Jason Blum Confirms The Misfits WILL NOT Be in Jem The Movie

Jason Blum has confirmed in an interview with an Italian movie news site that the Misfits will not be the Jem & The Holograms movie.

Here is our horrible Google translate version of what was said:

"Among his future films will be Jem and the Holograms, directed by Jon M. Chu. It is rumored that the Misfits, historic rivals of Jem, will not be in the movie for a rights issue. It's all right?"

Basically a coming-out journalism. I really wanted to have in the background Cristina d'Avena. I know I'm just a ricchiona (???)  but the world must know.

And this was the response from Blum: "They will not be in the film. Since apparently in Italy everyone knows this series better than me, maybe I'll do a preview of the movie here! No, however there will be but the reason is not related to the rights ".

It's interesting that Jason says the reason the Misfits are not in the movie is not related to the rights. There had been rumors going around that there are still copyright issues with the Misfits due to the real life band of the same name. There's urban legend online the cartoon was forced to remove the Misfits and replace them with the Stingers (which is untrue). However, a copyright and trademark search shows that the real-life band doesn't have the name currently trademarked or copyrighted.

So, why no Misfits?  Here are the possible reasons:

1) Budget - It's a $5 Million dollar movie.  Having the Misfits adds more members to the cast, along with songs that need to be recorded.

2) Limiting the number of characters - When properties with a large number of characters get the movie treatment, there's a trend to limit the number of characters.  GI Joe and Transformers had this sort of treatment and the producers specifically limited the cast to a small group of characters - which they then never developed past being cardboard charitcurles.

3)  The Holograms Are the Mistfits - The leaked pictures of what Jem & the Holograms are wearing look more appropriate for the Misfits than the Holograms - even in the finale big concert.  And Jem costume designer Soyon An talked in a recent interview that the style for them is clearly punk & rock.

This is how Soyon An describes the characters and their styles: "For Jem aka Jerrica, she's indie rock-n-roll, but in a subtle, simple and fashionable way. Aja is totally punk rock and doesn't give a f*ck. Shana is a wannabe fashionista who's willing to try anything trendy and fabulous. Kimber is a girly-girl but in a tomboyish kind of way."

This doesn't sound like the Holograms, this sounds like the Misfits.  
In the original cartoon, Jem & the Holograms were the good girls who followed the typical get-along-gang mentality of 80s cartoon teaching elementary school kids right from wrong.  The Misfits were the baddies who were greedy and self-centered.  Cartoons even had educational consultants to make sure there was messaging to balance out trying to sell toys.

Now, the Jem movie is aimed at preteen girls and likely trying to separate itself from being too Disney.  Our guess is that the Holograms are somewhere in the middle between the Misfits and Holograms.  They won't be the "bad girls" like the Misfits trying to run Jem off the road, but they won't be squeeky clean singing about People Who Care. Their style will be more Misfit-like and they will fit more with the typical preteen rebellion.

The Synergy Conundrum

A lot of speculation and articles have been going around about whether Synergy will or won't be in in the Jem & The Holograms movie.

For the record, Cool Trash has never said that Synergy won't be in the movie.  Our guess is that some form of something similar to Synergy may appear - probably at the very end.

In the initial Hollywood Reporter article about the film, the plot includes "(Jerrica) and her sisters embark on a music-driven scavenger hunt -- one that sends them on an adventure across Los Angeles in an attempt to unlock a final message left by her father".  Hollywood Reporter cites the producers as the source of this plot info.

Many have concluded that the "final message" is related to Synergy.  But it's not much of a plot of a movie if it's resolved in the first 10 minutes, so much of the movie (perhaps nearly all of it) wouldn't involve Synergy if she's what they are searching for. 

Several extras from the filming on May 14/15th have come forward with tidbits of information.  Roxy Tart posted a podcast where she talked about her experiences as an extra and said that what was being filmed was the big finale concert which was the final scene.  Wondermann5 tweeted that there were "No Jem Star earrings".

If it is the final scene, then that would eliminate finding the Jem starearrings in the last act before the finale concert.  There could be an epilogue or scene following the concert or possibly after the credits. However, lack of the Jem star earrings do not necessarily mean that Synergy hasn't been found by that point in the movie.  It could simply suggest that there aren't Jem star earring and Synergy uses other means to transmit holograms.

They could have found the final message from Emmett (or whatever his name is in the movie) and it doesn't include the earrings. Or it the message has absolutely nothing to do with Synergy. 

From just the typical formula used for movie (and nearly all movies are formula driven), finding the message  before the big finale concert would fit - especially for a music focused movie like this. 

Actor Jeffrey King, who claims to have worked on Jem, posted on Instagram "I worked on it... It's not like the cartoon at all. They went more normal with it."

Pretty much what it seems like the Jem movie doing is using the name of characters from the cartoon as elements of the movie - like using "Astral" and "Mrs Bailey".   So, our guess is there will be something called Synergy but may not be anything like what Synergy is in the cartoon.  

More Pictures of Isabella Rice on the Set

8 year old Isabella Rice (Young Jerrica) was back on the set of Jem & The Holograms last week and filmed in Santa Monica.  We had a hunch she was there, based on something a crewmember tweeted, but we have confirmation from pictures just added to IMDb.

That means that Young Jerrica has a fairly 
substantial part in the movie.  Based on the pictures from Isabella's IMDb page, she filmed at least 3 days at the locations in Van Nuys, Simi Valley and Santa Monica.

Cool Trash's guess is that flashbacks will be used used for more than a quick introduction to the characters. 

The story is suppose to be a musical treasure hunt with messages left by Jerrica's father.  That could be a much longer hunt for Synergy (more on that topic in a post later this week) then what was in the cartoon.  It's possible that each of the locations is tied to Jerrica's past and there are flashbacks related to them - which could be why Isabella has to be at so many locations.

Stunt Double Confirms Juliette Lewis as Erica

Juliette Lewis' stunt double, Jenn Elizabeth, confirmed on Twitter that Juliette's character indeed is named Erica:

While many have speculated that Juliette is playing "Erica Raymond",  this isn't exactly confirmation about her character's last name since Jennifer only tweeted that the character name was "Erica" and not "Erica Raymond". 

The picture of Juliette with E! News' Jason Kennedy has the name "Astral Recording" behind her, and it seems like from her attire that she's playing a record executive type character like Eric Raymond.  Could her last name be something else, like Gabor or Benton? With Jerrica and Kimber being minors, then they could have an "evil" relative controlling their inheritance (which might explain why there is a Jerrica and Erica if they were related)  Or Erica could be completely unrelated to any existing Jem character.

Stefanie Scott Posts Video Following Santa Monica Beach Filming

Stefanie Scott posted a video on Instagram of the girls celebrating completing three days of filming at night on the Santa Monica beach.

It's hard to tell much from the video, but you can see that Stefanie and Aurora have colored streaks in their hair.  Here are some screencaps:

 

 

More of Molly Ringwald On Set

Molly tweeted a picture from the set yesterday with Aubrey Peeples, but it looks like it was taken back in April.  It's very clearly taken at the yellow house they filmed at on Peach Street in Van Nuys CA that we posted about on April 24.

Molly refers to her outfit as "vintage" Todd Thomas NYC and that could be for a reason.  Aubrey is wearing the same clothing as she wore in a picture with the actress playing Young Jerrica, Isabella Rice:

From Google Street View, you can tell another picture of Isabella with Stefanie Scott was taken at 6648 Peach St (the yellow house), so Isabella filmed there.

So, it looks like Molly filmed a flashback scene with young Jerrica.  Considering all the emphasis on Jerrica being an orphan and that flashbacks will be when she was around 8, it's possible that Jerrica and Kimber's backstory could be changed.  Rather than their mother dying when Jerrica is around 12, leaving their father to run a foster home by himself until his death 8+ years later which precipitates Jerrica becoming Jem, perhaps both of their parents die when Jerrica is 8 and she and Kimber go to live at Starlight House which is run by Molly Ringwald's character?

A photo from the wardrobe department from April 29th shows a label with the character name "Aunt Bailey", which has led to speculation that Molly is playing Jerrica and Kimber's aunt.  Her character could be a sort of hybrid between Mrs Bailey and Jacqui Benton.  With Jerrica and the Holograms all under the age of 18, they would need to have a parent/guardian involved and aren't old enough to run a foster home, and that would be Mrs (or Aunt) Bailey.

Jem & The Holograms Make One Final Splash

On the final day of filming Jem and the Holograms, the action moved to a large water tank located at Tank One Studios in Signal Hills CA near Long Beach.

Jon Chu posted the following photo on Instagram:

This looks very similar to a photo on Tank One's website:

This followed three day of nightshoots on the Santa Monica Pier.  While we hope that they were filming a live action reenactment of the Come On In (The Water's Fine) video, chances are the two shoots were related.  We know Zipper was at the pier location due to Nathan Moore's incredible sunset photo he posted on Instagram.  The pier location has to be more than just a quick scene with so many days spent there, so it could be an action scene with Zipper doing something and someone ending up in the water sounds likely.

Jem & The Holograms Head to the Beach

After wrapping at LA Center Studios on Monday, Jem and the Holograms finally headed to classic Los Angeles landmarks and were filming at Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier according to tweets from the cast and crew.

The weather unfortunately wasn't cooperating.  After enduring a heat wave, they faced temperatures in the 50s for a nightshoot on the Santa Monica Pier.  Both Hayley and Stefanie posted pictures from the set on Instagram and complained about freezing their "butts" off.

We knew this was a potential location since Jessica Hall had posted on Instagram back in early April about location scouting there.

No word on what was filmed at Venice Beach or which cast members were involved.

It's surprising that the filming at the pier happened at night and all of the nightshoots makes you wonder how dark the movie is going to be or why so many of the scenes happen at night.  But with the 5 week shooting schedule, it makes sense that they filming as much as possible with the available time.

Juliette Lewis On Set

A few images have popped up today following the casting announcement that Juliette Lewis has joined the cast of Jem & The Holograms (to be clear, she has been filming since at least the first week of May so who knows when these pictures were taken).

The first is from E! News' Jason Kennedy who has a cameo appearance in the film, probably as a reporter.  He only mentions working with Juliette, so he must be interviewing her.

My movie debut and I get to act alongside @juliettelewis!!! Thanks for the cameo @jonmchu.… http://t.co/6abA26Ap3D
— Jason Kennedy (@JasonKennedy1) May 20, 2014

The sign behind them appears to include "Astral" which is the codename for the film.  The logo seems to be "AR" which could be Astral Recording.  

The second is from Scooter Braun:

An image was also posted on Instagram by Juliette's driving double with a Rolls Royce at what looks like LA Center Studios.

Updated to add: Molly Ringwald posted this picture from the set with Juliette Lewis, which is the first look at what Mrs Bailey will look like:

Juliette Lewis and Molly Ringwald Officially Join Cast

After filming for weeks, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis were finally announced as part of the Jem cast.  Deadline broke the news that Lewis has been cast in a "mystery" roll last night and Hollywood Reporter announced Ringwald joined the cast this morning.

As Cool Trash reported in April, Ringwald will be playing the Mrs Bailey character who was labeled "Aunt Bailey" in a picture posted on in Instagram by the wardrobe department.  Speculation Mrs Baily will have a much larger roll since Jerrica has been deaged several years and likely will be around 16-17 years old.  It's possible Mrs Baily is the Benton's aunt and runs a foster home.

Juliette Lewis' character likely will be different from the cartoon as well.  She may be playing the mysterious "Erica" character that was seen on a trailer door.  She could be the Eric Raymond type of character. 

Having characters named "Erica" and "Jerrica" in the same movie seems odd, so this has led to speculation that perhaps the characters are related.  Perhaps even Mrs Bailey's first name is Erica.

One thought is if Emmett Benton's death happens while both Jerrica and Kimber are minors, then the events in the first five episodes of Jem, Truly Outrageous, would be considerably different.  The plot of the movie involves a sort of scavenger hunt around LA to find something left by Jerrica's father - possibly Synergy.  In the cartoon, Emmett hides Synergy because he dies before the patents could be completed.  In the movie, perhaps a someone is involved who would be in control of his assets following his death.  This could be an Eric Raymond type of character or a relative of the Benton's who is the villain of the movie.  All of this is speculation and only time will tell how the story will play out.

Is This What Aja Looks Like?

Just Jared Jr posted some photos of Hayley Kiyoko performing at Biola University, right in the middle of filming Jem & The Holograms.  So this is probably what Aja will look like:

Wynter Perrineau Cast As Young Shana

Aurora Perrineau's six year old little sister Wynter was cast to play young Shana in Jem & the Holograms according to Black Celeb Kids.

Wynter joins 8 1/2 year old Isabella Rice who plays Young Jerrica, so some version of Out of the Past seems likely in the film. While in Out of the Past, Jerrica, Aja and Shana were all a similar age, Wynter being over 2 years younger than the actress playing Young Jerrica may change the dynamic of the characters and Shana may be Kimber's age in the film or the youngest Hologram.

Jem and the Holograms Wraps this Week According to Backstage

The production listings on Backstage.com for Jem and the Holograms updated with this tidbit: "Shoots through May 16 in Los Angeles."

With a $5 Million dollar budget and the Blumhouse model of making low budget horror flicks, it makes sense that they would only be filming for a month. What this means for the characters that have not been cast yet - such as The Misfits - remains to be seen. Either they have been kept a very tight secret, their role in the movie is very limited or they are not in the film entirely.

Juliette Lewis in Jem & The Holograms?

The latest casting rumor is that Juliette Lewis (best known for the movies Cape Fear, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Natural Born Killers) has been cast in Jem & The Holograms in an unknown role. Lewis is also a singer and has had colored hair at various times (including bright blue).

It's possible she is the mysterious "Erica" character whose name was spotted on a dressing room trailer door. She could be playing a female version of Eric Raymond. Since she is a singer, it's possible that has something to do with her involved. Maybe she could be playing Jacqui Benton in a flashback. Could she even be playing Pizzazz?

Week 3 of Filming

Here at Cool Trash we are busy trying to get caught up from the third week of filming Jem and the Holograms and will be updating with several stories this weekend.

The week started at Lacy Street Studios - where a concert scene was being shot outside in a very industrial looking area. Early Thursday morning, an impromptu call for more extras was put out after midnight Pacific time.

Production moved to Los Angeles Center Studios later on Thursday where it appears that scenes are being filmed without the Holograms. Nathan Moore tweeted about filming through the night, so it appears Zipper is involved. LA Center Studios has a number of pre-existing locations that can be filmed at such as court rooms, police stations, hospitals, generic offices, laboratories, and so forth. It's a large studio complex with multi-story office buildings with production offices that are used in many tv shows and movies for exterior establishing shots. So this could be "Starlight Music" or where Eric Raymond works (if it's not Starlight).

We've heard that the Jem & the Holograms crew are set up near the corner of Beaudry and 6th next to a little park and a large office building.

Who is Erica?

A Jem fan spotted the dressing room trailer at Lacy Studios this weekend and posted some photos on Instagram. Each of the doors is labeled with the name of the character the actor/actress is playing and "director" presumably for Jon Chu.  From left to right, the trailer doors are labeled: Jerrica, Kimber, Shana, Aja, Rio, Erica and Director.

Our question is: Who Is Erica?

Big Late Night Shoot

The Jem cast and crew changed filming locations and Friday night shot at Lacy Street Studios a complex of old warehouses near downtown Los Angeles. The exterior of the buildings look like old rundown warehouses and/or factories and interiors are set-up to look like a variety of residential and commercial sets.

The location was given away by the fact that Sugarpill Cosmetics, who are located next door to Lacy Street Studios, tweeted about giving away free makeup to the Jem makeup crew and they also posted on Instagram picture of the exterior:

Britta Phillips (Jem's original singing voice) was on set to film a cameo appearance and there were many execs were in attendance including Scooter Braun, Jamie Kapili (from Blumhouse) and Hieu Ho (President of  Chu Studios).

Costume Designer Soyon An posted on Instagram a picture of a more brightly colored orange/red/pink-ish hair/wig, which possibly could be Kimber's if Stefanie Scott's hair color seen previously is Kimber's natural hair color.

Our speculation is that this possibly could have been a Jem & the Holograms performance that was being filmed.  Scooter Braun mentioned choreographer Nick Demoura in a tweet.  We have heard that there were dozens of extras on the set, so that would fit with an audience.

Meet Young Jerrica

Eight year old actress Isabella Rice has been cast as Young Jerrica and recently filmed scenes on the film. She has previously appeared in minor roles on Glee, True Blood and Two and a Half Men and has appeared in ads for Barbie.

Her agents Nicole Jolley and Milton Perea posted this picture of Isabella with Aubrey Peeples on Twitter:

And this picture of Isabella with Stefanie Scott on IMDb:

There appears to be a younger girl cropped out of that photo (how rude) that perhaps is young Kimber.

News Roundup for 4/29

Hollywood Reporter officially announced that Ryan Guzman is playing Rio, and includes this tidbit about the plot: "the film will follow Jerrica, an orphaned teenage girl who becomes an online recording sensation named Jem".

Ryan also appeared in a video on the set on JemTheMovie.com, where he appears to be filming and does not have purple hair.

SheKnows talked to Aubrey Peeples and Stefanie Scott, where they discussed working on the film:

Although casting news just broke last week, filming is already underway and the cast has been working tirelessly on perfecting their music. "We've been working 24/7 on it," admits Peeples. "It was crazy."

Keeping their band practice under wraps for so many months must have been quite a challenge, considering how much Hollywood likes to dish secrets.

Stephanie Scott agrees. "We had to keep it a secret, which was so hard, because we just wanted to show pics from the set and from practice, because we feel like a real girl band at this point. It's awesome!"

Filming took place for a second day at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley CA (which is clear from the set photo on Instagram posted by Stefanie Scott and the video of Ryan Guzman) where it was incredibly windy according to multiple tweets. Filming went on well into the night.

Week Two of Filming

The second week of filming Jem & The Holograms began bright and early this morning (according to makeup artist Samantha Rosenberg on Twitter).  Ryan Guzman who is playing Rio tweeted that it was his first day on the set.

The ASTRAL signs have been spotted in Simi Valley CA (a far flung suburb of Los Angeles) and it looks like they are filming at Hummingbird Nest Ranch - a popular filming location that has a large estate, several smaller guest houses, equestrian facilities, a polo field and a lot of rocky wilderness to film in.

A lot of TV shows have filmed at Hummingbird Ranch including The Biggest Loser, Savages and NCIS: L.A. The area around Simi Valley is frequently seen in tv shows and it's know for being the location where many Westerns were filmed like Gunsmoke as well as Little House on the Prairie and MASH. 

Since Blumhouse's model for low budget movies involves minimizing the number of locations, it's possible they can shoot a large number of different types of scenes at a place like Hummingbird Ranch especially since the plot involves a "scavenger hunt". 

Edited to add: Mary Klimek posted to Instagram a picture of a sunset from the set and it's clearly at the Hummingbird Ranch villa.

Molly Ringwald in Jem the Movie?

We're hearing some rumors that Molly Ringwald is appearing in the Jem & The Holograms movie. She tweeted about filming a movie, so we know she's doing some secret project.

I would love to talk about the movie I'm filming today, but I'm sworn to secrecy...
— Molly Ringwald (@MollyRingwald) April 23, 2014

What we've learned is the role is likely Mrs Bailey (or a character that is similar to Mrs Bailey). The character is the "mom" to Jerrica, Kimber, Shana and Aja. 

Ryan Guzman Confirms He's Rio in Jem The Movie

There's been a lot of speculation that Ryan Guzman could be cast in Jem and Holograms since he's worked with Jon Chu before on Step Up Revolution.  We've posted rumors about him being in the Jem cast and now he's confirmed it on Twitter:

I feel privileged to say that I will soon be playing "Rio" in @jemthemovie and get the pleasure of working with the inspirational @jonmchu

— Ryan Guzman (@ryanAguzman) April 25, 2014

First Look at Jerrica?

Well, it's been an interesting day to say the least and the staff here at Cool Trash is busy pulling together all the various tidbits that have leaked out.

Before the big casting announcement, Aubrey Peeples posted this picture on Instagram with the caption: "I may be wearing my #Nashville shirt but I am on set for something else....very exciting details to come...."

It sounds like this is an outfit she's wearing in the filming of Jem the Movie, so not only will Kimber have a more normal shade of red hair, but Jerrica won't have light blonde hair but rather light brown hair.

Aubrey also looks - dare we say - like a total nerd and this seems to fit the standard cliche nerdy girl becomes popular becoming someone else.  She takes off her glasses, lets down her hair and becomes cool and a different person.  Not sure that really fits Jerrica or the premise of Jem or she looks like someone who would be running a business and a foster home.

A comment Aubrey posted on Instagram mainly responding to the controversy about casting a light skinned bi-racial actress to play Shana has a few tidbits about the movie:

We are remaking it but with modern twists. it's an adaptation, our interpretation. the original series technically kicks off by supporting embezzlement, and that wouldn't be a good message, now would it - so of course it won't be exactly the same. Also the series was a cartoon. No one's gonna match the animated skin colors perfectly. The actress hired is African American and she may not be as dark but she is extremely talented and I would hope modern audiences hold that above skin color or race.

Jem Filming on Location in Van Nuys

Jem & The Holograms are officially Valley Girls!  Filming for Jem kicked off in the San Fernando Valley on Monday.  OLV had the scoop that they were on location on Peach Avenue in Van Nuys with signs that said "Astral" (maybe using a Jem character as a codename for the Jem production isn't the best idea guys).

Jem fan Mike posted on a Jem message board that he drove by to see if they were still there and as of last night, it looks like they are still filming at several houses on the street.

The first house is 6619 Peach Ave

The second house is 6648 Peach Ave:

One of these houses could Starlight House. Based on the casting call information Rio (called Ryan) is possibly a neighbor of the Bentons and it sounds like storyline is sort of Truly Outrageous meets Out of the Past, so he could live across the street from Starlight House. But neither of these houses looks big enough to be home to 12 foster girls plus Jerrica and the Holograms.

The VFX supervisor posted a picture of himself on the VFX Legion Facebook page that looks like he's at 6619 Peach.  The question we have is why do they need a VFX supervisor on set?  It's not Star Wars.

We know Zipper is in the film and he has already filmed scenes.  In the cartoon, Zipper burns down the original Starlight House. If that happens in the movie, then VFX are going to have to play a major role in showing that happen.
 

Jem Casting: You Heard It Here First

JemTheMovie.com has finally posted the cast list for Jem & the Holograms, but our Cool Trash readers already knew who they are:

Jem - Aubrey Peeples
Kimber - Stefanie Scott
Aja - Hayley Kiyoko
Shana - Aurora Perrineau

Hollywood Reporter has a more in-depth article.

Jem The Movie Casts Fans as Extras

The results of the fan auditions were revealed today in a video where casting director Terri Taylor revealed that a handful of fans with professional acting experience would be featured extras in the film.

Nathan Moore also was cast as Zipper from his audition - which wasn't a role anyone really knew to audition for. Moore has appeared in bit roles the tv shows Dawson's Creek and Gilmore Girls and long list of shorts and minor roles in films.

It appears that those that were cast had very professionally produced videos and previous film experience, likely were SAG actors in the Southern California area. Considering that the movie is already filming and as extras actors will receive very little in terms of pay, it is very impractical to think many individuals could travel at a moment's notice.

As Cool Trash exclusively revealed, the Jem movie began casting in February under the false name #Famous and casting call information for which specific roles were being cast were sent out to agents. This information was not given to fans, many of whom were well outside of the age range being cast for. Nor were any of the lead roles really up for grabs.

Fans auditioning would have been better off doing an audition video like Nathan Moore did for Zipper rather than trying to audition for one of the lead roles which were already being cast.

Who is Jem?

Like the premise of Jem & the Holograms, there's a mystery about the identity of Jem. Day three of filming starts today and we still don't know who is playing Jem. Even more curious is why is this a mystery? Why are Jon Chu and Jason Blum waiting so long to make a casting announcement?

Based on a process of elimination, Aubrey Peeples is Jem. There is far too much circumstantial evidence online that puts her in the project, but in an unknown role. We here at Cool Trash think she would make a great Pizzazz and she's great playing the bitchy rival type character, and she seems far more "rock & roll" and hard edged to play Jerrica and certainly Jem.

At this point, there's no evidence the Misfits are even in the movie and Blumhouse movies have very small casts to keep the budget low. The Misfits could be held for a sequel where there's a bigger budget.

Another possibility is that a bigger name has been cast. Scooter Braum's clients, Ariana Grande and Madison Beer, seem to crop up a lot in speculation. Ariana Grande's tweets don't indicate she's filming a movie. With a low budget movie like this, time is money and why wouldn't the actress playing Jem be filming?

Beer seems too young now, since we know 17 year old Stefanie Scott is playing Kimber. But she is an example of the type of social media stunts that Scooter Braun pulls with his clients, and the possibility could be they pretend to have discovered one of his new clients during the Jem auditions. They could be waiting to put the finishing touches on the first Jem & The Holograms video to make the announcement, since announcing a name no one has heard of doesn't cause any buzz.

If Grande had been cast, then why would blonde haired Stefanie Scott be playing her sister? We think there's enough evidence that Grande isn't involved to eliminate her from the speculation.

Could Peeples be simply a stand-in for Jem? Could different actresses be playing Jerrica and Jem? Could Britta Phillips be playing Jem (she looks ridiculously young for 50!)? All we can say is, "Who is she anyways?"



Another question is why hasn't a casting announcement come out? If it was a bigger name actress like Grande, then she would need to be signed on before an announcement could be made which would cause a delay but Blumhouse would be keen to get the word out.

If a nobody like Peeples is playing Jem, then they would likely bury the news. No one except the Jem fans will care and it will be a disappointment to those who were auditioning that that a working actress from Nashville was cast and to those who wanted someone like Grande or Katy Perry to play Jem. The announcement will only come when there's a trailer or video that will promote the film and make people forget that no one they've ever heard of is playing Jem.

Britta Phillips Cameo Appearance in Jem & The Holograms Movie

The original singing voice of Jem, Britta Phillips, was asked on Twitter about whether she would be in the Jem movie and she responded that she would once she returned from her tour:

@adam12304 I'm planning on doing a cameo when I finish the your and get back to L.A.
— Britta Phillips (@brittaphillips) April 9, 2014

"Your" is likely a typo and she meant "Tour".

Britta has been touring with her husband, Dean Wareham, and they will be performing at Amoeba Records in Hollywood (the world's largest record store) on Thursday April 24th. Dean's tour continues on in May in Europe, so there seems to only be a short window for Britta to appear in the movie.

While fans were waiting for Jon Chu to call them last weekend about the fan auditions, Jon tweeted about talking to Britta back on March 28th:

@brittaphillips hey Britta this is Jon (director of #JemTheMovie) would love to talk with u. Follow me so we can DM...

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) March 28, 2014

No word yet if Jem's speaking voice, Samantha Newark, will also have a cameo appearance.  Samantha appeared last weekend at a comic convention in Texas and I'm sure a lot of fans asked her about it.

Britta has done far more on-camera work than Samantha (who is primarily a singer) and seems like a natural choice for an appearance in the Jem movie.   Not only was Britta the singing voice of Jem, but she was in the iconic 80s girl band movie Satisfaction with Julia Roberts:

Photo From Hair & Make-up of Aja and Jem?

Hayley Kiyoko posted a picture to her Instagram from the Hair & Makeup which in the background you can see someone with pink hair (or a wig?):

Either this is confirmation that Hayley has been cast in Jem and the Holograms or she is going to great lengths to make everyone think she has.

First Day of Filming of Jem the Movie

Today was the first day of filming on the Jem movie, which is only a month after the film as announced. Still the cast has not been announced, but that hasn't stopped the cast members from tweeting about starting filming.

Doing some prep work for Day 1 of shooting tomorrow... exciting things to come :)
— Hayley Kiyoko (@HayleyKiyoko) April 20, 2014

I couldn't be more excited for today. Good morning, to you!
— Stefanie Scott (@StefanieScott) April 21, 2014

http://t.co/FN5iOtT3qc back at it! Can't wait to say what for 😬
— AuroraPerrineau (@AuroraPerrineau) April 21, 2014

Jem & The Holograms Movie Budget is $5 Million

ScienceFiction.com talked to Jason Blum and got a few scoops about the movie and how it came about.

The biggest news is the that budget for Jem & The Holograms is $5 Million.  To put that into prospective,  the Veronica Mars movie had a budget of $6 Million.  The Josie & The Pussycats movie in 2001 had a budget of $39 Million.   Quite a few low budget horror flicks are made for about $5 million, including Blum's recently released Oculus which has made $21 Million at the box office.

What isn't clear is whether $5 million is the final budget with marketing expenses or will just be the production costs. 

This is how Jason Blum described how the Jem movie came about:

So ‘Jem’ is really Jon Chu’s vision 100%. He drove it. He was passionate about it. He did ‘G.I. Joe’ with Hasbro, so he had a relationship with them, and he pitched them on it, but they were on the fence about it. Then I said we’ll do it for $5 million, instead of $30 million, which is what they were thinking. They were doing ‘Ouija’ for $110 million and we were doing it for $5 million. So as financers, they say go for it and then they leave you alone because it’s so little money.”

More Jem Casting Rumors

We are hearing some names from multiple sources and these sound like Jem and the Holograms have been cast:

Aubrey Peeples (best known for Nashville and also was in the Sci-Fi channel movie Sharknado) might be playing either Jem or Pizzazz. She's 21.

As previously reported, Stefanie Scott is another actress/singer that may have been cast. She could be playing Jem, but it's also possible she's Kimber if Peeples is Jem.  She's 17 and best known for the Disney Channel show ANT Farm.  She recently has had a reoccurring role as a 16 year old runaway/prostitute in Law & Order SVU.

Aurora Perrineau  is 19 years old and primarily a model. She's posted pictures on her Twitter account of a drum set so we're guessing she's Shana or a Misfit that plays the drums. She's the daughter of Harold Perrineau from Lost and appeared in a guest role on Pretty Little Liars.

23 year old Hayley Kiyoko is best known for appearing in the Disney Channel tv movie Lemonade Mouth.  She also had a reoccurring role in the Wizards of Waverly Place, has played Thelma in a live action Scooby Doo tv movie and is currently appearing in The Fosters.  Our guess is she's Aja.

Casting Rumor: Has Stefanie Scott Been Cast in Jem and the Holograms?

We're hearing rumors that that Stefanie Scott may have been cast in Jem and the Holograms.  The 17 year old singer and actress from Chicago may be working with Jon Chu on a project, and considering she fits the bill perfectly for a teenage Jem, it's safe to say what that project is.

Stefanie is best known for playing Lexi on the Disney Channel show A.N.T. Farm and more recently had a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU as a runaway on  which she showed some acting ability.

She also is a singer, and did performed this cover of the Taylor Swift song "Everything Has Changed":


From what Cool Trash is hearing, it's possible that the actress that has played Jem has been onboard the project since March - before the official, public announcement that the movie was  being made and asking fans to audition of all roles.

Assignment #2 is Updated

The second assignment was updated with two new caveats:

1. Keep the video limited to 2 minutes only!

2. Make sure you don’t have any music playing in the background. We need to only hear your speaking voice / see your face. No music, no clips of Jem, etc!

It's interesting that they do not want any Jem music or clips of the cartoon in the videos.  This likely will be used for DVD bonus features.  If clips of Jem songs are used, even for a brief second in an excerpt from a fan video, then the movie will need to pay the writers of the music - Anne Bryant and Barry Harman.

This has become a point of contention with Transformers and an updated version of the theme song  has been created to avoid paying royalties to Anne Bryant.  Anne was involved in a lawsuit with Hasbro over unpaid royalties for the Transformers theme song in 2005.

Camera, Hair and Make-up Tests Today

Today were camera, make-up and hair tests based on tweets from producer Jessica Hall and Head of the Make-up Department Mary Klimek. The filming was done at Panavision Hollywood - a camera and film equipment rental store, according to Jessica Hall.

Klimek tweeted about specific make-up she was using and Hall tweeted a photo of some brightly colored wigs.

No actual pictures of the testing were shown and the question is who was the hair and make-up tested on? The stars of the movie or stand-ins? 

Casting may not be announced until there are pictures of the cast in costume, so this could have been the opportunity to take press photos for the big announcement.

Possible Jem & The Hologram Casting Call Information

Is Jem the Movie being secretly cast under the name #Famous?  Casting call websites list information for a #Famous that is eerily similar to Jem.  These match characters everyone is familiar from the Jem cartoon but key details like NAMES and possible ETHNICITY have been changed.

Casting for #Famous began in February and the casting director for #Famous is Terri Taylor - who is the casting director for Jem and the Holograms according to Backstage and casts many of  Blumhouse's films.

These are the roles that are being cast for #Famous:

Role: Angie - Female, any ethnicity, 16-17 years old. A tomboy kind of girl, technology guru. She rocks the bass guitar and loves to remix songs

Role: Shana - Female, any ethnicity, 16-17 years old. A sassy fashionista with a knack for playing drums. She's a foster child, but has impenetrable ties ...

Role: Ryan - Male, any ethnicity, 18 years old. Handsome and square-jawed, he keeps an eye on the girls as per his father's request.

Role: Kim - Female, any ethnicity, 14-15 years old. She's the baby of the family, but far more studious and precocious than her sisters. She's tenacious...


The casting calls are archived on CastItTalent.com on February 27, 2014 and March 21, 2014.

 Whether the names will remained changed or if it is to throw us off the trail from realizing #Famous is Jem remains to be seen.  If these really are Aja, Shana and Rio then "any ethnicity" means they are not looking to keep the same ethnicity from the cartoon and original dolls.  It also means that the characters will be de-aged to high school aged students - but this doesn't include whether they are casting actual teens or 20-somethings that play teens.

Casting for the film started well before the publicized crowdsourcing announcement from Jon Chu asking for fans to audition.  Why wasn't this information given to fans auditioning?

Chu Returns with Jem the Movie Assignment #2

Jon M Chu posted the second Jem The Movie crowdsourcing assignment on YouTube requesting concert posters (but with only the logo image available, there's not much for graphic artists to work with) and for videos talking directly to Jem (perhaps for some weird DVD bonus feature about delusional Jem fans who believe Jem is a real person who they talk to?)


From JemtheMovie.com's tumblr:

1. For everyone — Make a video or write a letter like you’re talking directly TO Jem and telling her what she means to you! Just like you submitted your auditions, go to our submit link to share and use the tag #jemthemovie!


2. For our graphic designers — we need Jem concert posters! You can download the elements in our Dropbox, then go to Submit to share your creations!

Scooter Braun Cutting Jem Record

So, Jem music is being recorded. After Jon M Chu suggested that he was heading into the recording studio two days ago, now Scooter is teasing recording as well. This evening, Scooter Braun tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/scooterbraun/status/454445609949618176 



How the heck can they be recording if they are still casting? And how can they still be casting if they are filming in a little over 2 weeks? There are two possibilities: either they are incredibly behind schedule or the roles have already been cast and the fan auditions were a massive hoax to stir up publicity.

We here at Cool Trash fully endorse the utilization of hoaxes for publicity. Good job, Jem Team!

Production Updates

Still no casting news, but a few more names can be added to the Jem the Movie team.

Backstage.com's production listing has been updated with a listing for Jem, which includes the casting director:

NEW Jem and the Holograms (Adaptation) A former orphaned teenager and a music executive who has a secret rock star life joins her sisters on a music-driven scavenger hunt across Los Angeles in search of a final message left by their father. Directed by Jon M. Chu. Casting: Terri Taylor, 2417 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057 Begins shooting in April; location TBA

Casting director Terri Taylor was a casting assistant for American Beauty and Ocean's Eleven and has been casting a lot of Blumhouse's horror flicks like the Paranormal Activity sequels.

IMDB Pro today added Ray Siegle as Stunt Coordinator (hey, there's going to be enough action that they have a stunt coordinator, cool!). Ray has a long list of stunt credits and has appeared in The Dark Knight Rises, Iron Man and Transformers 2.

Jon Chu Wants to Know Who to Cast As Rio

We knew the budget for the Jem movie was low - so low that auditions are being conducted via YouTube but Jon Chu is so out of ideas, he wants fans' help:

https://twitter.com/jonmchu/status/454084837867917312

Unfortunately, Jon Chu directed Justin Bieber's last movie, so he's followed by a bunch of moronic idiots who all want Justin Bieber to play a tall Hispanic man with purple hair.  God help us if Bieber is cast.

Our advice to Jon - HIRE A CASTING DIRECTOR and also, don't listen to people who are still obsessed with Justin Bieber after he became a drugged out wannabe thug.

Jem is Filming in THREE WEEKS?!?!

What the-???  The Jem movie was just announced on March 20th and now we get word that it's filming in just a meer three weeks?  What kind of schedule is this?

According to producer Jason Blum to Collider, "We start shooting right away. Very soon. In like three weeks."

We start shooting right away.  Very soon.  In like three weeks.
Read more at http://collider.com/jem-and-the-holograms-movie-details/#D2fSrVgxgZcJ9QxT.99

According to the JemtheMovie.com, they are only at the casting and design stage and are crowdsourcing with fan auditions.  How can a movie filming in three weeks just be starting casting and needing to crowdsource for key production positions?  How is that even possible.

In other news from Blum, "It’s PG." Like DUH.  It's a movie being made to sell dolls to 5 year old girls.  Hasbro is still a toy company after all.  What did anyone expect?  An R-rated Jem movie with a Misfit dancing at a strip club and doing drugs?

Jem and the Holograms Live Action Movie Announced

It's happening! A Jem and the Holograms live action movie was announced through a YouTube video asking for fan submissions for casting. The film will be directed by Jon M Chu (best known for G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Justin Bieber's Believe movie) and produced by Scooter Baum (Justin Bieber's manager) and Jason Blum (know for producing low budget horror movies like Paranormal Activity).



The script was written by Ryan Landels, who worked on the bonus features for the G.I. Joe: Retaliation dvd and wrote for Chu's web-series The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.

Variety has more information about the plot:

Project will reimagine Jem for a hyperlinked social media age, the producers say, and revolve around an orphaned teenage girl who becomes an online recording sensation, she and her sisters embark on a music-driven scavenger hunt –- one that sends them on an adventure across Los Angeles in an attempt to unlock a final message left by her father.