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Ruby Parker Shooting Star
Rowan Coleman
Table of Contents
SPOTLIGHT on Young British Talent
SPOTLIGHT on Young British Talent
Who can forget the brilliant reality show talent contest Spotlight!: Search for a Star? It had us all glued to our seats, right until the brilliant one-off TV special of Spotlight! The Musical featuring the best of new young British talent.
The bad news is that the musical’s writer – rock legend Mick Caruso – has no plans for another series, telling us at Hiya! Bye-a! it was only ever meant to be a one-off. We wonder if that’s true or if it has something to do with the surprise last-minute withdrawal of his daughter Jade from the line-up, along with teen heart-throb Danny Harvey.
The good news is that the live broadcast was so successful that it’s about to be turned into a blockbuster Hollywood musical! Casting is due to start any minute and rumour has it that the stars of the TV special, including Nydia Assimin, Ruby Parker and newcomer Gabe Martinez, are high on the list of preferred actors to win roles. We’ve also heard that sixteen-year-old international superstar Sean Rivers, who retired recently much to the misery of his global army of fans, might well be up for one of the lead roles in the movie!
Will we see Jade Caruso try out for the lead part of Arial again? It seems unlikely, especially as Mick Caruso told Hiya! Bye-a! that he’s letting Hollywood get on with it while he concentrates on writing material for his new album, due out next year. And we don’t think Hollywood would want to risk big bucks on an unreliable unknown with no track record.
So who will win a part in the biggest teen musical role in Hollywood? Keep your fingers crossed for the Brits and watch this space!
“This is going to be mega,” Nydia said as I watched her jam clothes into her suitcase. It was the night before all of us – me, Nydia, Anne-Marie, Gabe and Sean – were due to fly out to America to do our screen tests for the movie version of Spotlight! Nydia was so excited that she hadn’t stopped talking since I arrived to help her choose what to pack, not even to take a breath. “It’s so exciting, all of us in America, all of us going to Hollywood! We can go and look at the big sign and stroll along the Walk of Fame. I know you’ve been before, but this time it’ll be better because we’ll be with you. It will be so exciting that I almost don’t even feel nervous about the audition!”
“This is more than an audition,” I reminded her as she finally paused for breath. “It’s a screen test. To see if we look right, more than anything, and if we do then they’ll audition us.”
“I know!” Nydia exclaimed, holding up a red and white print sundress for my approval. “It’s going to be the best summer holidays ever!”
I wasn’t feeling quite as excited about going to Hollywood as Nydia, Anne-Marie and the rest were. And I wasn’t the only one. Sean felt just as nervous about it as I did, probably even more so – with very good reason.
As for me – well, my first Hollywood experience had been a disaster. I had got a part in this film called The Lost Treasure of King Arthur. When it came out, it got terrible reviews, mainly about me and how awful I was. I ended up getting fired from my guest role on American TV drama Hollywood High and running away back to London without telling my mum where I was going. And when I got back, I told everyone that I was never acting or auditioning again. I even left the Sylvia Lighthouse Academy for the Performing Arts and started at a normal school instead. But somehow acting seemed to follow me around and before I knew it I was part of the chorus in the TV production of Mick Caruso’s new musical Spotlight! and I had enjoyed it. I realised how much I missed acting, dancing and, since joining the choir at Highgate Comprehensive, even singing! So when we were asked to go and screen-test for the Hollywood film version of the musical, I decided to go. It wasn’t until now, when we were actually about to fly off to America, that I started to feel scared about exactly what that meant. Hollywood hadn’t been kind to me the last time I was there. Why should now be any different?
“I’ve got a feeling we’ll all get a part,” Nydia said, holding up two pairs of sandals and then, after a moment’s thought, throwing them both in her suitcase. “Because they’ve already seen me, Annie and Gabe in the TV special, and they know your work…”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said, grimacing, thinking about all of those hideous reviews.
“Rubbish!” Nydia laughed. “The Lost Treasure of King Arthur might not have been a box-office hit, but it’s been at the top of the DVD charts for months now, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. And if Sean makes a comeback – well, the only thing is if Sean gets the lead, then that means Gabe will get a smaller part, but I don’t think he’d mind that much. He’s