Aaron filming "Pop Star"
July 28, 2004
Written by me and Debi, mostly on our drive home from LA
If no other story has convinced you of our insanity, this one will.  But this should also convince you that our insane adventures can be rewarding and justified.  As Oprah said on Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, �There is no such thing as luck; it�s preparation meeting moments of opportunity.�  We couldn�t agree more!

On Sunday we found out that Aaron was supposed to film a concert scene for his upcoming movie Pop Star in Los Angeles on Wednesday.  Allegedly Nick was supposed to have a cameo in the scene also. 
Even though we tried to talk ourselves out of it, by Monday night we were on the call list to be extras in the film and made plans for our last minute trip to LA.  The one problem was that we had tickets to a concert
for Tuesday evening.  This meant we would have to drive 5+ hours to L.A. in the middle of the night to
get there by Wednesday morning.  Crazy?  Yes.  Impossible?  No.

Luckily the concert got out early, so we were on the highway headed south by 10:30 pm. 
After a long, boring drive we made it to our hotel around 4:30 am and immediately went to sleep so we could get some rest before our 10:30 am call time.  We were staying less than a mile from the movie location,
the Madrid Theatre, so we didn�t have very far to go.













When we arrived at the theatre (half an hour early), we were herded into the dance studio next door to sign release forms and wait with the paid extras and the other Aaron fans.  As soon as we got inside, we spotted Aaron�s dancers Amanda, Chris, and Nick.  BTW, Nick is HOT, although he has dyed his hair a sort of reddish color which isn�t quite as flattering as his natural brown.  Natasha wasn�t there, and later we found out that another girl was filling in for her.  We thought about chatting with the dancers, but Amanda was constantly on the phone and we didn�t want to intrude.
 
By 11 am we were called into the theatre to take our places in the audience for the concert scene. 
The PA (production assistant) moved all of the little kids to the front, and we managed to seat ourselves in the seventh row just left of center.  For the next hour we watched them build the set and raise the lights. 
We also learned that the director, Richard, is not a fan of Aaron�s music. lol  He didn�t even recognize
One Better when it was played over the sound system!  It wasn�t until he asked for a second playback
and listened long enough to hear the lyrics that he finally realized it was the song he was looking for. 
You�d think that if he�s using it in the movie, he�d know what it sounds like!

We got our first glimpse of Aaron around noon when he casually strolled onto the stage wearing a green oversized t-shirt with the number �9� on the front and baggy black pants with a skull on the back pocket.  The first thing they filmed was JD (Aaron�s character) making a speech on stage to his loved ones in the audience.  Though he only had a few lines to remember, he couldn�t get passed the first sentence without messing up. lol  We don�t want to give away too much about the movie, but we will say the lamest line
of the day was, �I�m kicking off my summer tour right here in my hometown, but if it wasn�t for a few special people, the only thing I�d be kicking off this summer is my shoes.� *groan*
Yes, it even sounds dumb coming out of Aaron�s mouth.

Next they filmed JD performing.  The first song was One Better, which they ran through twice with Aaron lip synching and the dancers sitting behind him.  We were given directions to clap, sway, and cheer at certain moments.  The second song was Saturday Night, where we finally heard the cd version.  It took us a while before we realized, �Hey, we�ve never heard this before!� lol  The dancers joined him in the SN dance routine from Aaron�s actual concerts.  They ran through that song at least three times with slightly different choreography, and by the third time Aaron was doing body rolls to get a reaction from the crowd. *thud* 
It�s a good thing Aaron can dance because it distracted everyone from his BAD lip synching! lol  At the end of SN they filmed him jumping off the stage and running in front of the crowd.  In between takes Aaron was his usual cute self, making funny faces and disrupting the production.  At one point he had his back to us talking to the director and he was scratching his ass. lmao  Oh the things he does when he forgets people are watching!  And surprisingly we were allowed to take pictures as long as they weren�t filming. :D
  
Shortly before 2 pm we broke for lunch, the regular cast getting first dibs, then the paid extras, and finally us peon Aaron fans.  Spending the day watching Aaron AND free pizza, not too shabby.  During the lunch break I stopped hot dancer Nick and talked about the next few concert dates.  He said they have four left, but he didn�t know where they were.  Debi told him that he�d be in Cleveland on Friday, and he laughed and said, �Thanks!�  We spent most of our lunch break wandering in places we probably shouldn�t have been, like the catering and make up area.  In addition to Aaron�s dancers we also saw Erin from No Secrets, who has a small role in the film, and Natalia Livingston, who plays a supporting character in Pop Star as well as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital.  Being HUGE GH fans, we wanted to talk with Natalia.  She was incredibly sweet and friendly and polite, and we were able to take pictures with her.  We chatted about how she got a part in the film, and she told us that the movie would be coming out in December or January.  She also commented about how Aaron was doing a good job, which of course was nice to hear.

















Around 3 pm our lunch break ended and we went back into the theatre for more filming.  The next hour or two was extremely boring because they were taking shots of the other actors and Aaron was nowhere to be seen.  FINALLY he resurfaced on stage and was soon joined by *shock* Leif Garrett and David Cassidy, who also have roles in the film.  Talk about a blast from the past!  They re-shot JD�s speech with cameras behind Aaron looking out at the crowd.  Aaron got us in trouble by making us laugh at his silly facial expressions when we were supposed to be quiet. lol   

During a break in filming, Aaron jumped off the stage to talk with the assistant director, who happened to be standing at the end of our row.  When Aaron was done talking to the AD, we tried to get his attention by calling his name.  He turned around, immediately recognized us, and shouted �HEY!� with a huge smile on his face.  Then he proceeded to literally climb over four teenagers to get to our seats. lol  He paid no attention to them other than to say �Excuse me� to get to us.  Debi and I stood up as Aaron approached us, and it seemed like the whole theatre got quite and turned to watch.  It totally felt like we were under a spotlight!

He greeted us with a huge hug, grabbing one of us in each arm and saying, �How ya doing?!�  He asked us what we thought of the film and of course we told him it was great.  I said that we had heard it was coming out in either December or January, and Aaron answered, �Really?� like he didn�t know. lol  He told us this was his last day on the set and that he had been filming for three weeks.  That�s FAST for making a movie!  While he was on stage earlier, Aaron had been complaining that his microphone headset was hurting his ears, so Debi asked him, �How�s your ear? Did you hurt yourself?�  He turned around and showed us the back
of his ear saying he had a bruise.  I asked him if it was from the headset and he explained the details in true Aaron fashion � exaggerating and making everything sound dramatic but funny at the same time.  He even grabbed my hand and pushed my fingers into his scalp so I could feel the �nubs� on his head � apparently �nub� is the Carterese for bump. lol  �You feel that?!  I got nubs!� LMAO  Just the way he was saying it
was sooooooo funny, and he was laughing along with us.  I still crack up just thinking about it! 
I need to find a way to work the word �nub� into my daily vocabulary. lol  His hair was really disgusting with tons of greasy product and it was kind of matted down, but it was my first Carter hair touching experience
so I was pretty much thrilled regardless.

Aaron quickly changed the subject by randomly saying, �I�m going to be Robin in the new Batman movie.� 
I asked him if it was for sure, and he said, �Yeah, but I don�t know if I�m going to do it.�  DUH Aaron, then it�s not a done deal. lol  He explained that he had to make a choice between doing the movie or going on tour, and he said that he would rather go on tour to see his fans.  I told him that his fans wanted to see him too. :)  Then Aaron was supposed to get back to work, but before he left us he hugged both of us again and said
with a huge smile, �I love you guys!�  The tone is his voice is difficult to describe, but it was like he was genuinely excited and happy we were there, like we had done him a huge favor, so childlike, yet sincere and really special.  It�s not something we�ll soon forget, definitely a great moment.  As Aaron headed back to the stage, some of his younger fans stopped him for autographs.  He signed for a minute or two, and when a girl handed him her shoe to autograph, he signed his name and the word �stinky� on it. lol
















Aaron eventually vanished again and we spent the next two hours watching them film the same scene over and over and over with the other actors.  Lots more of Natalia, David, and Leif, plus Tracy Scoggins,
Stella Stevens, and Tom Bosley (Mr. Cunningham from Happy Days), who also have supporting rolls in the movie.  Erin from No Secrets filmed a brief scene � I�m not sure if it was a cameo or if she has a larger part.
Nick Carter never showed up, but there WAS a surprise cameo that was definitely not as enjoyable:
Lou Pearlman! *gag* I still can�t believe Aaron is back with Transcon after all of the lawsuits, but there was Lou filming a few lines in one of our crowd scenes.  If I�m in the same shot with him in the final cut, I think I�ll throw up right there in the movie theatre.  We later overheard Lou on his phone saying that he was called to make the cameo, not that he volunteered for it.  Whatever, it was still kind of disgusting to see him there.

Finally Aaron reemerged again around 8:30 pm to do one more backstage scene with David Cassidy. 
We couldn�t really see what was going on because, well, it was filmed backstage. lol  But Aaron and the 4 dancers were all included, and they were wearing the opening outfits from Aaron�s show � the guys in the yellow t-shirts and Aaron wearing the green jacket over his yellow shirt.  They filmed this scene 2 or 3 times, and then Aaron came out on stage to do one last shot by himself.  They didn�t need the crowd but we hung around anyway.  There were only about 20 people left at that point, mostly kids with a few parents,
and we all just stood around to watch Aaron.

While setting up for the shot, Aaron�s cell phone rang, but he handed it over to his make-up lady to answer because he was busy.  She talked to whoever was on the other end for a few seconds and then handed the phone back to Aaron.  Surprisingly he proceeded to have a pretty public conversation about something that, IMO, should have been done in private.  It had nothing to do with Nick or anyone else we know,
but Aaron was discussing personal situations and was even swearing, which isn�t a good idea in front of so many young fans.  If I was in his position, I would be much more cautious about what I said to/around whom, but from what I�ve seen and heard, this is a problem for the entire Carter family. 
None of them are as guarded as I think they should be, but I digress�




























When the lighting and cameras were ready to roll for the last shot, the fans were asked to move to the back
of the theatre so we couldn�t be seen.  Being the rule breaker Debi is, we stopped in the aisle around the tenth row while everyone else went to the back.  The camera was set up on the stage behind Aaron to film him looking out into the dark theatre.  The stage was filled with smoke (took a while to get it *just* right lol) and Aaron was supposed to jump into the smoke, pose, and then bow like he had just finished singing.  It was pretty funny because they had him do it over and over again at least 10 times.  Debi and I were sitting by ourselves off to the right side (Aaron�s left), and in one of the takes instead of just bowing, he waved at us!  So if that particular shot makes it in the movie, Aaron is waving at US!!! lol  How could would that be?!

When Aaron was FINALLY done shooting around 9:30 pm, he jumped down into the �crowd�
(still only about 20 people) to sign a few autographs.  At first we didn�t leave the seats we were in but then decided we needed to if we wanted to try to get pictures with him.  He was talking about being in a hurry and said he had to catch a flight in 40 minutes, so we knew our window of time was VERY small.  Debi and I both pulled out our pictures we had taken with him in Reno in June to get them signed; Debi actually made it to Aaron and had hers signed, but he never got to me.  Oh well, not like I don�t already have his autograph.  It�s so funny, we�ve met him like 7 or 8 times and we STILL go for autographs. lol  I guess we just get caught up in the moment. *shrug*  Aaron saw that I was trying to take pictures of him, and he stopped signing and did a sexy pose for me. lol  Goofball!  All of a sudden he jumped back up on stage to leave,
but Debi called out to him.  He turned around and asked, �Who called my name?� and Debi said it was her.  Aaron smiled, jumped off the stage, and walked over to us.  Debi said, �We wanted a picture with you before you left,� and Aaron responded, �Of course!�  He loves us, remember? :)  I said something about doing a picture with the two of us (meaning me and Debi together with Aaron), and then I clarified and said the three of us.  The only thought in my head was �threesome� but thank god I didn�t say it! lol  We had one of the film crew members take our picture, but it didn�t turn out very well.  It developed really weird,
and Debi and I both think we look like crap.  But of course Aaron�s adorable, as usual.



















Right after taking the picture with us, Aaron left out the back of the stage and we headed outside through the front entrance.  Debi and I had taken a shuttle over to the theatre and needed to be driven back to my car,
so we went behind the theatre to find the van.  Lo and behold Aaron was hanging out there! (some hurry he was in huh?)  We were about 20 feet away from him and didn�t want to interrupt his conversation, so we just called out, �Bye Aaron!� as we were walking away.  He looked over to us, got a huge smile on his face,
and blew us a kiss. *swoon*  As we continued to the van we again ran into dancer Nick.  Have we mentioned that he�s HOT? lol  He said it was nice seeing us again and we wished him good luck on the rest of the shows.  Then we got in the shuttle and were taken back to my car.  We drove around the theatre a few times just to see if there was anything else going on, but everything was shutting down so we and headed back to the hotel to have pleasant dreams of our day on the set with Aaron.

It�s kind of surreal to think that WE could be in AARON�S movie � strange!  It was definitely an interesting day being on the set and getting to chat with Aaron again.  He always makes us feel so special. 
We love you too Aaron!
Click here for more of my pictures from the set of Pop Star

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