True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet
Encyclopedia
True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet is a Lifetime Television
comedy-drama
film, based on a young-adult book of the same name by author Lola Douglas. The film stars Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Golden Globe Award
winner Valerie Bertinelli
. The film was directed by Tim Matheson
. It premiered on August 9, 2008 on Lifetime.
princess, until the day that her hard-partying ways get the best of her. After she collapses outside of a Hollywood nightclub, Morgan's mother (Lynda Boyd
) sends her to live in the wilds of Fort Wayne
, Indiana
, with her Aunt Trudy (Valerie Bertinelli
). Morgan is camouflaged into Claudia Miller and given a new hairstyle, and suddenly, Morgan, albeit unwillingly, blends in with her peers who don't own televisions or read magazines.
With a new appearance and deprived comforts (i.e., money) Morgan enters a suburban high school with a bad attitude. At first she didn't fit in with anyone, until she meets "cute guy" Eli and they became friends. Eli introduces Claudia to his sister and her friends. Morgan takes a liking to Emily, Eli's sister, and they become good friends. Emily invites Morgan to a sleepover where Debbie, who likes Eli, tells her to stay away from him. Morgan is upset so she leaves early, without telling Emily. When she gets home she drinks a bottle of vodka that she found in the cupboard. The next day when Eli comes over to tutor Morgan and she, wanting desperately to capture Eli's attention, makes up a story about her father, borrowing a plot from one of her movies. Eli is worried, as Morgan drastically exaggerated and added several negative details about her supposed "father", telling Morgan to alert him if he shows up. Eli asks Morgan on a date (partly out of pity) to the fair and she happily accepts. Morgan's best friend from when she was in Hollywood, Marissa, comes to visit her in Indiana, where they go to a club. Morgan goes to the fair with Eli and Morgan begins liking him more. Everything was going great until Debbie tries to blackmail Morgan. The paparazzi finds out where she is and leak the story so she sneaks to Eli's house to apologize for lying, both about her father and about not being Claudia. Eli is upset at the deception, but in the end he forgives her and they drive away on his motorcycle.
, Die Hard
, Legally Blonde
, Bring it On
, Monster Garage
, The Surreal Life
, and Grey's Anatomy
. Also referenced in the film are Lindsay Lohan
, Perez Hilton
, Britney Spears
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
and Oscar-winning directors Steven Spielberg
, Quentin Tarantino
and Steven Soderbergh
.
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film, based on a young-adult book of the same name by author Lola Douglas. The film stars Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
winner Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
. The film was directed by Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...
. It premiered on August 9, 2008 on Lifetime.
Plot
Teen actress Morgan Carter (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) is a HollywoodCinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
princess, until the day that her hard-partying ways get the best of her. After she collapses outside of a Hollywood nightclub, Morgan's mother (Lynda Boyd
Lynda Boyd
Lynda Boyd is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the Hollywood films Final Destination 2 , An Unfinished Life , She's the Man , and On Thin Ice, with Diane Keaton...
) sends her to live in the wilds of Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, with her Aunt Trudy (Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
). Morgan is camouflaged into Claudia Miller and given a new hairstyle, and suddenly, Morgan, albeit unwillingly, blends in with her peers who don't own televisions or read magazines.
With a new appearance and deprived comforts (i.e., money) Morgan enters a suburban high school with a bad attitude. At first she didn't fit in with anyone, until she meets "cute guy" Eli and they became friends. Eli introduces Claudia to his sister and her friends. Morgan takes a liking to Emily, Eli's sister, and they become good friends. Emily invites Morgan to a sleepover where Debbie, who likes Eli, tells her to stay away from him. Morgan is upset so she leaves early, without telling Emily. When she gets home she drinks a bottle of vodka that she found in the cupboard. The next day when Eli comes over to tutor Morgan and she, wanting desperately to capture Eli's attention, makes up a story about her father, borrowing a plot from one of her movies. Eli is worried, as Morgan drastically exaggerated and added several negative details about her supposed "father", telling Morgan to alert him if he shows up. Eli asks Morgan on a date (partly out of pity) to the fair and she happily accepts. Morgan's best friend from when she was in Hollywood, Marissa, comes to visit her in Indiana, where they go to a club. Morgan goes to the fair with Eli and Morgan begins liking him more. Everything was going great until Debbie tries to blackmail Morgan. The paparazzi finds out where she is and leak the story so she sneaks to Eli's house to apologize for lying, both about her father and about not being Claudia. Eli is upset at the deception, but in the end he forgives her and they drive away on his motorcycle.
Pop culture references
The film makes references to several teen films, television dramas, and reality shows such as Mean GirlsMean Girls
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy-drama film directed by Mark Waters. The screenplay was written by Tina Fey and is based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, which describes how female high school social cliques operate and the effect they can have...
, Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...
, Bring it On
Bring It On (film)
Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
, Monster Garage
Monster Garage
Monster Garage is a television show for the Discovery Channel hosted by Jesse G. James. Each episode is an hour in length and was conceived and produced by Thom Beers.The show aired the series finale on June 12, 2006. Jesse G...
, The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select group of past-their-prime celebrities and records them as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks...
, and Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. Also referenced in the film are Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
, Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
and Oscar-winning directors Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
and Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
.
Cast
- Joanna "JoJo" Levesque – Morgan Carter/Claudia Miller
- Ian NelsonIan NelsonIan Nelson is an American actor.-Filmography:*Night and Day - Eric Graham*Private Practice - Kirk Jensen*True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet - Eli Walsh*Legacy - James*Dakota Skye - Jonah...
– Eli Walsh - Justin LouisJustin LouisLuís Ferreira is a Portuguese-born Canadian actor...
– Sam - Lynda BoydLynda BoydLynda Boyd is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the Hollywood films Final Destination 2 , An Unfinished Life , She's the Man , and On Thin Ice, with Diane Keaton...
– Bianca - Shenae GrimesShenae GrimesShenae Grimes is a Canadian actress. She currently portrays the role of Annie Wilson on 90210, a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210. Prior to that she played Darcy Edwards on Degrassi: The Next Generation...
– Marissa Dahl - Jennifer MillerJennifer MillerJennifer Miller is an American circus entertainer, writer, and professor at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. She has lived as a woman with a beard for most of her life. She is a juggler and fire eater. Miller lives in New York City....
- Bully - Melanie LeishmanMelanie LeishmanMelanie Leishman is a Canadian actress.-Career:Leishman began acting, singing, and dancing at the age of eight. Leishman was in her first play while attending The North York Montessori, in grade three, starring as Annie in the play Annie. She graduated grade 8 at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts...
– Emily - Leah Cudmore – Debbie
- Valerie BertinelliValerie BertinelliValerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
– Aunt Trudy - Dayna Devon - Herself
- Jonathan HigginsJonathan Higgins-Bibliography:*Heroes, Monsters & Messiahs, Page 220 by Elizabeth Hirschman - 2000*Harry and Wally's Favorite TV shows, pages 307-307 by Harry Castleman and Walter J...
- Mr. Sappey - Jonathan PottsJonathan PottsJonathan Potts is a Canadian actor whose career began in the late 1980s. His earliest work was as the voice of Troy Jeffries in the animated television series Beverly Hills Teens. He is best known for providing the voice of Link from The Legend of Zelda animated series...
– Principal Bowman - Zain Meghji - Lux Movie Host
- Victoria Snow – Gaby
- Mary Kitchen - Local Reporter
- Billy Turnbull - Dan
- Rebecca Amare - Bethany
- Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang - Stan
- Araxi Arslanian - Cashier
- Dan DuranDan DuranDan Duran may refer to:*Dan Duran , American baseball player*Dan Duran , Canadian broadcaster and actor...
- Dave - Kathryn Haggis - Lisa
Release dates
| Date | Region |
|---|---|
| March 3, 2009 | United States |
| March 3, 2009 | Canada |
| March 4, 2009 | Netherlands |
| March 25, 2009 | Portugal |
| April 21, 2009 | France |
| June 28, 2009 | Sweden |
| 2009 | Worldwide |