Synopsis
Hollywood Stargirl is an upcoming American teen romantic drama film directed by Julia Hart from a screenplay that she co-wrote with Jordan Horowitz. The film is a sequel to the 2020 film Stargirl, which was in turn based on Jerry Spinelli’s novel of the same name; it is not an adaptation of the novel’s sequel Love, Stargirl.
The story follows Stargirl and her mother Ana, who is hired as the costume designer on a movie, as they relocate to Los Angeles and meet new friends.
The film is set to be released on Disney+ on June 3, 2022.
Stargirl
Grace VanderWaal is back as Susan “Stargirl” Caraway in this sequel however I highly recommend watching “Stargirl” before you watch “Hollywood Stargirl”. It is a great refresher to see the incredible journey “Stargirl” has gone through in two years.
A little backstory at the end of the school dance In Mica Arizona after Stargirl arranges for Leo to perform his and his father’s favorite song, “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, Leo discovers that Stargirl has moved away. The whole school feels the effect of her actions, with students feeling inspired to be kinder and help each other out.
Other pupils make up stories about Stargirl, to the point where people wonder if she was even a real person. The last shot is of the school’s trophy case, which is now full of awards, with Stargirl’s trophy resting right in the middle, leaving us with questions about what happened to her and where she went.
Is the film like the Second Novel?
The answer is no, this film this brand new story of Hollywood Stargirl we see “Stargirl’s journey out of Mica and into a bigger world of possibilities.
With no spoilers I can tell you that Ana Caraway played by Judy Greer and Stargirl’s mother have moved to California for a new job, trading small town Mica for the sunny hills of Hollywood.
We also get a glimpse of Stargirl’s discontent with moving around a lot while talking to her mother. We also meet Evan (played by Elijah Richardson), who introduces himself as her new neighbor. He also introduces Stargirl to another one of their neighbors, Mr. Mitchell (Judd Hirsch). Evan then offers her a role in a film that he is making with his brother Terrell (Tyrel Jackson Williams).
While spending time with the brothers, Stargirl sees Roxanne Martel (Uma Thurman), a singer who only put out one album before disappearing from the music industry. We then see Stargirl and Roxanne chatting about music, with Roxanne saying that Stargirl needs to write original music rather than just perform other people’s songs.
There is a lot of growth in this sequel, and I was happy to attend the press junket for the film and listen to the cast and director themselves on their thoughts of the film.
Interviews
I had the pleasure of being on a panel in which we were able to interview the film director and cast. There was an array of questions that were ask in relation to the film however my question which I think was super important was “What do you want families especially teenagers to takeaway from the film?” The answer from the cast was perfect as it encompasses everything that this movie is about.
Elijah : All right, so basically what I want them to be able to take from this is to learn that running away from
your issues or your problems isn’t the way to go about things. You know, you have to face it eventually, you
know. Taking risks doesn’t always mean that you’ll fail. You can take a risk and be the most successful person ever.
You know what I mean? So just be willing to take a risk
.
GRACE: That was good. That was really, really good. That actually, like, reminded me of, like, what I take away from
the movie. Anyone can relate to this.
GRACE: I think this is something that we all, like, cope with, just our entire lives, is the fact that life is just entirely out of your control. And you can either be really, really upset with that or just kind of roll with the punches and let opportunities open up around you and take that in. You never know, like, how much it’s gonna change your life or won’t change your life at all. And who cares? You know what I’m saying? You just keep moving. So I think that is what I like to take away from the movie.
JULIA: You figure it out as you go.
GRACE: You figure it out as you go.
Make sure you and the whole family tune into Hollywood Stargirl June 3rd on Disney Plus
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