Kidsday interviews 'Camp Rock 2' stars

“Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” is a sequel to the popular Disney Channel movie “Camp Rock.”

In this film, there is a lot more dancing and singing than in the first, and we definitely think there are more songs to remember and sing along with. It was great to see how the camp changed, and this time, there is a new rival camp across the lake. The rivalry between the two camps forms the basis of the plot. The movie ends with a final jam, a huge, televised contest between the two groups that may determine which camp survives. We won’t tell you who wins; you’ll have to wait and see the movie to find out.

We all really enjoyed this movie. We had seen the first one and liked that, but we agreed that this one was even better. The singing and dancing were great. The choreography was complicated and impressive. All of the actors played their parts well.

We loved Meaghan Martin as the egotistical Tess, and the new character, Luke, played by Matthew “Mdot” Finley. Having the junior campers involved in the story, including the youngest of the Jonas Brothers as a camera buff, made the plot funnier and more interesting.

Overall, we thought the movie was great! We would recommend it to kids from 7 to 14, and we hope there will be a “Camp Rock 3” in the not too distant future.

Kidsday interviews Meaghan Martin

BY MARIA BIVONA, SONJA DRABIN, CATALINA FEDER AND SIENA TOSCANO
Kidsday Reporters, Age 13, Oyster Bay and Huntington
 
How did you like working with the cast and who are you most close with?
 
I love the cast. The “Camp Rock” group are some of my best friends. It’s hard to say who I’m closest with. I guess Chloe Bridges, who’s new to “Camp Rock 2,” and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle. Chloe lives like five minutes from me and we go to the gym together all the time. We would not go to the gym unless we went together because we have to motivate each other.
 
Do the directors ever get mad?
 
Yes, all the time. Oh, Paul — Paul Hoen, director, “Camp Rock 2.” He’s a funny guy. He directs a lot of episodes of “Jonas” as well. So the brothers know him really well. He was always getting mad at us. He’d say, “What are you doing? Focus, focus!” For the most part we’re pretty focused people, but sometimes it hard when you’re good friends.
 
What was your most memorable part on set?
 
Good question. I think probably a big moment for me was when Matthew — I’m the only person who calls him Matthew — and I filmed our finale dance number, which is called “Tear It Down.” We had so much fun. I think we had 300 background workers that day, which was incredible. We were literally performing for these people on stage and it was also one of the warmer nights. It was really cool when we were filming and it was warm. That was so much fun just to get up on stage and dance and sing and perform for everybody. It was probably the highlight of filming.
 
What was it like working with the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and all the other cast members?
 
It was awesome. The thing about Demi, she wasn’t famous until the first “Camp Rock.” So the Demi I know is not famous like she is now. It’s like weird for me to think of her that way. She’s Demi, she’s also fun. I love her. She’s a sweet girl and the Jonas Brothers are wonderful, wonderful guys. I’m thankful to have them all in my life and I consider them my friends. They’re fun people. They’re good to work with. They’re professionals. Because sometimes fun people are not always fun to work with because they make work a little too fun and then you actually don’t accomplish what you need to do.
 
Did you have voice training or have you always been able to sing?
 
I’ve always been able to sing. I don’t know if I could sing now. But I have been taking voice lessons for quite a bit of my life. I started when I was about 10 years old for about eight years. I’ve been taking voice lessons pretty regularly.
 
Even though you and Matthew fight on camera, do you get along not on camera?
 
Nope. I hate him, I cannot stand him. No, just kidding! Matthew’s great. He’s such a good guy. He’s so nice and caring and honestly we were a little worried; we’re like new people coming into our cast. No, we’re not taking any new people. But it turned out like Chloe and Matthew were the two that I spent the most time with. And Matthew, he was so funny, I’m watching what you’re doing and it’s really helping me with what you’re doing and it’s good and I like it. He’s so cute. Like he’s so sweet. I actually had a good time getting to know all of them.
 
What was the hardest dance you had to learn because I could tell that there were lots of hard dances?
 
Yes. Hard dances. Probably for me the hardest dance for me was “Brand New Day.” Mostly because it was such a long shooting process. That dance we shot, I wish I knew the exact number of locations we shot that one in. It was probably like 15 different locations, and so it was little sections of the dance. We would stop in the middle of a line and they’d be like, “OK, we’re done with that section,” and I’m in the middle of a dance move. How are we done? Also it was a fast dance and we had to learn it really fast. So I think probably a “Brand New Day,” maybe “It’s On.” It’s almost a little bit difficult.
 
Did anyone ever get pushed into the water, and we know it was cold, so did anyone ever get pushed in?
 
Yes, Nick Jonas was. He was not pushed in per se, but there was a scandalist story you don’t know. Chloe Bridges and Nick worked on a scene where they — there’s a scene where they canoe over — so when she’s like “No, get under the canoe,” when she ran over to tell him that time. Like touched him and he like lost his balance, but she didn’t push him. She just touched him and he lost his balance. And he fell into the water. It was really early. It was probably like 6 a.m., and it was cold and that water was not very clean because the actual in-the-water stuff was shot at a different location. Like when he was under the canoe that was a whole other place. But the location where they were outside the water, that water was not very clean and he fell in and we were all trying not to laugh.
 
Do you have like one person on the set that inspired you to do better or do something differently while you were acting?
 
Definitely. The director is always good for doing that. As long as you like the people you’re working with I feel like I always feel that. I feel the want to do my best and even better than my best.
 
Was it difficult playing an egotistical character?
 
It was awesome. I guess it’s difficult, but it’s not more difficult than any other character. I probably am egotistical in many ways. But who isn’t? I think that’s what it’s all about tapping into the part of you that is the character. And unfortunately I’m sure we all have our Tess Tyler moments. Whenever I’m being a brat or anything, my mom’s like, “OK, Tess Tyler.” I’m like, “Gee, thanks, Mom.”
 
Will there be another “Camp Rock”?
 
Who knows? I have no idea, and I’m being very honest with you right now.
 
Would you be in it if there was?
 
Yeah! I think it would be fun. That’s another question that I need to think about. It would be very exciting, but who knows what the world will bring? 
 
If you weren’t singing, acting, dancing, or whatever else you like to do in your spare time, what would you be doing?
 
I would be in school. I’d be in college right now. I would probably still be singing, acting and dancing in college. I guess if I had a whole other life and I was going to be a whole other human being, I don’t know. I’d probably be a teacher. I have a love for little kids, like a music teacher, elementary school, kindergarten teacher.
 
When you’re rehearsing a song, do songs ever get stuck in your head?
 
Yes, yes. I still find myself singing “It’s a Brand New Day." Oh, no, leave my head. Definitely all throughout the filming of “Camp Rock,” “Can’t Back Down” was stuck in my head. And I’m not even in that number. “Brand New Day” is on, “Tear It Down,” “Walkin’ In My Shoes.” All of them
 
Who’s the funniest off set?
 
Probably Demi. Demi’s very hilarious. She makes me laugh every moment of the time that I’m with her.
 
 
Kidsday interviews Matthew “Mdot” Finley

BY CATALINA FEDER, WILLIAM SHEELINE AND SIENA TOSCANO
Kidsday Reporters, Age 13, Glen Cove, Oyster Bay
 
What type of dancing do you like the best?
 
I love hip-hop and freestyle. I did some hip-hop classes when I was younger, and as I got older I tried to develop my own style.
 
Like the clothes you wear?
 
The thing about the wardrobe, they were great. They work with me and see what I wanted to do. But Luke Williams, his whole style was different, very colorful. Those pants that I had on for “It’s On,” I felt like a golfer. But they were really comfortable. It’s not what I would really wear.
 
What do you do in your spare time?
 
I’m always in the studio recording over. That’s pretty much it. I love music and I’m always recording.
 
Who do you think was the funniest person in the cast?
 
From watching the film, Kevin  is hilarious to me. I think Kevin is so funny and I think the brothers played well off of each other. It’s pretty cool.
 
How was it working with Demi Lovato and all the other cast members on the set?
 
It was amazing. They’re really like movers and shakers in the industry right now. They’re on top. You would never know they’re real down to earth, just cool. We hung out a lot. They taught me a lot too.
 
If you could sing a duet with anyone in the world, who would it be?
 
I would love to sing a duet with Stevie Wonder. That would be crazy.
 
What inspired you to like dance and do music in general?
 
I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m going to tell you guys. I really got ’N Sync when I was younger and I was like, man, that’s kind of cool, and Prince, of course, and Michael Jackson and watching them do it, I think that would be kind of cool to do. So I just wanted to try it and I guess it’s working out.
 
What was your first gig or performance?
 
Probably in Ohio. I used to play in church and stuff, the guitar and piano. So I’ve been kind of performing for awhile. In L.A., my first performance was at the Key Club. It was a nice venue and was cool. I had a lot of people and friends there. It was just like my first show.
 
What was it like being the new addition to “Camp Rock”?
 
It was an honor. I saw the first one and to come in and the character, I think he shows a lot of personality. It was great. They really made me feel welcome and I hope that I added something to the cast.
 
Where did you film the movie and how was it like filming wherever it was?
 
We filmed the movie in Toronto. It was really cool, it was cold for a lot of the extras and stuff like that. Not for us. A lot of the scenes were outdoors, you guys say. But it was great. Toronto’s a real cool city. I would love to go back.
 
Was it hard playing an egotistical character in the movie?
 
Luke Williams is definitely egotistical. It was hard but it was really fun especially playing with Meaghan Martin. She helped me, and before the camera would start she would get all serious. A lot of my scenes were with Meaghan. It was actually easy. It’s not me, but it was easy.
 
Did you two actually fight a lot in the movie? Did you two actually get into a fight?
 
Of course. Every day. She’s great. We’re great friends. She taught me. She’s been doing the acting thing longer than I have. Just to watch her methods and see what she does really helped me.
 
Were learning the dances for all the songs difficult for you even though you know how to dance in general?
 
Rosario McCoy was the choreographer and he was amazing. I think he did steps that everybody could relate to. There were difficult points, but he helped us out and it was good.
 
Do you go to college, or do you plan on going to college?
 
I did attend Berklee College of Music in Boston before I went out to L.A. for a while to get some training on writing and things like that, singing. Will I go back? Maybe. I would love to go back.
 
Do you like to do anything other than acting and dancing?
 
I love playing pool and I love video games. Video games all day.
 
When did you start filming in Toronto?
 
We started filming sometime in September of last year. It was funny because I moved out to L.A. on Sept. 3, 2008, and then September ’09 we were shooting the film. It was like a year of me being in L.A. and it was like really surreal. That was the first day of shooting, Sept. 3.
 
For the movie “Camp Rock,” did you have to take voice lessons or are you naturally able to sing?
 
They definitely had us working with some of the greatest producers and writers and gang. Just going to the studio they did have us do some training.
 
How was it like working with all the famous people?
 
Like I said, it was honestly amazing, it was humbling. It was easy. They didn’t even make me feel like they were on top of the world. Very honored.