By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Dec 26, 2007
"The Office's" Melora Hardin might just be the busiest actress around in this post-holiday, strike-stricken town. She's been busy on several films, one of which is her directorial debut. She has her brand-new "At the Water Cooler" act debuting Jan. 4-6 at Hollywood's Catalina Jazz Club. And she's in the midst of making the big-screen "Seventeen," in which Matthew Perry's character finds himself suddenly back in his 17-year-old body -- Zac Efron's!
Melora Hardin Impressed With Zac Efron (Image: Wenn)
"Zac has to be a real actor in this movie," points out Melora, "not just a pretty face, a good dancer and singer." Her acting coach/manager mom, Diane, is actually on set working with Zac, "which is really neat. She's worked with people like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Biel. … I was raving to Zac about her, and he said, 'You know what? I'd like to call her.'
"Zac is a very talented and lovely person," Hardin goes on. "It's really heartening to see a young actor on the precipice of stardom -- already a star but about to become a bigger one -- who is determined to make the most of what they've got instead of throwing it all away by turning to drugs and alcohol as others have done. I'm happy for Zac in that he's smart, and he has the kind of attitude where he will succeed," she says.
Melora is working hard to succeed with the cabaret act she's been honing for the last six months -- a lifelong dream for the multitalent, who'll sing a blend of jazz, standards, show tunes and songs she's written herself. She's working with director Richard Jay-Alexander, who's helped form acts for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis and Bernadette Peters. "He went to my Web site and listened to my music. … He said, 'When I go to people's sites to listen to them, usually I like maybe one song. I liked all four of the songs you had up there. You're sexy, beautiful, a great writer, on a hit show -- the world is your oyster right now. Let's do it!'"
With roles in the upcoming "27 Dresses" with Katherine Heigl, and the Lifetime movie "My Father's Wife," she's also finished helming her own movie, "You," a drama with a cast including Joely Fisher and Amy Pietz. And then there's "The Office" -- once the strike ends. She's hoping to see some of her "Office" comrades "At the Water Cooler." "We'll see if they got the e-mail," she says.
KEEPING HIS WORD: What a difference a year -- and winning a big reality show -- can make! "America's Got Talent" $1 million winner Terry Fator says, "It changed my life, the types of shows I do, the types of venues." Indeed. Now his contracts include a $1.5 million deal with the Las Vegas Hilton, where he'll be doing his ventriloquist/singer/impressionist thing New Year's Eve. He also performs at Altantic City's Borgata, California's Pechanga and Reno's Grand Sierra Resort. However, Fator's also kept his whole pre-"America's Got Talent" schedule of small venues and fairs. "I'd booked a number of shows, so I went ahead and did them. Some people were surprised about that. One group told me, 'We had someone booked who won a Grammy and then wanted seven times more than we'd agreed on.'" Other performers who had big breaks, Fator's been told, "just cancel outright. I can't imagine that. It's part of being in this business -- these venues took a chance, and they won. Obviously, it's a lot of fun to make a whole lot more money, but what can I say? You honor your commitments."
He laughs, and adds, "I played some places where a year earlier, I got maybe 50 people in a crowd in the afternoon. But this time, I was headlining at night and drawing thousands."
Fator's been contacted by late-night talk shows about appearing now that it looks like individual deals are being struck by their writing staffs as the WGA strike continues, so he'll be showing up, as well as by "America's Got Talent" to show up for some guestings.
FAMILY MATTERS: "The Perfect Holiday" star Morris Chestnut, who plays a department-store Santa who wins over a pretty divorcee's children in the feature, is a devoted father in real life. He notes that his daughter, 9, is "a little entertainer," but he has no intention of getting her into show business until at least she's "a teenager. This business has so much rejection, so many ups and downs," he notes. His 10-year-old son, on the other hand, doesn't appear headed for the limelight as of this time. "He's a straight-A student, who may become a doctor or a lawyer," says his dad.
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