Summit Entertainment
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Since cementing their place in our cultural landscape in 2006, the ‘Step Up’ films have drastically re-shaped the dance movie genre. Gone are the choreographed prom dance scenes a la ‘She’s All That,’ replaced with the new wave of high-energy dance perfection.
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It was with this realization that I headed to Miami, ready to immerse myself in the dance sensation that has swept the nation. Disconnected from my fellow journalists, we’re each singularly thrown into the city of Miami, given a night to immerse ourselves in the culture and experience the passion that this Floridian city has to offer. It’s this passion that oozes itself into the production of ‘Step Up Revolution,’ the fourth installment in the popular franchise that shaped the career of Channing Tatum and pulled many talents from their previous careers on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’
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Summit Entertainment
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As we meet in the lobby, the other journalists and I (a group of four ladies chicas), chatter about what we’re expecting from the day – some of us new to the concept of a movie set, others seasoned veterans. We’re met by the set publicist, a lovely and friendly man who’s spent the previous few months soaking up the Miami sun, and is more than excited to fill us in on the movie magic that we’re about to witness. We ride through town on a bus, headed to historic Ocean Drive, where we’ll witness the director (Sam Speer, in his directorial debut), his actors, and a vast crew of extras wrap one of the film’s biggest dance scenes. Most of the ‘Step Up’ films are known for breaking new talent, and this was no exception. Former ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ all-star Kathryn McCormick plays Emily, a well-to-do girl who arrives in Miami with her father, brimming with aspirations to become a professional dancer. Newcomer (and former model) Ryan Guzman plays Sean, a street kid and leader of a dance crew whose neighborhood is threatened by Emily’s father’s (Peter Gallagher) development plans. Rounding out the main cast are returning ‘SU’ players Stephen “Twitch” Boss as Jason, and Adam G. Sevani, as Moose.
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We arrive at Ocean Drive, to the kind of scene that can only exist on film – a closed off street full of hot rods as brightly colored as the rainbow. Swarms of extras crowd around the streets, from townspeople going about their daily lives, to dancers stretching and prepping for what is surely the 18th take of the day’s big sccene. As we walk up, a flash mob is already underway, with dancers flipping and gyrating from car to car, each and every one of them glistening with sweat in the hot September humidity that Miami Beach boasts. They rattle through take, after take, getting wiped and sometimes hosed down after each bout of intense choreography. The film’s main players (in this case, Ryan Guzman and Stephen “Twitch” Boss) spend their time between takes under umbrellas, enjoying even the briefest moment of shade amidst the blistering sun. After we watch what seems to be the ultimate take, we head inside to get some one-on-one time with the cast.
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First up on our round of interviews is Ryan Guzman, a fresh face to both the acting and dancing worlds. A former model, Guzman’s chiseled physique was built to be camera-ready, and his modest attitude indicates just how appreciative and excited he is to be recieving this opportunity, one that’s thrown a few surprises his way. “The most surprising thing probably was learning all the choreography,” he gushed. “I mean, the acting part, I love. And everything else is amazing. But trying to dance with some of these professional dancers, like can be intimidating at some times. But, we had about three weeks of rehearsal before we actually started shooting.”
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He credits co-star McCormick with helping ease his transition to the big screen, making him more comfortable in front of the camera than he ever thought he could be. “That girl is the sweetest, kindest person I’ve ever met in my life,” he says of the former SYTYCD-er. “And, as far as dancing, she’s ridiculous. Her contemporary, she’s taught me so many different things. And then acting, she, she gets nervous with the acting, but she, little does she know, she’s such a great actress. She’s got it there.” But almost as important in shaping his craft as his co-stars and intense training schedule? The Miami humidity. “I’ve enjoyed the results. I’ve never seen my body like this, so, (laugh) yeah. The heat, although unbearable and everything, it’s great for the film.”
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Guzman heads back to filming, and we’re escorted back downstairs to catch more of the dance scene in action. He joins his handlers off-camera (his mom and dad had arrived just days earlier from San Diego to witness filming), and we head back into the historic hotel where we’re conducting interviews. Next up we speak with Misha Gabriel, who plays Eddie, the best friend of Guzman’s character Sean, and his partner in the flash mob dance crew. Gabriel, a dancer by background, has shared the stage with such talents as Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, The Pussycat Dolls, Hilary Duff, John Legend, Kylie Minogue, and Omarion.
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Additionally, he co-choreographed a number for Justin Timberlake’s ‘Future Sex Love Show’. But it was his roommate, ‘Footloose’ actor Kenny Wormald, that gave him the confidence to start acting. “I’ve been watching him. He’s like dude, trust me, you can do it.” But unlike Guzman’s Sean, who has a soft spot when it comes to McCormick’s Emily, Gabriel’s character Eddie isn’t so jovial. “I guess my character’s kind of the, I don’t know, the bad-ass of the movie. He’s got a chip on his shoulder, so to speak. And he’s like the ring leader of a flash mob, slash what becomes the artistic protest group later in the film.” Gabriel, who touts Justin Timberlake as one of his favorite people to work with, “he was like my childhood idol,” he says, believes that ‘Step Up: Revolution’ will bring the dance film genre to a whole new level. “[The other films] were like more based around dance battles, kind of thing. And dance crews. And we’re not a dance crew. We happen to do these flash mobs, but I think it’s set inside the premise of a great plot.”
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Gabriel exits, and before we know it, we break for lunch, funneling into the craft services tent to eat with the cast and crew. As foreign as the concept of spending time on a movie set, the lunch routine is as commonplace as if you were sitting down with classmates at the school cafeteria. We wait in a line full of dancers and actors that are horsing around between takes, and pile our plates with a spread that would rival a four-star restaurant. Cliques erupt, with dancers sitting together and discussing their scenes, and actors sitting together laughing and enjoying their much-needed air conditioned break. After a satisfying lunch, we return to sit down with Stephen “Twitch” Boss, former ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ contestant, and one of the players returning from the previous film, ‘Step Up: 3D.’ Immediately, he’s got us in stitches. After a day that involved heat and a lot of downtime, Boss picked up the mood almost instantly, and our time with him flew by. Given that he’d been on-board for the previous film, Boss offered the unique perspective of just how different this go-around would be. “Whereas the last two Step Up’s have been about “my crew goes against your crew.” And we’ll see who’s better than that. Now we’re actually working to say something with our performances and save something with our performances. So, with that being said, it’s a bit more about determination now.”
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One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is his character Jason’s geekery. “He’s the tech guy. He handles the lights, and all the effects that happen with the big mob scenes and stuff like that.” But don’t expect him to take on any of this technical savvy – “Don’t ask me where we got them,” he laughs. “Just, we just got them one day.” He then shifts the conversation away from work (what can I say, he’s a charming guy!) and chats about a rumor we heard about the cast socializing with a night on the town in Miami, one that inevitably involved some dance floor action. “…there’s mixed reactions from people when we go out and dance, because we, yeah, we do, we, we mob kind of deep in there. So…” A pack of professional dancers, intimidating to the average Joe in a club? Never.
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Summit Entertainment
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Finally, the lovely Kathryn McCormick joins us, accomodating enough to grace us with her presence on her day off. And graceful is she ever. Without hesitation, she enters the room and hugs each and every one of us, breaking her embrace for just enough time to get our names. She oozes familiarity, gabbing with us in the same nature you’d chat with a group of girlfriends at a sleepover. McCormick plays Emily Anderson, a “right side of the tracks” girl who moves to Miami with her real estate developer father who is dead-set against her ambitions to become a dancer. “It’s not safe, you know. It’s not consistent. And so he’s not sure,” she tells us, about her father’s (Peter Gallagher, ironically the head of dance at the New York Ballet Academy in cult dance flick ‘Center Stage’) doubt regarding the creative path she’s considering. “And so, it’s really scary for her to want, or to believe that she could do this professionally because she doesn’t really have that support system behind her.” As they often do, things become instantly more complicated with the entry of a handsome boy. “And so meeting Sean (Guzman), it kind of opens her eyes a little bit. And he is the first person that kind of, she feels like he loves her for everything that she is. And so she … starts to go after all the things that she wants to do, because she starts to believe that they’re actually possible.”
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McCormick didn’t set out to be an actor. As her ‘SYTYCD’ background implies, her beginnings stemmed from a more rhythmic genre – “I started dancing when I was three years old. So it’s kind of been in the family.” But while the transition to acting came relatively easily, moving into a speaking role wasn’t without it’s difficulties. “It’s such a crazy journey because at first, I came in and it’s just, the weirdest thing hearing your own voice, especially as a dancer, because you never speak, really. So that was a really hard thing for me to get past.” What gave her the strength to pursue the role of Emily, McCormick touts, was her experience on ‘SYTYCD,’ a process that was both rigorous and extremely eye-opening, causing her to discover things about herself she never expected would emerge in a dancing audition. “It just opened my eyes to how much I am actually capable of. Because I’m someone who I’m always like, I don’t know if I can. It pushed me to give everything that I have. Because you don’t have a choice. You only have so many hours to learn a piece and then you’re on stage, and it’s up to you.” While the judges and coaches may do their best to help out, it’s more of a test of self-actualization, she says, than anything else. “Nobody cares if you do good. It’s one of those shows that like, it’s all on you. And so, it just, you had to push yourself to be your best. And that’s what I love about the show, because it brings out so much in every single person.”
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McCormick wraps up by letting us in on a bit of her chemistry with co-star Guzman “He has a lot of respect for women. He’s a very polite guy. And just has a lot of manners and values and everything, and so it was really cool, because I could tell that he was just like, ‘I don’t want to touch her in the wrong way.’” Once we end our interview, she runs to join her castmates as they take a break between takes, charming everyone from cameramen to the on-set photographer, all of whom are visibly thrilled to see their leading lady. We say our goodbyes, take some photos with the cast (“Twitch” was insistent that we all do our best “silly” poses), and pile back into the van, making our way back to the various corners of the United States that we all inhabit. We may not have gone into the situation knowing each other, or much about the film’s stars, but we left with new friends, from movie stars, to our fellow writers.
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Check out the trailer for the upcoming ‘Step Up: Revolution,’ which hits theaters July 27th, 2012.
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Synopsis: Emily (Kathryn McCormick) arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean (Ryan Guzman), a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called “The Mob.” When a wealthy business man threatens to develop the Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause.