Actress Alyson Stoner to visit Blockbuster at Preston Royal in Dallas

by John P. Meyer

I interviewed talented young actress Alyson Stoner by phone today as she motored from one media gig to another. This evening she'll be making a public appearance at the Blockbuster Video store at Preston and Royal in Dallas.

Alyson will be there from 4 'til 6 p.m. to smile and wave, greet her fans, sign autographs and generally act the star. She's promoting the release (on July 29) of her new DVD movie, Alice Upside Down.

The movie is an entertaining family-friendly tale of a teenage girl whose mother has recently passed away. She and her dad (Luke Perry) and brother (Lucas Grabeel) move to a new town to accommodate her dad's business ambitions, meaning that Alice has to say goodbye to her hometown, her friends and everything that's become familiar and comfortable for her. In her new home, Alice must find a way to adapt by making new friends, settling into an unfamiliar school environment and discovering her own talents and strengths. (And identifying her weaknesses. Such as singing.)

This whole process proves to be far more difficult for her than it is for her older brother, whose chick magnet status is reaffirmed at the new school. Furthermore, he immediately falls in with some like-minded musician pals who form a band and begin practicing in the basement of their new house.

(Oh, and it's hot down there, so they take off their shirts and dub themselves the "Naked Nomads.")

Highlights of the 9-minute audio interview:

* what Alyson thinks about North Texas: "I haven't seen one bad thing happen here yet."

* why she thinks kids will like her new movie, and why they should see it (I mean, aside from the half-naked boy band.)

* the film was shot in an actual school

* she was embarrassed to have to sing off-key in front of other kids her age - but the role called for it

* what she did to prepare for her lead acting role (Hint: she read the book!)

* hear Alyson refer to Luke Perry - who plays her dad in the movie - as a (former) "stud"

* she's under pressure constantly with her busy performance schedule (* cue the background sirens *)

* new projects she's working on (The Alyson Stoner Project, Kung Fu Magoo; her singing career; designing her own line of dance shoes.)