Minnesota-grown country music singer-songwriter Ashlee Hewitt, whose talents became apparent nationally as the fifth-place contestant on “Nashville Star” in 2008, can now add another career to her resumé: actress. The 21-year-old is starring in a new movie, “Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale,” set for theatrical release in March.
Hewitt, who has lived in Nashville for the past couple of years, is spending a few weeks at her parents' home in rural Lancaster, Minn. and performing a few area concerts before heading back Dec. 21.
“I have appointments in Nashville scheduled for right before Christmas, so unfortunately I have to go back,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday. “But we're having an early family Christmas celebration at home with my family.”
One of the concerts will be at the Crookston American Legion on Thursday, Dec. 17, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Of all the performances scheduled, the one in Crookston will be extra special for her because it takes place on an important day: her 22nd birthday.
“So I guess I'll have something to celebrate, too,” said Hewitt.
The concert is open to all ages and admission is $10. CDs and other memorabilia will be available for purchase.
Tailor-made role
“It's really crazy how it all happened,” said Hewitt about the movie experience.
As she explained it, Hewitt had contemplated getting into acting but really didn't know to go about it, so she hit the Internet and searched for auditions. “The first one I saw said,‘Wanted: Blonde country singer who plays guitar.’”
“I thought, 'That's me,'” she said. “So I answered the ad, and the casting people told me they couldn't believe it because they'd seen me on ‘Nashville Star’ and I was on their list of possibilities to play 'Elle.'”
She sent in footage of herself acting out some of the parts, which they liked, so she flew to Los Angeles and began filming shortly after. The filming lasted about three months and was essentially finished in August, said Hewitt.
“I'd never acted before and never had any formal training, but an acting coach came on set to help me at times,” she said. “Sometimes comes real natural, sometimes it takes more work. Acting is a lot of work, but it was a fun experience and I'd like to do more of it in the future.”
The role of Elle seems tailor-made for Hewitt. She plays an aspiring, you guessed it, country singer-songwriter. According to the movie synopsis provided on imbd.com, Elle's dreams are cut short by her parents' sudden death. She moves in with her adoptive uncle, who happens to run a small independent record label. The environment at the label, however, leans toward pop music rather than the country roots she's used to. She goes through a gamut of emotions before meeting pop singer Ty Parker, who helps release her repressed ambition and revitalize her interest in singing and songwriting.
Some of Hewitt's co-stars are already established actors, including Thomas Calabro, who played Dr. Michael Mancini in the TV series “Melrose Place,” among other roles. The younger set will recognize Sterling Knight, who plays Parker: He plays Chad Dylan Cooper on the Disney Channel's “Sonny With A Chance” and was in this year's big-screen movie “17 Again.” They might also notice Kiely Williams, who was one of the Disney Channel’s Cheetah Girls.
With the tagline, “Happily ever after is just a song away...,” the G-rated movie “opens a whole new door and wider fan base for me,” said Hewitt. Although it revolves around country music, everyone, especially kids, will be inspired by the story. “People will also get to know me better through it,” she said.
It's no surprise that Hewitt's music appears in both the movie and on the soundtrack, which is set for release in advance of the movie premiere. She wrote and performed six songs for them. Coincidentally, her own CD with all new original material written by her will come out around the same time.
“I tried to keep working on my music and the movie at the same time, so after the filming was done, I really delved into recording this album.”
Plans are in the works, she said, to have a premiere of the movie at the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks, with producers, directors and others associated with the flick in attendance.
“We're actually planning on having a concert, with the premiere after, so it will be one big event,” said Hewitt. “I'm kind of excited for that.”
Hewitt encourages people to check out her MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages to “find out what I’m doing and where I’m going. I seem to be on Twitter a lot these days.”
