Olivia's Screen Comeback - A Mom For Christmas
By From Jenny Cooney in Cincinnati, Ohio
We’re in a picturesque neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, a long way from home for Australia’s Olivia Newton-John. Few stars ever get to Cincinnati, one of the biggest cities in Ohio but far from the bright lights of Hollywood. Which probably explains why, during the night TV WEEK visited the set of A Mom For Christmas the telemovie which marks Olivia’s return to acting after seven years hundreds of neighborhood fans braved the cold just to catch a glimpse of her. And Olivia didn’t disappoint them. Although the temperature was freezing, Olivia stopped to sign autographs, chatted with the locals and won them over when she dressed up her daughter, Chloe, 5, as Rapunzel and took her knocking on doors “trick or treating” for Halloween with a friend Chloe had adopted.
There was no sign of temper tantrums or egos on this set, either. Olivia, relaxing in her modest dressing-room trailer during a break in filming, jokes that the whole atmosphere is so relaxed, thanks largely to Australian director George Miller (Man From Snowy River), that she’s thoroughly spoilt. “There’s a wonderful atmosphere on the set I think George and I speak the same language,” Olivia says. “Everyone is so relaxed and comfortable. John Farrar (Australian music producer married to Olivia’s Koala Blue partner, Pat Farrar) is doing the music on this movie and Koala Blue is supplying all the clothes it’s a real Aussie production!”
It’s been 12 years since the hit musical Grease rocketed Olivia to international screen stardom. Already an established recording artist, Olivia then starred in several other big American movie - Xanadu, a film which did only mild box-office business but which introduced her to her husband, actor Matt Lattanzi, and Two Of a Kind, with John Travolta which flopped. Referring to her last movie’s miserable death at the box office, Olivia still manages a quip when asked about her acting comeback. “I think the decision not to act for seven years was made for me, because the last movie didn’t do well.”
In A Mom For Christmas, Olivia is playing Amy, a store mannequin that comes to life when a little girl wishes for a mother for Christmas. After Jim (Knot’s Landing star Doug Sheehan) and Jessica Slocum (Juliet Sorcey) become attached to the stranger, they realise that her time is running out and they must find a way to keep her from turning back into a mannequin when the magic wish wears off. Olivia is surprised at the hype surrounding her “comeback” “It just seemed to be the right role,” she says with a shrug.
“I get to play a mum and I liked that idea and it was a sweet story about Christmas that, if done well, could be played every year. It just had a lot of nice elements in it and it’s very rare for me to read a script that struck me the way this one did.” Olivia admits she was nervous returning to acting, but wouldn’t mind if other offers followed. “I think of myself as a singer more than an actress, but I would like to do other things that I wouldn’t be embarrassed for my daughter to see me in.”
Olivia admits her career as a top recording artist and business-woman running Koala Blue with Pat gives her the financial security to be choosy about roles. Chloe was with Olivia on the set until Matt came to visit and returned with her to the family’s Malibu home. “This has been great because it hasn’t interfered with Chloe and that’s the most important priority for me,” Olivia says. “She’s not in regular school yet so she could be here with me. She came for the first 2 1/2 weeks and then Matt joined us and took her home so they could have some time alone together.”
As if Olivia’s family and career commitments aren’t enough, she’s also still putting all her spare time into her environmental work, recently travelling to a Brazilian rainforest area with ECO Earth Communications Office, an environmental group that boasts also superstar Tom Cruise as a celebrity supporter. And, since she was appointed the first Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations earlier this year, Olivia had dedicated even more time to this issue. “I think it’s vital,” she explains.” “We have 10 years to turn things around and I give as much time to that as I can without it interfering with my life.”
“When I did my children’s album (Warm And Tender, recorded in Australia last year), I had the record company use recycled paper and let me put 10 points on healing the Earth inside the album.”
Back out on the set, it’s hard to find anyone who talks about their Aussie co-star in anything less than glowing terms until you meet young co star Juliet Sorcey, who rolls her eyes up in disgust and reveals: “At dinnertime, Olivia always tells me to eat my greens!” Olivia, overhearing the remark, chuckles and confesses: “I’m a worse nag than her real mum!”
Although Olivia is reticent to talk about just what being a parent has added to her skills as an actress, Miller is not. “The maturity that being a mother brings to her is really quite deep,” he says. “She can draw on all kinds of things. There’s a scene here, in which her character cries, that would be demanding for any actress. I told Olivia glycerine was available (a tear- producing trick), but she insisted on trying it herself first. We rolled the cameras, she thought about the scene with her head down quietly for a minute, and when she looked up there were tears pouring down her face the whole crew was in shock!”
Although Australian audiences won’t get to see Olivia’s new acting role until next Christmas, the telemovie airs across America on December 17. If it rates well, Olivia might be back in talks with the American network NBC to star in a possible series to be developed early next year.