"Fame" interview with actress Naturi Naughton

Disclaimer: “Fame” conducted a phone interview in which high school reporters asked one question to an actor of the movie “Fame.” MC was not able to be present during the phone interview, so the following interview has been provided courtesy of Nahir Wold, the email coordinator. The film is in theatres now.

Interviewee: Naturi Naughton, 25, actresss

Q: Why did you decide to turn away from your political science major and follow theatre?

A:”Well, it was like a choice to turn away from political science, I just felt like doing Broadway was a once in a lifetime chance…I decided to follow what I thought my initial dream was.”

Q: I hear that the 2009 version of [“Fame”] is only loosely based on the 1980 version. Do you believe that [this film] will live up to the original film’s reputation?

A: “I think it’s going to do that and more. I think that it’s not even about living up to the other film, but bringing something new and fresh to the new generation to relate to it…I believe the original was amazing and it spoke to so many young performers who were striving for a career in the business, and I think that this movie will do the same thing and [define] ‘fame’ is more than what we see in just pictures and videos and the glamorous life.”

Q: How do you fulfill the role of both actress and student?

A: “I didn’t go to online school…I thought about it…I had a tutor with me all the time who traveled with me on the road. And it was really challenging being a student and a performer. I think that the balance is that making sure that you are self-motivated because no one’s going to be behind you every day….”

Q: I know you toured with Destiny’s Child. Did that influence your path in any way?

A: “Well, it was a kind of inspiration to see Destiny’s Child which was huge and to be onstage with them. [It inspired me] to maybe continue my career and maybe I can reach that point…It probably more affected my future.”

Q: What’s new about “Fame” that different from the original movie and TV show?

A: “What I would say is different [from the original] is that it’s just a modern station, new characters, it’s like a whole new style of music, you know, with all the dancing…We’ve added all different styles of music like classical music and pop music of course. We wanted to give people a wide range of styles of music than just 1980s. Things are very different now. We just wanted to modernize it.”

Q: Do you have a piece of advice you would like to give teens who are trying to pursue a dream in the performing arts?

A: “My piece of advice would probably be to stay encouraged. You know, anybody who’s pursuing this career is going to always get a lot of rejection and discouragement. People are going to tell you that you’re not good enough or have the right look. But you, yourself, have to stay really, really encouraged. Focus on your assets as opposed to your flaws and focus on what you can do to make yourself better….”

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