Taking it SLOW

Outgrowing her Disney persona and weary of the celebrity merry-go-round of the last few years,Miley Cyrus,who stars in a new film,is taking a break from the music business

Outgrowing her Disney persona and weary of the celebrity merry-go-round of the last few years,Miley Cyrus,who stars in a new film,is taking a break from the music business
Iam just double-checking, says Miley Cyrus,leaning over to see if my digital recorder is running. Not that I dont trust you,but there have been some interviews that have not gotten recorded. Its pretty clear that the 17-year-old pop idol is taking charge. After being known as Disney Channels kid star Hannah Montana,Cyrus is heading in a more grown-up direction in her new film,The Last Song. Her role in the film was specifically written for her by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook),and even the character,Veronica Millerwho goes by the name Ronnie,was named after her grandfather. Her mother,Tish Cyrus,had a hand in producing The Last Song,directed by Britains Julie Anne Robinson. It also stars Australian actor Liam HemsworthCyrus current boyfriendas Ronnies love interest,Will.

Cyrus plays a troubled 18-year-old who has been sent,along with her younger brother,to live with her composer father (Greg Kinnear),whom she resents for leaving her mother. A good girl but hardly Hannah Montana,Ronnie has some rough edges and,as a New Yorker,isnt happy about living in a Southern beach town.
She is,of course,musically talented,but as a pianist. Youll only hear Cyrus vocals on two songs on the soundtrack and in the movie once,as she sings along to Maroon 5s She Will Be Loved on the radio while riding in a car. I think its a song that everyone knows and it was one that went with the theme of the film,but one that everyone can sing along with, says Cyrus,who chose the rest of the songs for the film. If anyone knows the songs,its the person playing the character.

She currently is finishing up an album that will be released in June,but those may be the last tunes youll hear from Cyrus for a while. I kind of dont want to do music right now, she says,describing the record as sounding a little bit more pop and definitely a little edgierkind of like The Killers. Thats my favourite band. The reason shes taking a break,she says,is that she has grown tired of all the politics in the record industry.
Production is underway now for the last season of Hannah Montana. The final episodes of Season Four wont air until next spring,but Disney Channel promises that the series 100 episodes will continue to air daily for years to come.

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Cyrus admits she has to be careful about what roles she chooses next. I still want (my fans) to know who I am,but I want to extend my audience. I want to continue to do what I love,but not just be the same person,over and over, she says. Next up is an American version of a 2008 French film called LOL (Laughing Out Loud),a teen comedy about a mother and daughter with relationship problems.

While most actresses play younger roles,in The Last Song Cyrus plays older,filming the role of an 18-year-old when she was 16. I feel being compared to a normal 17-year-old is a little bit hard to do, she says. I dont feel like thats who I am necessarily. I think the media likes to use that to their advantage sometimesshes only 17,why is she doing this? And then they like to act like Im older sometimes.

At 15,she was caught up in the controversy over an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot for Vanity Fair that showed her holding just a sheet and telling the magazine her favourite show was Sex And The City. She eventually issued a statement saying she was embarrassed about the article. But you get the sense that shes wearied somewhat of the celebrity merry-go-round.
Last October,she even stopped using Twitter. I was just tired of telling everyone what Im doing, says Cyrus,who has been based in Los Angeles for more than three years. Her post-Twitter life has allowed her to be on the phone a lot less and be a little bit more social. I have a lot more real friends than friends that Im talking to on the Internet, she says.
NYT