JUSTIN & YTV HITLIST'S EXAN; YTV, Toronto
Exan: Kicking things off this week, I caught up with busy 'N Sync superstar,
Justin Timberlake, on the set of his TV movie "Cover Girls."
Exan: Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync
Justin: How's it going?
Exan: Welcome back to the Hitlist.
Justin: Thank you, thank you.
Exan: Now, you're going to tell us about this movie, "Cover Girls"; does that mean you get to do a lot of posing?
Justin: Well... I'm not really a girl... so... (laughter)
Exan: Really?
Justin: No, I'm kidding. Um, you know what's funny? I play a supermodel... and, uh... (silence) I just think that's funny, don't you think that's funny?
Exan: Do you really play a supermodel?
Justin: I really play a supermodel!
Exan: Well, the thing is, from being in 'N Sync, you must have learned how to pout just perfect for this part, right?
Justin: Pout?
Exan: See, that was just like an 'N Sync video right here on the spot.
Justin: Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Gimme a little background music.
("Music of My Heart" plays)
Justin: The story is about two girls, um, of two totally different upbringings... who look exactly the same. One of them is a supermodel... um, and the other one is just a regular high school girl. And they meet up with each other and they switch places... uh, thinking they both wanna live in each other's shoes for, you know, a week or two. And total chaos starts to happen. And um--
Exan: Now, your character--
Justin: Yeah.
Exan: Jason--
Justin: Right.
Exan: Does not know that there's two different girls.
Justin: Well, see, yeah, exactly. I'm, I'm, my character's interested in the supermodel, but by the time I actually go on a date with her, the, um, they've switched places, so I'm actually going out with the high school girl thinking that she's the supermodel.
Exan: 'Cause meanwhile I was thinking you get to smooch two different girls.
Justin: W-well... yeah... there is a kissing scene... but... there's, you know what's funny? The, there's one girl playing both parts. So...
Exan: Ooohhhh...
Justin: Yeah, she's getting all the kissing action.
Exan: The secrets of television.
Justin: She gets to kiss two guys, and all that.
Justin: There was two kissing scenes, one that was - a moment - where we kiss, and we haven't done that yet. But, um--I'm definitely excited about it. Um...
Exan: How are you gonna prepare yourself for that, that emotional kissy-kissy scene?
Justin: (smiles) I'm gonna eat garlic. (head bob, head bob) Lots of garlic.
Justin: I'm kinda nervous about the kissing scene. I don't wanna be like... you know, you kinda pull away from the kiss and have a spit string like...
Exan: Well, considering you probably don't have a lot of experience in that area...
Justin: (sarcastically) Right.
Exan: ... I'd be nervous, too.
Justin: (rolling eyes) Sure. Right.
Exan: How did you land this role?
Justin: Um... well... it was really a coincidence, but we took a little time off... um... us five guys, we were just like--just got off a 7-month tour; we were, like, really tired. We ended the tour here in Toronto.
Justin: I don't remember specifically who contacted me, but... um... I guess the production company, you know, got in touch with "my people", you know, then they asked me about it and I was like, you know, and it was, it's just a coincidence the way everything has, has happened, because this summer is when I just started saying, you know, "I wanna get into some acting, wanna do some extra stuff on the side." You know, because we've all kind of ventured off into our own... uh, things. Chris has a clothing line, that he's gonna bring out, called, uh, FuManSkeeto.... Um... Lance is a manager, he just signed one of his artists to Mercury Records, uh, with a country deal, in Nashville... I'm, uh, JC's working with other artists, producing and writing for them, it's just.... We've all kind of started becoming our own, uh, entrepreneurs, so to speak. Um... and this was just something that I wanted to get into as an extra, you know, part of my career, and um, it's just great how everything worked out.
Exan: Part 2 of my interview with Justin Timberlake, where I ask him about being a former Mouseketeer!
Exan: The Mickey Mouse Club... do you remember the first day you auditioned for that show? Were you nervous?
Justin: Yeah. You know, how I landed that role was a total coincidence, too. Um, I just lost on, uh, Star Search, and I was driving back home and there was an open call, uh, right outside of, um, Nashville, which is about four hours away from my hometown, Memphis. And um, we stopped in town -- I was like, "Mom!" I was like, "this is that show that all those kids are on! It seems like so much fun, why don't you let me audition for it?" And she was like, "sure," you know, "if that's what you want to do," and... did it and they called me back. Um, we went to Orlando for a three-day casting camp, um... that's where I met Britney and Christina, and um, shortly after that we were all picked, uh, in a group of people, and that's when I met Keri from Felicity, and JC, who's now in the group with me. So, um, I've made so many good friends from that experience, and I, I think it's really been one of the best things that's ever happened to me.
Exan: But acting's nothing new for you, right? I mean...
Justin: Yeah...
Exan: Did you do any TV shows, or any sort of, like, commercials, before Mickey Mouse Club?
Justin: That--no, that's really all I did. But I got a lot of improvisational training on that. We did a lot of sketch comedy. So it was a lot of, you know, just kinda go with whatever... goes, um... kinda like those sitcoms you see where funny things start to happen that are totally not in the script; they're just... things that the actors thought up and they just do it on the spur of the moment. We did a lot of that.
Exan: And Christina, when she was on our show, she told us that her little-- her nickname was "Little Diva" on Mickey Mouse Club--
Justin: (nodding) That was her nickname.
Exan: And Britney was "Brit Brit", so did you have one?
Justin: K-- um... no, what... Keri always called me her, her um, "curly-headed stepbrother", 'cause we had, like, we had like the ringlets, you know, Keri and I. She just chopped her hair off and I think she looks so cute. But, um, yeah, um... I... I sometimes got called "J", just 'cause it was short for Justin, but um, I don't think I really had any nicknames, besides... "Brat".
Exan: ...Ahhh...
Justin: No! (laughing)
Exan: So you were the clown of the show, weren't you? I--
Justin: NOOOOOO! No... you know, who really was, um, my sidekick, and who, um, like my partner in crime -- I won't say my sidekick, 'cause we were like... we were like Matt and Ben -- was, uh, Ryan Gosling, who was from Ontario. His hometown is Cornwall. He is the Young Hercules. Um, but yeah, he was really my, my partner in crime. And we had a lot of fun--we caused a lot of trouble for people. We were--we were young and... adventurous.
Exan: Kinda like Beavis and Butthead?
Justin: You could call it that. I preferred the hunky Matt Damon/Ben Affleck, but you know, if you wanna go there with it, I guess I'll be Butthead and he can be Beavis.
'N Sync's Justin To Team With Mo Vaughn To Fight Racism
'N Sync's Justin Timberlake meets up with Boston Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn, gymnast Dominique Dawes, former skinhead TJ Leyden, and some 10,000 high school students in Boston on Tuesday to teach diversity, tolerance, and acceptance.
Timberlake and the others will join Boston Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn and the group No Authority at Team Harmony VI, an event billed as an "interactive rally against racism, hatred and discrimination of all kinds."
The event will bring together students from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and New York at Boston's FleetCenter for a day of education and discussion about combating racism.
Team Harmony is now in its sixth year and is staged by the Team Harmony Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League of New England, FleetBoston Financial, Boston radio's JAM'N 94.5, and Boston's various professional sports teams.
-- Robert Mancini
NSync's Justin Timberlake Joins Giving Back Fund to Start Charitable Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Justin Timberlake, the 18-year-old member of the pop culture phenomenon 'NSync, announced today that he will partner with The Giving Back Fund to create a charitable foundation that will improve the state of music education in America's public schools.
Timberlake's success in the music industry, combined with a personal dedication to philanthropic giving, has led the talented young performer to put his good intentions into action and form The Justin Timberlake Foundation. His love for music and his recognition of the lack of funding available for quality music programming in many public schools fuel his desire to give back to his fans, their schools and their communities in this truly worthwhile way.
"I know from my own experience that music gives kids a way to channel their energy and emotions into something positive," Timberlake said at a Washington, D.C. elementary school where he made the announcement. He is in Washington to attend a conference on philanthropy hosted by Mrs. Clinton.
"It's so important for kids to have the chance to find what they're good at in school, and feel like they're a part of the system, and music is something that can make that happen in a creative and exciting way."
"We're very excited to be working with Justin," said Marc Pollick, founder and president of The Giving Back Fund. "He is truly a pioneer in philanthropy. By expressing such heartfelt dedication to this very worthy cause at his young age, Justin, through his foundation, is going to make a real difference in the quality of music education available to America's youth."
Timberlake -- named one of Teen People Magazine's 21 Hottest Stars Under Age 21 -- will work with The Giving Back Fund to gather a team of experts in the field of music education that will help identify the best way the foundation can contribute to the cause. In the near future, he also plans to provide further details about how his fans can get involved with this effort.
Teen singing sensation Britney Spears is also expected to launch a charitable foundation this year.
The Giving Back Fund is a national non-profit organization that helps professional athletes, entertainers and others establish and maintain charitable foundations for philanthropic giving. The scope of services offered by The Giving Back Fund and its partners includes strategic/legal consultation, financial/day-to-day planning, grant making, public relations, administrative support, Web site development/management and special event coordination. The
Giving Back Fund manages charitable foundations for several high-profile and socially conscious celebrities including Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, who started the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
CONTACT:
Giving Back Fund
Asheley Galloway, 202/530-4688 or 202/251-1339
Musician, mogul join Clinton in philanthropic push
By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pop star Justin Timberlake and high-tech mogul Steve Case joined President Clinton at the White House on Friday try to launch a new era of American philanthropy from Internet millionaires and ordinary citizens.
Along with his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton, the president hosted a ``White House Conference on Philanthropy'' to try to spur Americans enjoying the current economic boom to give more money to the less fortunate.
``You feel better about the good fortune you have ... if you spend at least a little of it giving something to someone else,'' Clinton told the CEO's, venture capitalists and community activists gathered in the White House East Room.
``What we want to do is to start the new millennium poised to do more and to do it better,'' he added.
According to the White House, Americans last year gave an estimated $174.5 billion in philanthropic donations. The sum amounts to roughly 2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, a proportion that the president said he would like to nudge up.
The Clintons used the conference to spotlight individuals as well as companies that are giving money and trying to make it easier for others to do so.
``I got to be honest. This isn't your normal pop group's demographic,'' joked Timberlake, an 18-year old singer with 'N Sync, as he described a foundation that he set up two weeks ago to promote music programs in schools.
Steve Case, the billionaire chief executive of Internet service provider America Online Inc, described the www.helping.org Web site that his firm's foundation has launched to put potential donors in touch with 620,000 charities.
``It doesn't stimulate that desire -- that has to happen in your family or your church or through a spotlight in the culture on the importance of giving back,'' Case said. ``But it does make the process for giving back a lot easier.''
Clinton, who clearly had an eye on getting the generation of newly-minted millionaires in the high-tech industry to give more to charity, joking recounted a chat with a twenty-something millionaire on Thursday night.
The man, whom he did not identify, suggested creating a foundation to gather founders stock -- shares typically acquired at low prices by the founders or early investors in start-up companies -- and using any gains for philanthropy.
``We don't have to depend on the Rockefellers and the Mellons and the Carnegies or even the Paul Newmans,'' Clinton said with a laugh, referring to three great American family fortunes. ``We can go get founders stock.''
N Sync Set For "Millennium Live;" Justin Inks TV-Movie Deal
The in-demand young men of 'N Sync had fans pouring into the streets of Times Square on Wednesday afternoon during an appearance on MTV's "Total Request Live," and they're now preparing to put a few more notches in their on-screen belts.
The boy band will ringing in the year 2000 along with Sting, Santana, Phil Collins, and Maxi Priest for the television special "Millennium Live... Humanity's Broadcast" airing over the course of 24 hours on New Year's Eve.
New age icons Jean Michel Jarre and Mike "Tubular Bells" Oldfield are also lined up for the day-long show, which will be carried on the PAX network starting at 6 a.m. (ET) on December 31.
There's also an 'N Sync solo TV gig in the works, as the group's Justin Timberlake has been handed a feature role in the TV-movie "Cover Girls" alongside Maggie Lawson ("Party Of Five") and none other than Kathie Lee Gifford (whose son Cody will be making a cameo appearance in the show, of course).
In a girl-skewed take on "The Prince And The Pauper," "Cover Girls" tells the tale of teen supermodel Janine (Lawson), who trades places with a regular-girl lookalike named Alex (also Lawson) so that she can get a taste of real life. Justin plays Jason, Janine's model boyfriend.
Production on the project has just gotten underway in Toronto, and the movie is set to air during the upcoming season of ABC's "The Wonderful World Of Disney."
In other 'N Sync TV news, the fivesome recently filmed a cameo for an episode of the CBS series "Touched By An Angel" in Salt Lake City. According to the "Associated Press," the shoot was meant to be a secret until local disc jockeys leaked the set location on the air, resulting in some 200 fans mobbing the scene. Good-natured as ever, the guys did manage to sign some autographs before departing.
The 'N Sync-enhanced episode of "Angel" is scheduled to air next month.
*N SYNC's Justin Timberlake makes his acting debut
'NSYNC singing sensation Justin Timberlake has signed to star with Kathie Lee Gifford ("Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee"), Maggie Lawson ("Pleasantville," "Party of Five") and Ms. Gifford's real-life son, Cody, in the two-hour made-for-television movie,"Cover Girls," which will air during the 1999-2000 season as a presentation of "The Wonderful World of Disney" on the ABC Television Network.
In "Cover Girls," Mr. Timberlake will portray Jason Sharp, a teenage supermodel who gets caught in the middle when his supermodel girlfriend, Janine (Ms. Lawson), trades places with a plain-Jane lookalike named Alex (also played by Ms. Lawson). Janine and Alex switch places when Janine wants to see what she has been missing as a normal teenager since she has been modeling all the time. On the other hand, Alex, who wants to have a taste of Janine's glamorous lifestyle, is only too willing to go along with the switch, especially after she meets Jason and sparks begin to fly. Confusion ensues as the two girls try to keep their secret from their families and friends, including Janine's overbearing stage mother, Diedre (Ms. Gifford), and her younger brother, Max (Cody Gifford in a cameo appearance).
A native of Orlando, Florida, Mr. Timberlake is already an international superstar at the age of 18. After making their debut in Germany in 1997, he and fellow 'NSYNC members JC, Joey, Lance and Chris, returned home to the U.S. and released their self-titled album, which earned platinum status and entered the Top Five on
Billboard's charts. The band's hits include "I Want You Back," "Tearin' Up My Heart," the ballad, "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You," and the recent release, "Drive Myself Crazy."
"Cover Girls" is being directed by Mark Rosman ("Life-Size")from a screenplay by David Kukoff and Matt Roshkow ("Switching Goals," "H-E Double Hockey Sticks," "Mr. Headmistress")adapted from the novel, "Janine and Alex, Alex and Janine," by
Michael Levin. Mike Karz ("Geppetto") is the executive producer. The film is a production of Karz Entertainment in association with Walt Disney Television.
from www.seventeen.com
'N Sync to perform with Gloria Estefan
(Launch) - 'N Sync will duet with Gloria Estefan at the 1999 Fox Teen Choice Awards at 8 p.m. on Aug. 12. The award special celebrates the hottest teen icons in film, television, music, sports and fashion as chosen by teen-agers around the U.S. 'N Sync and Estefan will perform "Music of My Heart" from the soundtrack to the new film "Music of the Heart." The track is written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. The single and soundtrack release dates will be announced soon. The soundtrack album will also feature new music from a mix of major urban and Latin musicians. The film stars two time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett and Estefan in her motion picture debut. The Wes Craven-directed film opens Oct. 15.
Celebrities and musicians scheduled to appear on the Fox Teen Choice Awards include; Brandy, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Lopez, Blink 182, Britney Spears, TLC, Freddie Prinze Jr., Melissa Joan Hart, Ashton Kutcher, Antonio Sabato Jr., Keri Russell, 98 Degrees, Aerosmith, Jordan Knight, Christina Aguilera, Tyrese and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
GLORIA ESTEFAN AND N SYNC RECORD TITLE SONG FOR FILM
Miramax Films is proud to announce that Gloria Estefan and ‘N Sync have recorded the title song for the film The Music of My Heart (formerly known as 50 Violins). The song, which will be on the film’s soundtrack released by Epic Records, is written by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren and produced by GrammyAward-winning producer David Foster. The Music Of My Heart opensnationally on October 15.
The title song for The Music Of My Heart performed by and two-time Grammy-winning, multi-platinum Latin pop artist Gloria Estefan and multi-platinum teen sensation ‘N Sync, is an inspirational ballad with lyrics that capture a range of feelings and emotions. The single will be released on August 1, and the soundtrack to The Music Of My Heart will be released later in the month.
The Music Of My Heart directed by Wes Craven, stars two-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett, Aidan Quinn, Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman, Jane Leeves, Kieran Culkin and Gloria Estefan in her first feature film role. The film is based on the real-life, inspirational story of Roberta Guaspari whose teaching of the violin to children in East Harlem, NY, led to a concert at Carnegie Hall and personal triumph for countless inner city children. The film is written by Pamela Gray and produced by Marianne Maddalena and is based on the Miramax Oscar-nominated documentary Small Wonders
Two-time Grammy winner and six-time Grammy nominee, Latin pop superstar Gloria Estefan recently completed a promotional tour on behalf of her multi-platinum album “gloria.” Her signature songs include “Conga,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Coming Out Of The Dark” and her most recent single “Heaven’s What I Feel.” Estefan has had more than 50 platinum albums worldwide.
‘N Sync, a dance-pop quintet renowned for their a cappella harmonies, has rapidly become the newest young singing sensation. The group’s recent Top 40 hits,
“I Want You Back” and “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” have propelled their self-titled debut album to more than six million in the U.S.
Diane Warren is one of the most award-winning and commercially successful songwriters of the last two decades. Artists as varied as Aerosmith, Faith Hill, Celine Dion, Vanessa Williams, LeAnn Rimes, Elton John, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Roy Orbison have graced the charts with her songs. Her list of hit songs include Aerosmith’s number one hit “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” for the motion picture “Armgeddon,” which earned two Grammy Award nominations; “How Do I Live,” first recorded by Trisha Yearwood for the Disney film “Con Air,” which shot to number one on the country charts, earned a Grammy Award for Yearwood, a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year and Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television and a 1997 Oscar nomination for Warren for Best Original Song, in an extraordinary circumstance LeAnn Rimes also recorded a version of the song, which became a number one hit on the pop charts and the longest running single in billboard history (over 66 weeks); and Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” from the film “Up Close and Personal” for which Warren won a Grammy. Warren has received multiple Grammy, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and her songs have been featured in more than 50 motion pictures. She has been named ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year five times and Billboard’s Songwriter of the Year twice. Her publishing company, Realsongs, was named one of the top five music publishing corporations and is one of the most successful businesses in the music industry.
From the Miramax Website
Jack of All Trades
The Orlando Sentinel
The Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Britney Spears will make cameo appearances in Jack of All Trades. Some footage was shot last week in Central Florida.
First, there was Spice World.
Now, the big screen is beckoning the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Britney Spears and other pop-music stars in the stable of Orlando's Trans Continental Records.
The Orlando teen favorites will sing and play cameo roles in Jack of All Trades, a feature film that marks Trans Continental's first foray into the movie business. The film is being produced by Trans Continental Pictures, anew division of entrepreneur Louis J. Pearlman's Trans Continental Cos.
Film crews finished three days of location shooting in Central Florida last week - at downtown Orlando's N.Y.P.D. restaurant, Windermere country Club and Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park.
Filming will continue in Los Angeles through mid-July, with additional scenes to be shot later this summer in Toronto, said Scott Appel, the film's publicist. The film-makers are meeting with potential distributors and aiming for a theatrical release.
Despite the presence of musical members, Jack of All Trades doesn't revolve around the music business - a la Spice World or the Beatles' long-ago A Hard Day's Night.
Instead, it's the story of twentysomething tennis instructor-gigolo (played by new-comer Tony DeCamillis) who gets embroiled in a scheme involving seduction and insider trading.
The cast includes Paul Sorvino (Bulworth), Hunter Tylo (The Bold & the Beautiful), Antonio Sabato Jr. (The Big Hit), Danielle Fishel (Boy Meets World) and comedian Gilbert Gottfried.
As for how much acting will be done by the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears or 'N Sync, fans will have to wait to see.
"Some of the music groups are performing; others are playing characters," Appel said. "We want to keep people in suspense a little bit."
'N Sync swings de-vine-ly on the new 'Tarzan' soundtrack. Phil Collins tells EW Online about recording with the fab fivesome
by Josh Wolk
Phil Collins recruited 'N Sync to sing on the just-released soundtrack for the upcoming Disney animated adventure ''Tarzan'' (opening June 18), half the pleasure was for the bragging rights it allowed him with his 10-year-old daughter. ''It's her favorite band,'' Collins tells EW Online. ''I had gotten her tickets to one of their concerts before they were (set to sing) on the record. And two weeks later I said, 'Guess who I'M working with.''' Collins teamed with the harmonizing heartthrobs for the soundtrack-only a cappella version of ''Trashin' the Camp.'' ''My daughter came with me to the sessions, and it was like meeting the Beatles,'' laughs Collins, adding in a preteen swoony falsetto, '''Oh, Chris (Kirkpatrick, of 'N Sync)!'''
Having his daughter there wasn't the only thing making Collins, a 30-year veteran of the music business, feel like a father figure. ''I felt a little bit like their dad, to be honest,'' he says. ''I felt a little awkward until Chris said to me, 'You know, this is very strange for me. The first record I bought was ''No Jacket Required,'' and here I am singing with you.' And suddenly I felt... well, I still felt like his dad, but I felt okay.''
'N Sync Expands Horizons With Alabama, Gloria Estefan
Everyone’s favorite teen pop tarts, 'N Sync, are broadening their horizons, recording tracks with country heavyweights Alabama and Latin pop songstress Gloria Estefan.
The boy band has a country radio hit on its hands after teaming up with Alabama. The 18-year veterans of the Nashville scene recorded a version of 'N Sync’s "God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time On You)" with the boys themselves on backing vocals.
"I actually wish we could get a track for it and just do it at our shows because I'm getting bored with doing our version… I'm just kidding," the group's Justin joked with MTV News.
"Actually, one of the guys in our group, Lance, when we first recorded the song, he's a big country fan, he said this song would be great," Chris said.
"Yeah, this song would be a great country song," Justin added. "That's what he said and when we recorded it and the irony of them calling us. It's funny."
The Alabama/'N Sync union can be found on Alabama’s album "20th Century," due out June 15th.
Meanwhile, 'N Sync has also recorded a ballad with Gloria Estefan called "Music Of My Heart" for the soundtrack to the movie "Face The Music." The film, due out this fall, stars Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn and Estefan in her first film role.
MTV recently caught up with Lance while the boys were touring in Idaho. They spoke about what will be in store for *N Sync the next few months. The guys have been working with veteran song-writers David Foster and Diane Warren. Justin and JC will each co-write at least one song for the album, which should be due out in October. The new CD will also include a collabration with Gloria Estefan. As for the movie, Lance desribed it as being along the lines of "Swingers". They will not be portarying themselves, but instead edgier characters which will earn the movie a PG-13 rating at most, but mostly like only a PG rating. The boys have joined up with Tom Hanks (thats probably why they sang "That Thing You Do" at one of their concerts) and his team of writers to ensure a big hit in the theaters
