AnnaLynne McCord gets “Fired Up”

Not quite sure what to make of the latest cheerleading flick? The MUSE sat down with ‘Fired Up’ star AnnaLynne McCord to talk stunts, being the bad girl, comparisons to ‘Bring It On’ and how the movie-making business is different from television.

THE MUSE: The most epic cheerleader movie is probably ‘Bring It On.’ How is ‘Fired Up’ different?

AnnaLynne McCord: . . . ‘Bring It On’ has basically become a cult film, so to speak, but in [‘Fired Up’], there’s a scene where all of the cheerleaders come and sit down in the middle of the park at cheer camp and we actually watched ‘Bring It On,’ and you have several of the cheerleaders lip syncing the lines. It was kind of hysterical actually when you watch it.

The film itself is a bit different, because ‘Bring It On’ was a bit more about the cheerleaders. This film does focus on the two lead guys played by Nick D’Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen, and their two characters and how they cheat their way into going to cheer camp . . .’ ‘

MUSE: What do you think was the best part about playing Gwyneth?

AM: The best part is you get to be a mean person. You get to take out all your aggression and it’s allowed . . .

MUSE: From ‘Nip/Tuck’ to ‘90210’ to now ‘Fired Up,’ how do you approach the role of the antagonist?’

AM: It’s an interesting process playing the bad girl. It’s actually a lot of fun because I get an opportunity to really play around . . .

MUSE: Is there a certain process that you go through?

AM: I listen to music. I have my iPod. Especially on the set of ‘Fired Up,’ I was pretty set in who I wanted Gwyneth to be, and I wanted to stay serious. It’s a funny film, so a lot of times, the actors in between takes are making jokes, and it’s important for me to stay serious in that time. So I would listen to music. I would go off by myself. I keep clear on what I want to do and just really separate myself from the rest of the cast . . .’ ‘

MUSE: As you were playing the role of the cheerleader, did you do your own stunts? Did you encounter any injuries?

AM: Yes, I did do my own stunts. I was very proud of myself actually . . . they said all right, you’re ready to go, let’s throw you up in the air, and I was like, oh my God, here we go. That was insane, but I actually learned three air stunts, two of which were cut out. I was very bummed about it . . . I had one incident where someone else fell and hit me, and I saw stars for a few seconds, but other than that, I was all right, so it was a good time.’

MUSE: How was it different filming ‘Fired Up’ than shooting a TV show?’

AM: A film project mainly is a big production . . . Film is all about the setting and the place and making the audience feel like they’re really there, and a TV show is more about the dialogue and what’s going on, so there’s a big difference in the two different productions.

For the full interview check out our website at dailyfreepress.com/the_muse