Victoria Justice has picked out her perfect Halloween costume.
“I’m going to be Cher in the ’70s!” says the 19-year-old star, whose trick-or-treat-themed comedy “Fun Size” opens on Friday.
“I’m a huge fan of hers. She’s just phenomenal.”
It’s an apt choice for Justice, who like her Halloween muse is a singer as well as an actress. And even though she was born after the ’70s — as well as the ’80s, when the films that inspired “Fun Size” were released — she’s a student of pop-culture history.
“I love those John Hughes movies,” Justice says. “I grew up watching ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘Sixteen Candles.’ ‘The Breakfast Club’ is one of my all-time favorites.”
In “Fun Size,” Justice plays Wren, a suburban high-schooler stuck baby-sitting her troublesome little brother on Halloween when all she wants to do is attend a party hosted by her dreamboat classmate.
It’s slightly more mature material than what young fans of her Nickelodeon comedy “Victorious” are used to seeing. And that’s exactly how Justice wants it.
“I’m growing up — that’s inevitable,” she says. “This is just evolution for me. I’m a young adult, and I want to start transitioning into projects that young adults are going to want to see.”
“Fun Size” director Josh Schwartz was more than happy to help Justice take baby steps toward a more grownup screen persona.
“Victoria was comfortable with the movie being more sophisticated and edgy,” he says. “But it was important her character still had a lot of the characteristics people look up to in her.”
Victoria Justice performing on Nickelodeon’s ‘Victorious’ in 2010
And do they ever look up to her. While shooting all night on location in Cleveland, Schwartz was shocked to see Justice’s tween fans stay up to meet her. “She would come out at 5:30 in the morning and shake every hand and take every picture,” he says. “She has such an amazing dynamic with her fans.”
Those young devotees were disappointed when Nickelodeon recently opted not to renew “Victorious,” a high-school-set musical comedy, as was Justice. But now she sees it as another opportunity to grow.
“I actually think it’s good timing,” she says. “No offense to Nickelodeon — I loved my time there, but I’m ready to see what other doors open up.”
Although Paramount is releasing “Fun Size” under its Nickelodeon banner (and its first PG-13 film), Justice insists, “I don’t want people to think the role was just handed to me. I definitely won it on my own merit, so I’m proud of that.”
She’s maintained that strong work ethic since moving from Hollywood, Fla., to Hollywood, Calif., at age 10 to pursue acting. Guest roles on shows like “Gilmore Girls” led to her first regular TV gig, opposite Jamie-Lynn Spears on “Zoey 101.”
That Nick sitcom ended prematurely when Spears became pregnant, but Justice has kept working hard and managed to avoid the tabloid pitfalls of fast fame. “I’ve stayed focused and not fallen into the party scene,” she says.
“My mom has been a great role model for me — she’s a smart, down-to-earth lady who’s not affected by fame and the business,” she adds.
The same could be said of Justice, which is why she relates more to her “Fun Size” character, Wren, than to the unattainable teen queen she plays in “The First Time,” another comedy now in theaters.
“I have a goofy, dorky side,” she says. “I’m just a normal teenage girl trying to find my way!”
Source : nydailynews[dot]com
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