Celeb Secrets: The title of the movie is Summer Camp – Friends for Life. What do you look for in a best friend?
Lauren Donzis:Â “For me, a best friend really gets you. Not only do you have a lot in common and enjoy each others company- a best friend has to be loyal and someone who won’t abandon you no matter what.”
Zoe Manarel: “I look for a sweet, caring, person who is a great talker as well as a great listener. One who is pretty goofy like me, but can also be serious when you need them to be! To me, a real friend will always be your friend, through thick and through thin, and when you’re separated, you still stay in touch, and when you return, it’s like nothing ever changed!
I really hope that I get to stay in touch with Alison and Lauren because they are two REALLY nice girls and I had SOO much fun working with them and goofing around sometimes, and I would really like for us to be “friends for life!—
Alison Fernandez: “Trust and honesty. I look for someone who’s nice, kind, truthful, and goofy.”
Celeb Secrets: What was it like working on the movie together? Any funny stories from set?Â
Lauren Donzis:Â “I loved working with Zoe and Allison. They are really sweet and silly like me. I thought it was really funny when I had fake dirt all over my hands and I got to rub it all over Zoe.”
Zoe Manarel: “Well, I LOVED working with Alison and Lauren on this special and I think that having best friends with you during this process made it so much more fun! There weren’t really any funny stories from set, because whenever we weren’t filming, we did school so, unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to go crazy!”
Alison Fernandez: “It was great. Everyone was really nice, funny, and helpful. Monique, Camryn, Zoe, and Lauren were so fun and we were always taking selfies together. In one of the scenes, I had built this creepy looking mechanical hand, and when they said cut, I would sneak up behind the girls with the hand and scare them. The look on their scared faces was hilarious.”
Celeb Secrets: American Girl movies always deliver an important message to girls. What do you want girls to take away from watching your movie?
Lauren Donzis:Â “I hope people learn never to judge a book by its cover. My character shows how hard it is not to belong to a friend group- to be an outsider. But when Z and Paz finally include her, it makes everyone feel good!”
Zoe Manarel: “After watching the special, I want girls to see that loving science ISN’T “nerdy,†it’s REALLY cool! There are so many other cool areas that use science besides being a Rocket Scientist, mathematician or computer wiz. I mean, without science, we wouldn’t have all the different shades of lipstick, or wonderful perfumes or certain fabrics in clothing! Science is in EVERY part of life! Also, I want them to see that all kinds of girls LOVE science. Just like Z, Paz and Drew! They all love the activities included in S.T.E.A.M , but each girl is so different, from their culture to their personalities to even their taste in fashion. So being into the sciences does not mean you have to be a one type fits all kind of girl. I want girls to take away PRIDE and be PROUD of what they love, and I KNOW this special will help them feel that!”
Alison Fernandez: “That us girls should be passionate about whatever we love doing and that education helps us get closer to all of our dreams whether, it’s Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, or Math.” Â
Celeb Secrets: Since we are Celeb Secrets, do you have any fun behind-the-scenes secrets from filming that people won’t see when watching the movie?
Lauren Donzis: “Haha! Yes I do! I’m not trying to disappoint you but… Drew’s snails are fake!! They did a very good job making them look real though.”
Zoe Manarel: “Like I said, we didn’t have a lot of time to have any funny secrets or anything, because we were in tutoring a lot of the time.”
Alison Fernandez: “Zoe and I often would role play as Hair & Makeup artists and work on a few crew members like we were the makeup artist, it was so funny.”
