About Taking 5

Production Notes

It was the original storyline found in Taking 5 that first caught the attention of producers Kat Hantas and Chesley Seals. "This was not your typical tween movie where the new kid at the school tries to fit in," recalls Hantas. Screenwriter Cross brings to life star struck fanaticism reminiscent of Beatle-mania and asks the question: What would you do if you had your favorite band in your house for a weekend? Would they turn out to be everything you had imagined or a big disappointment? This idea jumped out at the producers as a universally shared experience by all generations, let alone tween boys and girls. Toss in some great new music and they were onto something big.

Enter, first time director Andrew Waller. Not only an expert in pop culture, Waller is probably its biggest fan. What first drew Waller to the script was that at its core, the movie had heart. "Ultimately the movie is about the friendship of Devon and Gabby, and how this adventure changes their relationship and ultimately makes it stronger."

Once the casting process got underway, it was important to cast 5 Leo Rise with talented musicians who could also act. Waller recalls, "Creating the fictitious boy band, 5 Leo Rise, was one of the most challenging yet fun aspects of making this movie. We wanted to create a modern boy band, where each member of the band had a distinct style and personality." Ritchie is the goth-like, mysterious lead singer, Mason is the dreamy 'makes the girls swoon' crooner, Scooter is the goofy preppy punk, K.K. is the bad boy former BMX rider and Nikolai is the former Russian pop star brought over to the US by the band's manager to boost European sales. Waller continues, "It was essential that the band feel authentic because so much of the movie was resting on the audience's belief that this band was so important to Gabby and Devon."

"We were very lucky to get the real band, The Click Five to sign onto the film," says Seals. "A new pop sensation broken largely on MySpace, they are very talented musicians and songwriters." In order to really make the band work we had to create their hit song. Waller recalls, "When the Click Five sent us "Kidnap My Heart" which they wrote specifically for the movie, we were so thrilled because the song had to be great in order for the movie to work. We had to believe that these girls loved this band, and they have created a song that is memorable and will have you humming throughout the movie." The band had to create two versions of the song "Kidnap My Heart". The first version is their album version, which has a poppy boy band vibe. As the band evolves in the movie they decide they want to play their own instruments and have a more rock sound. So they did a cover of their own song with a pop rock vibe. Waller continues, "What's so impressive is that the band did a cover of their own song and both versions are great." And did we mention, they can act.

The result of the cast and crew's efforts is a film that maintains a sense of heart, while never losing its sense of comedic adventure. It's a rarity that will have tweens, kids and their parents dancing in their seats all the while thinking in the back of their minds, "What would I do if I met my favorite boyband, be it the Beatles or N'Sync"?

The Cast

Christy Romano

Danielle

Twenty-three year old Christy Carlson Romano has been working non-stop as an entertainer and actor since the age of six. She is perhaps best known in the tween demographic for creating her role as Ren in Even Stevens and starring in the Kim Possible series, for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Best Performance in an Animated Show. She also has garnered recognition from Teen People, Rolling Stone Magazine as one of its Five on the Rise and Variety as Top 10 Talents to Watch.

Christy also starred in two of the highest rated Disney Channel original movies, Cadet Kelly and The Stevens Get Even, before taking her turn on Broadway as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast where she had an eight-month run and sustained the houses capacity at 99%. ABC Family featured Christy in two back-to-back hit movies, Campus Confidential and The Cutting Edge 2: Going for Gold. The Cutting Edge 2 won critical acclaim as it won the nights ratings with 3.9 million viewers.

Multi-talented, Christy released her first solo album under Walt Disney Records and her first Teen fiction novel, Graces Turn, (Hyperion Books) is the recipient of The New York Public Library's Book for the Teenage 2007!

Daniella Monet

Gabby

Gifted comedienne Daniella came into the public eye as Jason Alexander's daughter in the CBS sitcom Listen Up. She will also be seen as Inga in Warner Brothers picture Nancy Drew with Emma Roberts coming to theaters summer 2007.

Alona Tal

Devon

Alona quickly burst upon the acting scene after moving to Los Angeles from Israel, where she starred in several Israeli TV shows and films. Currently she is recurring on Supernatural after her fabulous turn on Veronica Mars.

As talented a singer as an actress, Alona has recorded songs with Israeli rapper Subliminal and Wyclef Jean. She is currently shooting the upcoming CBS pilot starring Jimmy Smits.

Marcus T. Paulk

Lincoln

Marcus Paulk broke into the public eye with his role on the TV show Moesha, which brought him 3 nominations for a Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award and a Young Artist award from the Academy for Professional Entertainers and 3 nominations from the NAACP.

He then could be seen with Antonio Banderas in Take the Lead and opposite Bow Wow in Fox Searchlights Roll Bounce. This year Paulk's NBAE League Basketball Team, which included Jamie Fox, took home the Championship. A proponent of good causes and a frequent participant in fund-raisers, Paulk was the 1997 national spokesperson for the "Kids are Paramount" campaign, which seeks to empower children with courage and confidence to overcome obstacles.

Bart Johnson

Mark

Bart is known to tweens across the world as Coach Jack Bolton from High School Musical. He attended Yale University's prestigious School of Drama where he performed in stage productions of Hedda Gabler and Cherry Orchard. He recently directed his first short, The Run. He is currently shooting the sequel to High School Musical.

Kate Albrecht

Kira

For the past three seasons, Kate has recurred as flirty and hard-to-get junior publicist Christy in HBO's Entourage. She stars as the title character, a naive college freshman whose mother was a star years earlier in the same sorority in the indie film comedy Legacy, opposite Haley Duff. Her mousy character runs in total contrast to the torturous queen bee she portrays in Taking 5.

The Click Five

5 Leo Rise

The Click Five's debut album on Atlantic Records has sold over 500,000 units worldwide since its release in November '05. In addition, they have sold over 1 million singles online. They have over 150,000 registered Myspace friends. Their hit single "Just the Girl" spent 9 weeks straight as #1 on MTV's TRL. They were featured on MTV's PUNK'D and recently finished a tour through Southeast Asia, where they have 2 number 1 hit singles and were featured on a one hour special on MTV Asia. Their much anticipated follow up album will hit stores June 2007.

 

The Filmmakers

Andrew Waller

The Director

Taking 5 is Andrew Waller's feature film directorial debut. After graduating from the USC School of Cinema & Television, his thesis short film "Candy Paint" was featured at the HBO Comedy Festival. Prior to film school, Andrew was a former producer at Good Morning America where he traveled the country producing the "Faces" segments of the show.

Kat Hantas and Chesley Seals

Producers

The story of Kat Hantas and Chesley Seals starts where one might expect, with two unhappy assistants to television agents in search of a better life.

Teek Films was formed in January 2004 by Kat Hantas and Chesley Seals. In a very short time, and with no development or overhead funding, the duo have put together commercially viable, sought after projects with some of the industries top players.

Kat Hantas graduated from UCLA and got her first job in the entertainment industry as an agent trainee at Creative Artists Agency. She later went on to work at 3 Arts Entertainment, one of the industry's largest management and production companies, before leaving to start Teek Films.

Chesley Seals graduated from Columbia University and went on to get her masters and graduate from Columbia Film School. She worked on short films with well-known independent film producer Ira Deutchman before joining Creative Artist Agency. She later went on to work at Disney Studios before leaving to start Teek Films.

Taking 5 is Teek Films' first feature film production.

Shauna Cross

Screenwriter

Cross' unique voice quickly landed her a two-book deal to write teen novels with publisher Henry/Holt. Her first soon to be released book was optioned by Drew Barrymore and her production company Flower Films and set at Warner Brothers. Drew Barrymore will make her directorial debut with this film that will star Ellen Page (Juno). Taking 5 is Cross' first feature film.