Lucas Grabeel was born on November 23, 1984 to Stephen and Jean Grabeel in Springfield, Missouri. He has an older sister, Autumn. He was always interested in performing and even at a very young age, he and his sister would entertain their parents and friends with short skits, commercials and plays. School was always important to Lucas. He attended Logan-Rogersville Elementary and Middle Schools (Rogersville High School), and then Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri - as well as attending the Missouri Fine Arts Academy. In school he was a very good speaker on his feet and took 5th place in the Mshsaa Speech & Debate Championships in 2003. He also participated in all of the school’s theatrical productions - beginning with his sixth grade performance in The Secret Garden. He was in eight different school productions before graduating. In addition, he was also involved with the Y.E.S. Troup in his area.
- 6/19/2008
- by cjoyce@corp.popstar.com (Colleen Joyce)
- PopStar
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Compagnie D'Avril/Alice Prods./Open Pictures
SANTA BARBARA -- Adapted from the series of Alice novels by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alice Upside Down is a Disney Channel-ready tween comedy-drama that's nicely anchored by an affable cast. It recently screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Alyson Stoner ("The Suite Life of Zack & Cody") capably holds down the fort as the title preteen heroine, Alice McKinley, whose mother died of leukemia six years earlier.
But time is proving to be a slow healer for her musician dad, Ben (Luke Perry), who has just moved Alice and her older brother, Lester (Lucas Grabeel), to a new town (played by St. Louis), where he has opened his own music store.
Meanwhile, Alice isn't off to the greatest of starts at her new school, where she already is locking horns with her teacher, mean old Mrs. Plotkin (a swell Penny Marshall), and demonstrating that she hasn't inherited her parents' singing voices when she auditions for the annual musical.
Director Sandy Tung, whose previous family film credits include the past two Shiloh movies -- also based on Naylor novels -- does an efficient job distilling the material with assistance from co-screenwriter Meghan Heritage, but it's the bright performances that really keeps Alice Upside Down on its feet.
Even when she's required to speak directly into the camera (a by-now all-too-common technique that proves more distracting than cute) or put herself in some clunky fantasy sequences, Stoner displays a self-effacing underdog quality that makes her easy to root for while the adults are called upon to provide some real character substance rather than merely popping in and out as standard-issue authority figures.
Compagnie D'Avril/Alice Prods./Open Pictures
SANTA BARBARA -- Adapted from the series of Alice novels by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alice Upside Down is a Disney Channel-ready tween comedy-drama that's nicely anchored by an affable cast. It recently screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Alyson Stoner ("The Suite Life of Zack & Cody") capably holds down the fort as the title preteen heroine, Alice McKinley, whose mother died of leukemia six years earlier.
But time is proving to be a slow healer for her musician dad, Ben (Luke Perry), who has just moved Alice and her older brother, Lester (Lucas Grabeel), to a new town (played by St. Louis), where he has opened his own music store.
Meanwhile, Alice isn't off to the greatest of starts at her new school, where she already is locking horns with her teacher, mean old Mrs. Plotkin (a swell Penny Marshall), and demonstrating that she hasn't inherited her parents' singing voices when she auditions for the annual musical.
Director Sandy Tung, whose previous family film credits include the past two Shiloh movies -- also based on Naylor novels -- does an efficient job distilling the material with assistance from co-screenwriter Meghan Heritage, but it's the bright performances that really keeps Alice Upside Down on its feet.
Even when she's required to speak directly into the camera (a by-now all-too-common technique that proves more distracting than cute) or put herself in some clunky fantasy sequences, Stoner displays a self-effacing underdog quality that makes her easy to root for while the adults are called upon to provide some real character substance rather than merely popping in and out as standard-issue authority figures.
- 2/12/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A handsomely crafted boy-and-his-dog picture in the tradition of "Old Yeller" and "Lassie Come Home", "Shiloh" hits all the requisite emotional chords while adroitly veering clear of mushy sentimentality.
Serving as a solid directorial debut for Dale Rosenbloom, the low-key, family-oriented picture might drum up a little theatrical business, but "Shiloh" will ultimately have its day on video.
Adapted by Rosenbloom from the award-winning novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the story is set in the microscopic town of Friendly, W.Va. While most folks live up to the municipal moniker, an exception to the rule is Judd Travers (Scott Wilson), a lonely hunter whose method of training his dogs is known to involve kicking, caging and general all-around abusiveness.
When his new beagle decides he has been smacked in the head with a rifle butt for the last time, he runs into the forest, where he meets up with young Marty Preston (Blake Heron), and the two strike up a fast friendship.
While Marty wants to keep the dog, who he has named Shiloh because he found him near the Shiloh Bridge, his stern, by-the-book dad (Michael Moriarty) insists he return the pooch to its owner. The wheels of moral dilemma are thus set in motion.
There's some terrific casting at work here. As the core family, Heron, Moriarty and Ann Dowd as Marty's mom make for a fully believable unit, warts and all. Wilson, meanwhile, as the abusive Travers, is far from the usual, cardboard-cutout big-screen villain. He invests his solitary character with a quiet pathos, and he lives his life by his own, personally justifiable moral code.
Rounding out the main cast, Rod Steiger puts in a warm, heartfelt performance as the country doctor, while Bonnie Bartlett plays his supportive wife.
In adapting the material, Rosenbloom has been careful to keep the characters fully dimensional. While a few carefully injected doses of levity would have helped prevent the story from hovering on the somber side, overall it's a job well done.
That extends to the technical side, highlighted by cinematographer Frank Byers' ("Twin Peaks") bright outdoor compositions and a satisfying background score composed by Joel (Jerry's son) Goldsmith.
SHILOH
Legacy Releasing
A Utopia Pictures, Carl Borack production
in association with Zeta Entertainment
Director-screenwriter Dale Rosenbloom
Producers Zane W. Levitt, Dale Rosenbloom
Executive producers Carl Borack, Mark Yellen
Based on the novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Director of photography Frank Byers
Production designer Amy Ancona
Editor Mark Westmore
Costume designer Charmain Schreiner
Music Joel Goldsmith
Casting Laura Schiff
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ray Preston Michael Moriarty
Doc Wallace Rod Steiger
Marty Preston Blake Heron
Judd Travers Scott Wilson
Mrs. Wallace Bonnie Bartlett
Louise Preston Ann Dowd
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Serving as a solid directorial debut for Dale Rosenbloom, the low-key, family-oriented picture might drum up a little theatrical business, but "Shiloh" will ultimately have its day on video.
Adapted by Rosenbloom from the award-winning novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the story is set in the microscopic town of Friendly, W.Va. While most folks live up to the municipal moniker, an exception to the rule is Judd Travers (Scott Wilson), a lonely hunter whose method of training his dogs is known to involve kicking, caging and general all-around abusiveness.
When his new beagle decides he has been smacked in the head with a rifle butt for the last time, he runs into the forest, where he meets up with young Marty Preston (Blake Heron), and the two strike up a fast friendship.
While Marty wants to keep the dog, who he has named Shiloh because he found him near the Shiloh Bridge, his stern, by-the-book dad (Michael Moriarty) insists he return the pooch to its owner. The wheels of moral dilemma are thus set in motion.
There's some terrific casting at work here. As the core family, Heron, Moriarty and Ann Dowd as Marty's mom make for a fully believable unit, warts and all. Wilson, meanwhile, as the abusive Travers, is far from the usual, cardboard-cutout big-screen villain. He invests his solitary character with a quiet pathos, and he lives his life by his own, personally justifiable moral code.
Rounding out the main cast, Rod Steiger puts in a warm, heartfelt performance as the country doctor, while Bonnie Bartlett plays his supportive wife.
In adapting the material, Rosenbloom has been careful to keep the characters fully dimensional. While a few carefully injected doses of levity would have helped prevent the story from hovering on the somber side, overall it's a job well done.
That extends to the technical side, highlighted by cinematographer Frank Byers' ("Twin Peaks") bright outdoor compositions and a satisfying background score composed by Joel (Jerry's son) Goldsmith.
SHILOH
Legacy Releasing
A Utopia Pictures, Carl Borack production
in association with Zeta Entertainment
Director-screenwriter Dale Rosenbloom
Producers Zane W. Levitt, Dale Rosenbloom
Executive producers Carl Borack, Mark Yellen
Based on the novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Director of photography Frank Byers
Production designer Amy Ancona
Editor Mark Westmore
Costume designer Charmain Schreiner
Music Joel Goldsmith
Casting Laura Schiff
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ray Preston Michael Moriarty
Doc Wallace Rod Steiger
Marty Preston Blake Heron
Judd Travers Scott Wilson
Mrs. Wallace Bonnie Bartlett
Louise Preston Ann Dowd
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 4/22/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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