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.