Procter & Gamble and Walmart Present "Change of Plans"
“Change of Plans” Reunites Two “American Idol” Faves and Brings Family Viewing Back to Saturday Night.
Proctor and Gamble has teamed up with Walmart to provide more family viewing options on television. Their latest collaboration is the poignant “Change of Plans” which airs on Saturday, January 08, at 8:00PM (EST) on the FOX network.
In this made-for-TV-movie, the character’s lives are changed forever with just the ringing of the phone. Sally Danville is a singer-songwriter who is enjoying focusing on her career and her marriage to her husband Jason. She is devastated to learn that her best friend has been killed in a tragic accident and stunned when she learns that she has been named legal guardian to her friend’s four children. Three of the children have been adopted from third world countries. Sally and Jason must decide what’s best for the children and considering adapting to suddenly becoming a large family of six.
Playing “Sally” is the acting debut for singer/songwriter, Brooke White. Brooke first came to the attention of music fans when she competed on the seventh season of “American Idol.” Having no desire to try acting prior to being offered the role of “Sally,” the experience has definitely caused a “Change of Plans” for the multi-talented performer.
“I just said the parallel is quite perfect, actually,” Brooke says. “It was definitely something that I wasn’t anticipating. It kind of came out of left field. At first, I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t sure if acting was something I even wanted to do. I wasn’t out auditioning or doing anything like that. My first day on set I hyperventilated a little bit, thinking I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. Then we got to filming and we got a week in and I had been bitten by the acting bug and completely fell in love with the experience. It was better than anything I could have planned for myself.”
There wasn’t a lot of time for Brooke to dwell on the multitude of the task she was undertaking. “I found out I got the part and then shipped off to Toronto within two days. So there was very little time to think or prepare, which was probably in my best interest because I was afraid.” After a few days, she settled into her new “role.” “I have to say, there were certain technical aspects I wasn’t super savvy to, but other than that it’s so supernatural just to get in. I think I was concerned about what if I forget, I’ve been known to forget lyrics here or there or whatever, and I was worried I would forget a line or two, but it really isn’t a big deal. You get in there and memorization of dialogue isn’t that big of a deal when you get there. I don’t know. I thought it was more fun than hard.”
Taking the job had another perk for White, it gave her an excuse to work with “American Idol” judge, Randy Jackson, again. Randy has produced all of the soundtracks for the Family Movie Night films, including “Change of Plans.” He also produced some of Brooke’s post-Idol recordings. He even makes a cameo in the movie.
Randy says that deciding to work with Brooke was a no-brainer. “What I look for the most is people when they exit the show, how well did they do after and how did they sustain their career and if they grow. Yes, Brooke has definitely grown as a writer, she’s grown as a singer, as a performer. I think she’s leaps and bounds where she was on Idol. It’s just amazing. That’s the true mark of a real artist, how they grow over time.”
While often singers are criticized for making a move to acting, both Randy and Brooke agree that it is an important marketing tool in this day and age. “I think this movie is an example, that Brooke is starring in and performing three songs in the movie and we’ve made a great soundtrack for her with a lot of great artists on it. I think what you have now is there are other ways to get your music out and other ways to try and break an artist and also to continue an artist’s career. So I think this movie is a testament to that. I think all the commercials, all the stuff that you’ve seen is a testament to that.”
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Let’s take a band like Muse,” he continues. “That’s been around probably ten years or whatever and they’re on their fifth record or whatever, and they finally break over here with a commercial, a song, and a thing and now all of a sudden they’re everywhere here. It’s like the most important new band, even though this is their fifth album and they’ve been around for a while. I think it helps with new discovery. I think it’s just really trying to find out what are people watching, where is the biggest concentration, and I guess it speaks to that not everyone is listening to the same radio any more.”
Brooke chimes in, “The thing that’s different now is that our audiences are very spread out. It’s not like we just have three channels on TV and FM or AM radio. Now between the Internet and video games and TV and Pandora radio, there’s just so many options. So the truth is we have to hit all of those. We have to be everywhere, which is challenging, but as Randy said, it’s an opportunity for us to be creative and step out of the box. Things aren’t going to be the same. I think you can’t live in denial that things are going to be back to the way they were. It’s just a different climate musically and entertainment-wise, and that’s why we decide to become more multi-faceted. I consider myself, like I was a serious artist, not really looking to act, and then when this opportunity came it was like a well, you never know unless you try. This was the perfect opportunity because it wasn’t like I had to leave music behind. It was an integral part of the film and of the character, so it just made so much sense.”
Find out more about the film, which also stars Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show), at www.FamilyMovieNight.com. Tune in to see Brooke make her acting debut and watch this sweet story unfold.