Hilary Duff Living a 'Cinderella' Dream

07/25/2004 6:48 AM, Reuters


Don't hate Hilary Duff because she has done what few entertainers have been able to do: cross over from TV to conquer the worlds of movies and music. She must be doing something right, because practically everything she touches turns into a hit.

With the kind of hectic work schedule 16-year-old Duff is keeping, expect to see more of her on the big screen for quite some time.

Her current movie, "A Cinderella Story," a romantic comedy from Warner Bros. Pictures, opened in U.S. theaters July 16. She just completed filming the New Line Cinema drama "Raise Your Voice" (which opens in U.S. theaters Oct. 9), and she has been most recently filming the Universal Pictures romantic comedy "The Perfect Man," due next year.

Duff told Billboard that her role in "Raise Your Voice" has probably been her favorite so far because "it's so dramatic. People really haven't seen me do this kind of role before. I play a character whose brother is dying."

In "The Perfect Man," Duff has the role of a daughter who tries to play matchmaker to her single mother, portrayed by Heather Locklear. "It's a great mother/daughter movie," Duff says.

And although the Cinderella story has been told many times onscreen, Duff says that what appealed to her about her current movie was that "this is really an updated version of the story, and this is probably the most girl-empowered Cinderella we've seen in the movies."

Hollywood Records released the soundtrack to "A Cinderella Story" July 13. As with the case of many of Duff's projects, she is prominently featured on the album. Duff performs six of its 14 songs.

The lead single is a cover of the Go-Go's hit "Our Lips Are Sealed," with the new version performed by Duff and her older sister, Haylie. The song's video has quickly become a favorite at MTV.

Hilary Duff has also been doing a slew of TV appearances to promote the movie and soundtrack, including ABC's Good Morning America" (her outdoor performance on the show drew about 7,000 people, according to ABC), NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," MTV's "Total Request Live" and the syndicated "Live With Regis & Kelly."

The Duff sisters are currently on a North American tour together, which continues through September.

"We love working together," Hilary says of her sister. "We decided to do a version of 'Our Lips Our Sealed' because it's a good message for stuff that's going on in the movie and in my life, like dealing with gossip and all that high school drama."

Hilary Duff turns 17 on Sept. 28. That same day Hollywood will release her next (still untitled) album, the follow-up to her multiplatinum debut, "Metamorphosis." Like most teen singing stars who become young adults, Duff (the former star of Disney Channel's "Lizzie McGuire" series) says that her new album will show her mature side. But don't expect a Britney Spears /Christina Aguilera vamp transformation. The bubbly Duff says she is excited about her new songs and that her fans will not be disappointed.

Duff is certainly working hard to have such a hot career. However, she says this about one of the keys to her success: "I just have such a great team around me who knows how to schedule things so there isn't too much interference between all the things I'm working on."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter