know. But knowing it was a d com, it wasn't a TV show, I thought maybe I'd have a little bit more a chance because again, they didn't know it was going to be three of them. They thought I would just be one one movie. So I was really nervous because I was seventeen and I was going.
Well, remember when we interviewed her from Got to Kick It Up, she was what twenty five playing fourteen or.
Something like that, and she just kept her mouth shut.
Like I'm just not going to tell anybody how old I am. Just just in kayse.
And that's so Miley Cyrus the Jason URLs, who played Miley's brother on the show. He just kept his mouth I mean he must have been twenty five twenty he was much much older and he just kept his mouth shut.
Yep, just be quiet.
It was awesome.
IMDb didn't have birthdays at that time on it. It was very it was you know, there was not a lot of information out there. Was really easy to keep it quiet for a long time too.
Yeah, yeah, okay, so we've mentioned some names now, We've mentioned Miley Cyrus, We've mentioned the Jonas brothers. Let let me just read you this is another list here, if you can stand, another list of some of the globally famous names that you helped to find and you worked with. Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigu, Zendeia, Sabrina Carpenter, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Levado, Zach Efron, Austin Butler, and Jenna Ortega just.
A few people that are slightly working in the industry right now.
So here is a question that I'm sure you get asked a lot, and I know there's terms that we hear, it it factor whatever is, but how when somebody walks into the room do you know that's the person.
It is a very an unspoken like vibe often that just feels it and like the way they connect with the material. But even some of the people who are become it, they can read for the wrong job and it just doesn't work out at all and it takes them a lot longer. Like even Austin Butler has an interesting career. He was a background on a million of shows for so long, Like he's somebody who really put in tons and tons and tons and tons of work too for it, and he was and sometimes the luck also wasn't even there. The luck was meaning you know, like if you could be on the What's going to be the hottest show?
But if it if nobody watches it, nobody sees you.
So but on the it factor, I mean sometimes you just it's just everything from how they're speaking to the casting director, like how they're chatting, and then and then they just naturally slide into the material right away too, like in a way that you're like, this person has has something that I want to work with that I believe in the factor too, and I'm sure their names I could I can't remember that.
I'm like that person was it too, that may not have made it.
Everybody has, you know, those people on their list too that they hoped so much for it, you know, even Olivia Rodrigo.
I mean I were set around.
She had had on YouTube some tapes of her doing some performing and I'd set it around and they were much more like they're similar to her style now. But that was not what pop music was at that time. You were in the ballad era at all that started. I can't remember what year where suddenly popped in the top ten. There would be ballads, which was very rare for many years, and it was just not the timing wasn't right at that moment, and she was on bizarre part for us at that time she was. It was before high school musical, So you really need the right project to catapull you to the next next level.
Yeah, and you actually got a chance to go on set quite a bit, right for all of these different d coms and TV shows. What was one of your favorite memories of being on set with the cast? Where did you get a chance to either travel to or you know, be able to be a part of something that you just really remember always.
Yeah, I mean that is one of the best parts of the job is being able to go to sets in general.
I mean, it's really privileged to be able to see that movie.
And seeing how many people it takes to make movies and TV shows, it's wild.
There's no small.
Feed to get these projects made, and it's uh, you know, I didn't get to go to your set, Cety girls in India or Spain.
I didn't get to go to either.
I remember everybody, even when they went to India, what an Everybody who got to go at the company at that time actually felt like it was a really big privilege that they got to go because it was not again, it's India.
It's all the way in India.
And like, yeah, there was you know, we were not sending just tons of executives over and that's not how the channel operated too. They were they really, you know, everybody had to really have a very big purpose to be there, and so and I remember just all the different people who would get to go. And then Spain, I didn't get to go to either, but I did get to meet you in Spain.
I Madrid, and we did a promo.
The promo concert exactly. Do you remember how sick I was, Yes.
But I remember it was at the very tail end of like the promotional window. Yes, very it was like a challenging time for everybody. But I even remember all the three of you after the party, like you're just sitting down just being so happy.
And also being like that was really fun. I kind of wanted to do it again.
As hard as it was, like right the heart into it, it was really hard, and you all, the three of you were such sisters like then you all, I mean, it was really fun. It was It's very infectious to be around the talent because every they're all friends, and then they're friends within the different like all the different shows and movies are often friends too because they've had to do international promos for three days together. We would get talent together to do that and that would be where you get to sort of interact with everybody all the time and and get to spend time. But even yeah, going to Utah for the High School Musical series recently was fabulous too because there was a lot of people we worked on the movie who were involved in the series too, and that was really special to see these people, you know, being able to come back again and work around.
We just talked to Corwin blue like last week. So he was telling us just how wonderful it was. But wait, I have to jump in. I'm sorry, Sabrina, you've never told me about this. What you were sick when you were doing a concert?
Yeah, I had scarlet fever or something crazy.
You were sick in eighteen seventy.
No, it was like something. So we went to do a show.
But we were in the midst of doing our tour and Disney Channel was expanding into Spain, right, that was what that was.
For launching Spain.
And this was part of a big relaunch party, okay, And they were the only talent that got to be brought over.
There, I think, so I don't remember a lot of other talent that was there with us. And I actually had stayed home one day trying to get myself better. I went into a doctor. I had to get like a whole needle situation. It was like this whole thing to get me better, just to get me there. And then when I got there, then I got to see a doctor from Spain. He gave me whatever. I felt like a new sprung chicken. I was out there dancing like you would never have even known that I was sick. And then on my way home during that flight, I got my my I you know, was taking the medication, but still kind of got sick a little bit more. But at the same time, I don't know if it was the adrenaline of just being there and when we had stuff like that with the Channel, you just knew these were once in a lifetime opportunities that it was such a big deal for us to be there. It was huge that the Channel was launching into Spain. It was huge for us because at that time, High School Musical had come out, I believe, and the Jonahs brothers were working, so we were the talent that they decided to go out there with and it was just a big opportunity. So I don't know really exactly if it was just the medication or if I was just like hyped on life that I didn't care. All I did to do was do my ten minute set and then I was good. But it was so fun, and that's what I was I loved is you could tell whenever you were around us that you were really seeing us as a cast and as a as a real life friendship, you know, and you were able to go do that with the High School musical casts and all the other the Hannah Montana casts and all of those other shows and just see one on one. Like how special those relationships became.
Yeah, A lot of people talk about it as like school.
It's like an alumni thing, like when they see somebody from that time, that era, you know, it feels like, oh, we went to school together, we have the same totally.
We have that with the TGIF group. That was all this the same TGIF people, It's that same thing.
Yeah.
I heard that about the TGIF because a Disney executive had worked during that era, and I remember being just as excited hearing about that era.
It was crazy. Okay with the list of people that we just named, which is insane. Is there someone out there that as you watch their career you feel a special kind of bond with, like I help that start, I helped find that person, or there's something special about that one individual.
Well, I mean so much.
Also is a group thing too, Like I got so much credit to a lot of the other executives at Disney Channel too.
Like when I.
Say so, I hate to take a complete proprietary sentence about it, but even right now, Sabrina Carpenter songs has been, like she said, two songs in the top ten lately, and that girl has worked so hard from so such a young age.
She was someone we loved as an actress.
Early on.
She did a pilot for us and we loved her, and it was just the pilot didn't go and it's like, what was the next right thing?
You know, what were we going to do with her?
And she had a great voice too, I remember she had a voice, and she had just a sparkling fun at this personality that was awesome and you just really liked being around her.
And she was really good actress too, And that's shit great people.
Don't people think, oh, they're just like the acting is like nothing, it's all they only hire a bunch of singers.
And it's like, no, no, no, no, we need you needed.
To be an actor too, And that was really first, and then the music thing would end up happening naturally, very organically, naturally, unless you were auditioning for a music project.
Did she by chance, Sabrina? Was she around in that area like to possibly audition for that same role?
No, it's so interesting, I'm trying to remember if she auditioned for one of the other roles in Descendants because then she yeah, because she ended up doing Avengers and babysitting was Sophia.
Cars That's where I met her at that premiere.
Yeah, exactly.
She would have been too young for Descendants, wouldn't she just buy a bit?
Exactly?
But Zendek did audition many times for Descendants, and that was a big deal, Like, I mean a.
Really big deal that she auditioned over and over.
I mean she she really wanted it, and it just ended up not going her way. And you know, I'm sure now that I think about it, and I'm like, did she had Spiderman? Like would Spider Man have happened right at the same time? Because it really is true late things happen for a reason, and you do often book this other thing that's amazing when you don't get something else. But Zendaia definitely like put so much effort and so much work into it too. Wow, And it just it's one of those things that you're really you know, you you understand when people want these roles, like how important it is.
Well that going back to what you said, though, that was exactly the thing that amazed me when I walked on the set of Groming's world.
Was how funny Sabrina and Rowan both were. I mean, it was it.
I knew that they could sing, and I knew Sabrina won't really wanted to be singing on all that stuff, but the comedy was there. And to me, again, I don't sing at all, but comedy is music and you could just.
Tell they had the rhythm. So yeah, very very impressive.
Mm hmm.
I remember my audition process. I auditioned that Disney so many times before I ended up getting the Cheetah Girls.
That back in the day was you'd come in with your script.
Then you'd have your little cassette tape, your little karaoke tape that they'd put in a radio. You would sing and then they would turn on some random music and say, okay, now just just dance for us.
So that's what that's what my audition was.
I had my cassette tape, my things, and then I had shoes that I could move around on, and I would, you know, show off any little bit of tumbling I could do in that small room or whatever.
What is the audition process for the channel now?
Because I feel back then that was the beginning of music that really wasn't a big thing at that time, you know, auditioning for music stuff.
What is it like now?
Is there like a I see in my head there's like a baby grand piano, a whole orchestra. I just could see that it's gotta be a bigger deal than it was back when I was auditioning.
Yeah, not always.
I mean, some of it is you're sending them You're sending your singing portion in advance too often. That's like how even there's so much pretaping these days too, So you're sending here's my dance footage, like so people can see you full length and you can get the music there. And then oftentimes it's like as you go further, you are singing in the room, but sometimes just not even accompanied by anything, I mean, or you are bringing in your phone. You are bringing in your phone with like a backing track on there. But it just depends what it is, and it's often what the director, like, you know, are people comfortable enough to sign off on this person just based on that material? And sometimes the director will like an actor and the network will have a different opinion, and so the director really works with the talent to say like okay, let's make sure you're next.
We're going to have a piano.
There, We're going to have this this element here, so that we can really make sure the network understands like this is why you would be get like you are perfect for this role. So sometimes you do need to compliment it up. But it's not like in one way, it's still the basics, like it's wild, how it just really is, you know, that's all.
You know. Getting a taste of you.
Singing and dancing in the room is just like how it always has been to wow.
Great, so cool.
There's also for zombies, there's interesting there were auditions and I think they're also online too, where.
They really went from room to room.
It was almost like a screen test, but it was like done in an office building, not even done with that fancy of a camera, but it's like where you really they cut it and they made it much more, much more action throughout each of the different scenes to help get the actors Mila Manheim and macdonnelley signed off on. So sometimes you you know, the creatives have to like come up with different different ways to really get their talent sold too. And that process that worked with the casting directors work with too. And it's also fun when it changes it up too, because sitting in a room, you know, watching actor come in after you know, sometimes like you're like, even the best actor can come in after lunch. We just like if there's a moment after lunch where everybody's energy is just like low yep, Like you're like, it's not a great thing for the actor at times, like some moments or you're like, oh, it wakes it up when you're like, well there's some talent that we really love because I just suddenly got so much more awake.
I remember.
I remember that as an actor where it's like an audition would come through and they'd be like, hey, you have the four forty five on Friday slot, Like oh, you're like.
Oh that's awesome. What's the point of even going to that.
You bring in that's when you bring in Starbucks to the actual audition. Hey, just giving you guys a pickup before I go ahead and do.
My series an shot.
When you think back, is there an audition for anybody that stands out for you where you just instantly goes in.
Your head like, oh man, that was a great audition.
I mean, there are so many, so many good auditions too, because I do remember Miley's like just being amazing, Like this girl just shed she had it all. She was charming, she was witty. She was also really comfortable talking to all the executives. Oftentimes, when you're in a room with ten twelve people sitting around a really long boardroom table, it's uncomfortable, especially if you're eleven, twelve.
Thirteen years old.
Sure you know, and when an actor is comfortable with it and can sort of like make jokes about it, like that always helps. I mean that always really helps, and it can help sell the person on the project too. And it was also funny auditioning. We auditioned her dad to be her dad, but we had also auditioned some other people. We were testing, like another person to who was very different and the other person had tons of comedy experience, like they were exactly how the role was written and everything, but it's like nothing can release the chemistry that they and it was really even for that. I think part of it was the musical part of the audition. I remember that part really shining too, like that you're like the musical chemistry they have, even though technically the role was written as her manager, So it wasn't necessarily like they were doing music to get Yeah, there's so much in the episode like that wasn't every episode wasn't going to be a huge daughter and dad thing.
But just even seeing that in that room, it was like, we'd be great active this way.
Did he play while she sang? Or what was that like exactly?
He played?
H yeah, wow, how do you beat that? That's so cool?
Yeah, and you just and then chemistry, I mean Zach and Vanessa, like you can just see the tapes on YouTube too, it's like the chemistry is there.
It was just there.
Yeah, it's just that Michael Healy told us that. He said that chemistry between them was just stand out. It was you know, they knew it was going to be amazing on film.
Yeah, and it was. I had never seen high school Musical.
As the last person in the world to never see it, I saw it two three weeks ago, whatever it was, And even as an adult watching it, you just you saw it. I mean you saw that they had it. It was it was there there, you were, they're engaging, you were all in and so yeah, I mean it was if you had half of that in the room, how do you not cast them.
Yeah, they were so great.
Did you ever have to fight for anybody that you knew was right for the part that they were just noe, We're going to go another way and you were like, no, I'm telling you this is you're going the wrong direction.
I mean there's always people, even Olivia Rodrigue for this series High School Musical, she wasn't the just the I mean there was a lot of deliberation just I don't even remember who if it was anybody who it was, but it wasn't just cast her in the room moment too, And I remember having a lot of conversations about her and what I felt like, you know, what her strong suits were for this, And yeah, I mean there's you fight for a lot of people in casting too, It's definitely, and you have to help sometimes segue with the director.
But you know between that the creative team and the net.
You know you may have you have may be aligned with the creative team, but that even the other people the network may not even be aligned with it. So it's like coming together, get everybody together is definitely a really a skill you need is and also but being able to share your opinion, like what your opinion is too without without saying you know, okay, I have to cave to what everybody else says at the Networkers Studio, like you won't want to be able to fight for people and go, okay, it's all right if the project goes another direction, but we'll work through it.
Yeah.
And you probably too also are experience seing like I know, I've come to an audition before and walk out.
I auditioned for the High.
School Musical Series, and I remember going up and going up to that floor. Is it still the twenty first floor? Yes, and getting that those stomach cramps, but oh my gosh. And I remember getting off the elevator as Christy Carlson.
Romano was getting on. I was like, damn it.
Because yeah, and I had met Christy multiple times. She was so sweet, But it was like I knew that that role I was going for. They were probably looking at quite a few Disney alums, you know, and like having all of that, with all these different relationships that you have with all these different actors, you know, trying to find the right one for that part has got to be something that you go through quite a bit.
With all the new projects that happen.
Yeah, no, definitely. And it's so interesting now with a lot of auditions start on zoom. I mean, in one way, you don't have that waiting room thing where you would like you see your competition and you can really make your start your stories going going, why this role feels like it's more that person but at the same time or is it just more nerve wracking sitting behind a computer without anybody to talk to, just waiting until they're like, you're up, You're next, right.
I would assume too, because I think as an actor will tell me if this is how it felt like, you could walk into a room and then when you walk.
Out, you go, wow, that vibe was so good. I connect like the be able to connect.
In person versus I would say, think it would be hard to feel that through a computer, you know, hard to feel. Oh, so those producers seemed that's I think I did exactly what they were asking for. They were looking for something like I can give them, I would assume on zoom for the actor they don't want they walk away going mmm, I have no idea.
Yeah, no, you'd want that.
I mean you wanted that the anxious was part of the vibe you wanted to sit there and have those because you were ready to perform.
I also loved looking at.
The other people in the room, going Okay, I'm better than all these people. I wasn't, but you've got to have that mindset where you're like, I'm going to stand out.
I'm better than everybody here. I can't wait to do this.
And so I mean again, I have an audition for anything in fifteen years, so I haven't had to do a Zoom audition.
I wouldn't know, but that kind of you wanted that.
The ultimate for an actor for an audition was you would walk in, you'd connect, you'd kill it, and as you were walking out, the casting director would follow you and say, excuse me, excuse.
Me, can you come back in?
We want to And they do that in front of the rest of the room, and you were like, yeah, yes, that's what I'm looking for. So that was just the best feeling in the world. And it's a shame that they don't have that anymore. You don't get that on Zoom.
No, it's so true.
We've had a casting director follow somebody and the person like had started to go to the Burbank Airport already and it was like like no, no, no, no, we really need you, and the actors did not know that you should sometimes like wait like like that they might call you back in a second. I mean it was literally following them like by the footsteps and just missed them at the elevator.
It's the best. I love that so much.
It's crazy.
So while you were also at the Channel, you witnessed kind of the birth of this the new vibe of not just the Channel, but what's going on in a lot of Hollywood, which is kind of the dawn of the rebirth. Yes, so, I mean we've got you know, boy Mets World that's so raven, high school musical TV.
Now they're all in on Wizards of Waverley Place.
How how did you feel about kind of the direction of the channel rebooting a whole bunch of different things.
Well, you know, some reboots just across the board, like from any any place, can be amazing too, and they can feel completely different. I mean, I think there's always a little sadness because you just they're only going with the hits usually, you know, and they have a certain cast, and it's also like that's how my eye see it, Like I only can see it that way too, So I think sometimes it's very hard, but then sometimes reboots are great. I mean, like they're just different and it's like it's almost like, yeah, sure it has a similar title, but it's a completely different show, and that's always lovely when it has yeah, because like that's a Raven's Home and that's a Raven and just I mean there were but they're different shows. They're just completely different shows overall too. And the same girl I mean girl meets World and boy meets We. I mean there definitely feels like it was like these were natural different shows over all. They happen to have titles which help people on streaming service is say I want to tune in because the title.
Is familiar, right, And how is it for you watching something like with Raven's Home.
I mean, she did it on that so Raven, I know.
She she got more involved in the behind the scenes work. But now what she's doing and able to be a part of with Raven's Home, is how is that for you to watch an actor? You know them when they're younger, when they're building, and then they're coming back and coming in as more of an adult and a more of like a different hat on right than just coming as a child actor.
Yeah, I mean that was one of the things that I was really amazing to watch that Disney Channel would give a lot of actors like it would be something it's a deal point. It's like to be able to direct an episode or write an episode, or be in the writer's room, and we really wanted to give people opportunities to grow their career, to look at it in a different way, to see, you know, see what it is on the to be on the other side of the camera. Even animated, We've done tours with the animation team. We've had talents say I have more interested in animation, even saying let's get them more voiceover opportunities, or even just like ghosts, sit and look at what the animators do, like get a reel behind the scenes, look at it, because those opportunities are really important. And that was really exciting to watch overall too, Like Mos Beyond the Suite Life, I mean, he directs, He directs all these major TV shows all the time. Phil Lowis, Phil Lewis liked or directs constantly and like it's the credits are amazing and I'm sure one of the first opportunities.
I mean, I actually don't.
I don't know if we gave I would think we did, but I don't actually for sure know that. But it's really amazing to be able to give people that opportunity and to learn a bit more to and have, you know, and have those mentors from the other executive producers that are there too, to have them really guide them too, because even coming in as an executive producer, it's not like you know everything right right, you have visions and maybe you're like Zenda definitely had tons of amazing ideas when she Casey undercovers a producer, like tons of like ideas all the time. But at the same time, yeah, she needed the producers to like Rob was her producer, and that was amazingly helpful, like to see it like, Okay, now I learned this stuff too.
Yeah.
Yeah, that that's what we did on gromy Throll.
I mean, Danielle Fischle got her start directing, Ryder Strong got to start directing, I got to write episodes. I mean that was like part of the deal to get us to come back. And it's hugely helpful. I mean, it's it's a great way to learn and you're learning in an environment where, like you said, you you already know a lot of the people around you, so you feel comfortable to take the next step and make mistakes.
And do what you have to do.
But yeah, the channel was great at nurturing that kind of talent, which was was a ton of fun.
So we appreciate it, which is which is nice.
A few there's a few of the names like Mitchell Musso, Jason Dollie, Brenda's song. They seems we call them kind of the dcom Royalty because they've all been in a quite a multiple of projects. Coms did that when it came to that, do you remember was it easy to go, oh, this is obviously Brenda song, We've got to give this to her or Jason or was it was it?
Did it make it easier or did it make it kind of harder to do well?
I mean, Wendy wo Hop like that one was hands down like this is this is a.
Role for Brenda too. And then Mitchell Mussa was acting a lot like he'd auditioned a ton before he got handed in Montana, and he'd worked a lot too, and Jason had worked he did been on a network sitcom too before that, So oftentimes they are sometimes they're coming in and auditioning for a project for the second time for us, and then sometimes they are just offered it. It just depends what it is. Or sometimes they come.
In and do a meeting with the director and the creative team instead of actually auditioning about the role. So yeah, I mean, sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's also like the kit Chircher had a different you know, like we just had a different vision for it, and then some play that we this brilliant idea, Oh these people. The series wraps like earlier than we thought it did, like the timing, because you really a lot of the time the series and the movie people were competing for talent, I mean, or.
Hollywood records, like Miley, Like we wanted Miley.
In a d com, but we a she would tour every like right after the series would wrap, she would go on these tours, and so then it was hard and we needed we just wanted to keep her looking as much like she was looking before, you know, not to suddenly come back as a twenty five year old, and so it would be hard to like slot in a movie at the same time as a well while doing a tour too, and you have to have the right You just can't say, you know, here's a story about a young girl, let's put Miley in it, like you want it to work for her, to work for like her overall career trajectory too, so right, that's always really important too.
But yeah, I mean, and it just depends, like it's funny Jason Dolly and I wish I had come with the story that I just there.
He ended up getting minute Man because like somebody was sick, like the night before that they told us. I remember being a Friday night late and like getting him this information like.
Faxing still I was like faxing something.
Like it was like for some reason I had to fax some like legal document too, which but like yeah, and it was a big deal to he got that. And then it really sort of like everything kind of even trickled more from them, even though we'd known him and he'd auditioned for us before and we've seen him and other stuff too, like he'd done other stuff. It was just suddenly like that movie v Ben then good Luck Charlie, it became even it was all around the same time.
Too often somebody does.
A pilot for us, whether the pilot goes or not. We just fall in love with the actor and say put them in this movie. I mean, that's the quick thing is like we would fall in love with it. It's with actors. And also it's not easy. I mean people think like, oh, it's so easy to find a million great child stars.
It's not.
There's a lot of optioning to it. There's a lot of creativity put into it.
And you guys have to suffered through a lot of bad auditions before time, like the Gems. I'm sure there's just I mean, but at the same time, your guys' record of finding those incredible child actors is just unreal.
And we when we did got to Kick it Up.
I mean, there's America Ferrera and we did it right around you know, obviously Barbie's just come out. She's done so much but between then and now, but you know, she wasn't put in a Gotta Kick It Up, you know, just a one off movie. Never nothing happened after it. But she definitely was, you know, put out there and did great.
And a funny personal story to me is the reason I got my job at Disney Channel is my friend Megan was an executive there. She was a creative executive on the animation side, but Disney had a program at that time where executives assistance. They could all come in and like sell pitching an idea for a story. And my friend Megan Teach for America, so she was the one like the story was created from.
It was like her story that she ended up Oh cool for that movie. And even I was like, yeah, everybody, just it's a different It's just so exciting that Disney gave those opportunities there too.
Yes, now absolutely, speaking of opportunities, can you tell us a little bit do you remember a young Sabrina Brian coming in and auditioning.
I wasn't there when girls? Oh no, I know, I know. I wish I was too, but I wasn't there at that time too.
Yeah, And there was a good amount of time between the first and the second one. There was a couple of years before. I mean we filmed into two thousand and two. The movie came out in two thousand and three, and then it wasn't until the following year that we did a Christmas album, which was was it with Hollywood Records?
I think, yeah, Walt Disney Records.
It was Walt Disney Records. I'm pretty sure.
And you know, we went out on tour and it was like it wasn't until after a while that they were even talking about doing a second one, so that at that point somewhere in between, right, you were around by the second one, so it was somewhere in between.
I remember when it was suddenly like we're bringing the cheat because it had been a while too and it made a lot of sense. And I think also the music thing was really starting to connect on air two and everybody thought.
Well, and Raven had off because her show had ended.
She was doing studio like stuff for the Features at Disney Features or the free Form show. So even that there was like this moment of like is it all going to work out with Cheetah Girls? And everybody's like, let's try to make another Cheatah Girls, And suddenly it was like going to Spain.
Yeah, it was so exciting.
And then Kenny and we also got in because Kenny did both of them, right, yeah, two.
And Kenny Kenny only did two the second one. Paul Hohen, who does the the does zombies, did three.
Yeah, he does more than that. He's probably directed like five movies. You should interview.
Pass We definitely again, Paul, for sure.
But I now remember and then it was like, You're going to India, and I just.
Felt like we were going to be going around the world with the Cheetah girls for a while and it was such an exciting time to.
Be complating these big movies.
Suddenly, Yes, I think we talked to you and Gary Marsh at some point and we're like, can we go to Tokyo?
That sounds awesome? Cheetas in Tokyo? Gary, doesn't that sound anything?
Just at that point, we're just trying to figure out where can we film in the world because this is just the best job, and.
Just keep it going. I just want to keep it going.
Feeling what would be the reasons that cheetahn't need to go down to Australia.
Don't know, but let's figure it out. There's got to be a musical vestival.
Not do Cheetahs down under? Come on?
Right?
So, So here's a question that we we loved.
We've only had one or two people from the other side of the channel on, but a question we love to ask is is there a project that you loved that you thought was going to be big and just att never took off.
Well it's and I don't know about Big prom Packed, which came out a year ago, was we loved.
Loved it.
It's so good, so cute between those two is there's so much good casting around all all of them too.
The music.
There's so much fun in that movie.
And I I kept thinking, am I looking at it through my eighties eyes?
Like eyes because I love an eighties movie? Was No, and I watch it. Everybody was like, it's a great movie, and I don't think.
I think because it was Disney plus and everybody's sort of like, where are we watching.
Exactly?
And it was a little bit edgier than the Channel movies that were directly premiering on the channel.
But right away it was.
Just I mean, I thought it was such a well done movie and so many so many It had comedy, it had love, it had everything. So that was a disappointment for sure too. And even the Kim Possible we boot, I mean, it was definitely something fun to work on, and it was exciting like on all sorts of different elements, and the storyline was great, like it really felt like, Okay, this could be a natural transition something that people.
Love as somebody who was on the original Kim Possible.
Well I wasn't.
I didn't know who it was for, right, And that's what that's so interesting that you say that, So you didn't really that her storyline, the storyline.
For her wasn't really like this.
I would think the young teen girls, gymnastic teen girl. I was like, they should be into it. Like that's where I really felt.
Yeah, I more met like the audience, the original Kim Possible audience would want to see the cartoon rebooted, right, and the new audience I don't think connected with the characters.
So I just kind of didn't know who it was supposed to be for.
And that goes back to it's like it's just another movie, you know, like it's a movie with the title that you hope that somebody else.
Was like, it's impossible, I've never heard of it.
Sounds it's a great movie. You just hope, right, just be into it. But yeah, they would just be into it from that way too. And I think doing animation, animation to animated.
To live action, I think is definitely a.
Challenge, Like there absolutely a spond in those projects that may not be able to like really honor the original fan base in the same way.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Okay.
So for the last question we have for you is, and it kind of goes along with what we've we've been talking about a little bit, which is with the proliferation of streaming with Disney Plus and Hulu and everything growing the way it is, with kids just being different and the way they're watching everything being different, the entire industry being different, what do you think the future of dcoms is?
And do you think the dcom is here to stay?
I mean, one would hope the dcom is here to say, because there's always going to be kids who need kids content, and as we all know, social media like places are moving it up to sixteen too. We know that that is not you know, it's not always the healthiest place to be too. But I just think really the distribution method is that's where wrap how or how is this getting distributed to to kids and families overall. But yeah, I think there's always going to be times and I mean I didn't have d coms when I was growing up, but even just all these corny family movies that hold in my heart this place, like there was one called Savenger Hunt I'm sure nobody's ever heard of it.
Scavenger Hut's a great movie.
Was it on Disney No, But they.
Just loved it. I mean it was something I loved.
It was like Explorers for me. Yeah.
Yeah, And it's like you just hope that there is a space.
It's like, but how are we getting this to the audience is the biggest challenge right now too.
And I think this streamer, I think you also don't have the same.
Disney Plus had so much going for it from nat Gio content, you know, all the Marvel content, and it's like they don't even have We had such a beautiful promotional window on the channel because the channel didn't have commercials, so there were so many promos and and promos that like they were just commercials that were very personal to the audience where you got to know the actor and you got to hear about the actor personally or like maybe go back to their home town and talk to them. And like, you just don't have that same opportunity to promote to people. It's just like you hope they find it on a tile.
Yeah, but I do.
I do feel that Disney Plus has, at least for the next generation that might you know back when I when The Cheetah Girls came out, and when I was auditioning a lot, there was a d com every month it came out, and you knew whatever day it was that they would premiere, like that's what you did, you got home after school, that movie's coming out and then it replayed a bunch. So now they don't have that as much. But on Disney Plus, it's actually you can at least find them and once you and Will and I both know this because that's how we rewatch them. Once you look for one of these d coms, they all start popping up on the suggestion box. And now now they're there, which is great that I feel like they'll watch a movie like Descendants, right or Zombies and then now then they'll get a high school musical one, or they'll get a Cheetah Girls, or they'll.
Get the thirteenth Year will pop up on nowhere something.
And random ones.
They'll get these these ones that are older and it's like a new generation. I know we've talked to We got a chance to talk to Brandon Baker from Johnny Tsunami and you know, he he's felt it and he's been out of the business for a while and he's like, oh, but I definitely feel it from the fans. The new generation is somehow finding it on Disney Plus, which is awesome. You know, those are such great, awesome classic ones for people to be able to see.
Yeah, I'm glad to hear that it is that algorithm is working to the benefit, because you would hate to be like my show starts with the letter like S and I'm like, you know, it's like and you're like, nobody's gonna see like they're gonna go to all other ones first.
Yeah, totally.
It's good to hear.
I have to ask you, what's been your favorite franchise or movie or show. What's the one that you just feel like that's your heart right there.
I mean, like for Hannah.
Montana, I had such a soft stop because it was just day one and we heard and we're traveling all.
Over the place.
She was young, she was she was fun, I mean, and Disney Channel games even from seeing her like performed down in Orlando early on, so there was like, for me, a lot of connection for that and she would just be like can you believe, like like amazed at like other pop stars, like she really had no idea that she might get in that same level, Like, I mean there and there was such a pure innocence to it and like a fun Like, God, wouldn't that be fun if I was as famous as Britney Spears. But that's never gonna happen, Like she just didn't really even think it too, and so like I had a lot of connection with her. Watching High School Musical Reboot is amazing too. I mean there's so many and Lemonade Mouth, which we didn't talk about. I like wish we did a sequel.
I mean there were so many nuggets, which is what we just watched it, and I said, I personally believed because I am not a fan of musicals.
I'm famously not a fan of musicals.
I personally believe it was the best music, right of any of the movies that I saw.
That music was so amazing, Cornelia. I was like, who are producers working on this? This is like incredible, Oh my gosh, so good.
I read it.
I met a person who was on an NBC comedy and he's like, we play this on Breakthrough.
It's got your breakthrough.
He's like, when we would have it, they would like play this music from it to like get going and everything.
I was like, yeah, I believe it.
It was great.
It really was so good.
And there was talks right because we did talk about this in our review. There was talks about possibly doing a sequel and then it ended up not going through that. Yeah. Crazy, great cast too.
Yeah, yeah, everybody was awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us. I have to tell you I have three more pages of questions for you. So is there any chance you can come back and join us again to give us some more background stuff.
And I might be able to make my schedule available.
Yeah.
Good, because this has been so cool.
Thank you so much for joining us and again pulling the curtain back just a little bit on on getting the deco. I'm done and finding this incredible talent. And I mean you look at Hollywood nowadays and it's littered with Disney kids. I mean it really is. They're taking over the world. And it's because when you're talented, you're talented. But somebody's got to find that talent. And so we're so glad that you were there.
Also supported you were always somebody who was an advocate for us, and I just want to take the second to thank you because there's times where I know we were trying to edge it up a little bit and standards and practices were like that skirt, edge it up, but it has to be at your ankle, you know, and we.
Would be like, Cornelia, help us.
And you always were such an amazing advocate for us as actors, and like realizing that everyone was going for the same goal, we wanted the best of the best, you know, So thank you so much. There was so many times I know you were sticking up for us and being our mouth for you know, our ideas and hopes and stuff. So thank you so much for all your hard work because I know you do it for so many of the kids on the channel as well.
Thank you.
That means so much, it really really does, because that was the best and you know the part of the job being there and being able to understand what you were going through.
So yeah, thank you. It was so good to see you.
Thank you very much. And we're calling you again because we didn't even get to some of the bigger one.
I know we need to get the half of them.
I've got so much more to ask.
Great great to see you both you too, Thank.
You, Elia, Thank you.
I'm not joking.
I have three more pages of I know, we didn't talk about cow Bells, we didn't talk about teen Beach Movie.
We didn't There's so much left that I want to talk about.
She was a part of so many of them, so many and really everyone knew Cornelia everyone day.
But that's the thing is you talk about.
This is where I think Disney Channel does not get its due, is because you talk about some of the best casting directors in the history of Hollywood, literally in the history of Hollywood. And I bet you nobody is going to put the Disney Channel casting directors on that list. And when you list the people like the like Austin Butler, end Zin Day, one after another, they were found by the Disney Channel. They were found by these casting directors who have I mean, you look at Hollywood nowadays. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood started on the Disney Channel because of these casting directors.
And they never get their due, they really don't.
And I think too, what's also important is you know she, like she said with Austin, he came in auditioned and it was the job of being smart about what is the perfect role for them, Yeah, to take off. Yeah, not just throwing them some random role like she said with Hannah Montana, we just want to give her some young girl character.
It needed to make sense. It needed to be.
Something that was gonna either push her or help build that. They cared about building the platform for their artists, their actors that were on their channel.
That was a huge part for them.
It wasn't just oh, she's adorable and she's cute, so just you know, yea fabering this movie.
It wasn't like that in that or whatever. No, it so so strategic.
It was, but it was also I love what she said, and you saw it time and time again on the channel where its oh no, I know that person isn't right for this part, but they're gonna be at the top of the list and we're gonna find something for them. Like just what you were saying where it was like there's so many casting directors in Hollywood where you go in, you read, you never know, even if you're good, you never see them again, and then you book something and you get big and then they come back to you like oh I.
Remember, blah blah blah.
But Disney Channel it was no, we're gonna try in this now you're not right for this one. We're gonna try in this. Now you're not right for this one. We're gonna try in this totally.
Then they find the people.
I mean again, we went through these lists of Miley Cyrus, Demi Levado, Zach Effron, Austin Butler, Jenna Ortega, the Jonas Brothers, Sabena Carpenter.
It is one banger after another wild and that the list I just read runs Hollywood. Essentially, these are fall Disney Channel kids.
So absolutely, she is just a font of knowledge and I cannot wait to have her back.
It's totally cool.
Well, thank you all so much for joining us on this awesomely eye opening episode of Magical. Rewind our park Opper episode and join us next time, because I think the movie that we're watching is Camp Rock, Camp Rock. Let's I think about camp and I guess there's gonna be some rock and I'm very excited.
Lots of hair we're going to be We've got lots of hair going again.
Dude, I'm in. I'm in all the way swing swing hairs happening. I love that.
So thank you everybody for joining us, and please join us next time.
Bye everybody, Bye,
