This coming weekend Christina Milian, Ashley Benson and Chad Michael Murray star in ABC Family's new holiday movie 'Christmas Cupid,' premiering during ABC Family's annual 25 Days of Christmas on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Milian ('Love Don't Cost a Thing,' 'Bring It On: Fight to the Finish') stars as Sloane Spencer, a high powered Hollywood publicist who finds herself haunted by the ghost of her recently departed infamous client Caitlin (played by Benson, 'Pretty Little Liars').
With just days before Christmas, Caitlin takes Sloane on a journey to meet the ghosts of her ex-boyfriends from the past, present and future to try and guide her to true love in a modern-day take on the Charles Dickens' holiday classic story A Christmas Carol.
It's Milian's second Christmas film she's done for Disney following 2007's 'Snowglobe,' and her first film since she gave birth to her daughter Violet Madison Nash (with ex-husband, R&B singer The-Dream) in February.
BlackVoices.com caught up with the Jersey City, N.J., native as she spoke about playing a female Scrooge, working with Benson and getting ready for the holidays with her daughter.
You're doing a film that's similar to 'A Christmas Carol.' How would you describe your character in this film?
Christina Milian: I would describe my character, she's like a Scrooge. A high-powered Hollywood PR girl who's only concern is her job and moving up in the world, and everything is about press, promos, everything. Her job is everything, and she forgets about love and all the great things in life that do exist and I think she almost thinks that love exists within even her job and in the top of men that she dates now, whatever he does and then to help further her career. So she's not in the best mood. She's kind of a cold spirit.
You're in the media business and have had a publicist. Have you seen a publicist behave this way before?
Milian: Oh, yeah, definitely. When I saw who my character was I definitely based her off a real human being. There's a real person out there that I've seen and I've worked with before and they're only concern is their job. It goes to the point where you think you have a friendship with them and they're like, "Oh, yeah, I want you to," and everything is about the job. "I want you to show up to this event and show up to that." You think you're building a friendship because you're hanging out with them but then the next thing a camera pops up.
Your character Sloane is a workaholic. Are you like that in real life?
CM: I'm a workaholic, but I have a balance. I love to work. I really do love to work, but now I'm just in a good space in my life. I now I have to find the balance even with my daughter. I mean with her I actually bring her to work with me, and spend a lot of hours with her, but I definitely a split down the middle, focused attention when it comes to real life and my job.
Your character is visited by several people from her past. Have you ever been visited by people from your past and then alter your life based on a discussion about the way that things could have been?
CM: I'm sure that I've come across something like that at one point or another, whether it be like an ex-boyfriend or something, I think, in the past, but not recently and no recent future. That hasn't happened to me, but in the past maybe I had a boyfriend from high school, like my first real boyfriend that I liked and then a couple of years later I'm like, "He's in the Army. I'm acting and doing all this stuff," and it's almost like your imagination is like, "What could've happened if we would've been together?" Of course it wasn't meant to be, but I always thought that he would be around for some reason when I was younger. But I don't know, you never know. I'm single now. If I run into him now you never know what would happen.
What was it like working with Ashley Benson, especially since the both of you have done a film from the 'Bring it On' franchise?
CM: I know, isn't that funny? She's a sweetheart in the first place. She and I have the same personality, but she's funnier. It's really cool working with her because I think we're both pretty and if you're one 'Bring It On,' it means you have to have sarcasm. You have to be able to have fun and of course dance. That wasn't involved in this movie, but as far as the sarcasm and fun of it I think that we were able to bring that along again with our own characters and then in real life she and I are like besties. We had a really good time when we were shooting on the set. She and I were always having fun and we became like our own little duo. We would just do silly things on the set to pass the day because we had really long hours. So we'd get really kooky.
And working with Chad (Michael Murray of 'One Tree Hill)?
CM: Chad is a sweetheart. He's really cool as well; really handsome and really nice. He has a lot of knowledge. He's been around for a couple of years and he's just really cool and focused. He's definitely focused.
What are your holiday plans?
CM: I don't know. Lately we were talking about staying at home for the holidays, but I've been getting a lot of phone calls to come out to different places for the holidays. So I might be doing a tour of the United States during the holidays this year, this whole December. My daughter's quite a little travel. She's been on twelve flights already. So she's used to it.
Your daughter's first birthday is coming up in a few months. Are you planning something spectacular?
CM: Oh, yeah, it's always something new all the time with her now. It's like reliving my life all over again and it's just really exciting to look through the eyes of this baby.
What's your favorite version of 'A Christmas Carol?'
CM: I really like the one with Jim Carrey. That one is my favorite one right now. I went and saw that one in 3-D which is pretty exciting and I just think it's a fantastic film. To see all that animation and how they do that is just crazy. I think he did an incredible job playing all those characters.
We're going into Christmas. You need to watch a Christmas movie everyday if you can, but I think it has the perfect amount for any woman or girls of love, of the classic stories of Christmas, 'A Christmas Carol'. Who doesn't want to see that story all over again? And it's just fun. I definitely think that everyone should sit down and watch it. If they love Christmas movies that feel like snow globes they'll definitely like 'Christmas Cupid.'
How fun is it to do a film for Disney?
CM: I tend to do stuff with them every couple of years because I started with Disney when I was younger. When I was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen I used to be on the Disney channel and then throughout the years. I sang the 'Kim Possible' song for their cartoon series 'Kim Possible'. So I've always managed to somehow get a grip and ride that young audience that's always riding with you. So it seems like my fan base is always evolving and constantly growing and getting younger and older. So it's cool once again to get back with Disney again. Now especially with my daughter it makes such a difference to me because she's going to be watching this stuff. It'll be fun when she grows up and she's watching her mom in movies and hopefully she'll be my little fan because I'm her little fan.
Now that you are a mom, do you think about the projects you do, from the songs that you sing and the movies that you make?
CM: Oh, yeah, for sure. It's definitely a good reflection of the type of work that I do. Even the photo-shoots and things like that. Sometimes I would even just do a regular photo-shoot and all of a sudden I'm in a bikini and I'm like, "Okay, I'm a mom." But there's a way to be tasteful and sexy and to do it in a nice way and I do feel very confident. I don't think there's anything wrong with a women after having a child feeling sexy and exuding that sexuality, but there's a certain taste and a certain way that you go about it that's just a little different than before when I was a single girl, no baby and was able to just make wild decisions.
What's happening with your fourth album?
CM: I cannot wait, let's put it that way. I cannot wait. Next year I definitely feel is the year for me in regards to my music and to everything. I think everything is finally going to come together all at once next year. I feel the album will finally be released next year through Interscope Records and I'm just really excited. It's going to be sexy. It's going to be fun. It's going to be everything, that I'm confident, smart, young, beautiful, crazy, wild, out there party girl that you can have on one album. It's going to be true to my life. Of course I'm going to have a very honest record and it's going to be true to my life about some of the things that I've done and have gone through and everything, but without getting too detailed and tacky about it.
Do you have a title?
CM: No, not yet. I have a couple of ideas, but I can't put my finger on it yet.
Do you have anything else in the works?
CM: Yes. I have an eye wear line. It's called Christina Milian eye wear. We're still coming out with my sunglasses. So it's Sunwear By C. Milian. By spring 2011 I'll be releasing my sunglasses as well as I'm actually working on a clothing line which is really exciting. It'll be a juniors line. And I'm developing a TV show for myself right now. So, we'll see, by next fall if you see a TV show with my face on it.