Christina Milian's "Pulse" Beat

Tiny dynamo singer/actress Christina Milian has a recent hit with dance club tune "Say I" from her album "So Amazin'" but she's "parted ways" with Island/Def Jam records and is working on the next phase of her musical career. Meanwhile, the girl wears her other "hat" quite well. She's gone from a role in the comedy So Cool to co-star in the techno-horror film Pulse, alongside "Veronica Mars'" Kristen Bell. In Pulse, everyone on earth is being attacked through all of their electronic equipment and "offed" by ghosts from another dimension opened up by some computer geeks in a lab. Whoops! The only "safe" zones are those pesky places where your cell phone won't work!

Cutie Christina came to our interview in Beverly Hills all bouncy in jeans, form fitting navy shirt, navy bead necklace, gold chain, dangle earrings and a gold bracelet. Her brown/gold hair was down in curls and she emphasizes her chat with her hands.. nails all French manicured. She's just as upbeat and bubbly as we remember her from our last sit-down. Tune in for news on shooting a film in Romania, offset antics, special effects make-up, her role and future film and music plans...

TeenHollywood: Do you think our modern technology is pulling us closer together or driving everyone further apart?

Christina: Definitely, I think it works both ways. [It makes us] closer together, but further apart, in the sense that I don't think people are having an actual connection to each other anymore. I've got guys that have tried to date me, literally for a month, by texting. They're extra charismatic. There's so much charisma through the texts, but then, when you meet them in person, they're nothing like that. [Laughs] You go on one date and it's not the same. I think people are hiding behind it. It's definitely a way to hide yourself. And, it's connected me with my fans, in that way. I think it brings us closer together. You're able to find people. My mom found a high school friend through the Internet. It's the information superhighway. I don't know but I think it's connecting us more, yeah.

TeenHollywood: Pulse is based on the Japanese film Kairo. Have you seen it?

Christina: I haven't gotten to see it. I want to see it. It's funny because, when we were shooting the movie, Jim Sonzero, the director, had it, but he didn't want us to see it. Maybe he just didn't want us to make comparisons during shooting. But, I heard it came out on DVD, so I'm going to pick it up and get to see it before this movie comes out so I can compare the difference.

TeenHollywood: You were shooting a scary movie in Romania. Sounds very "dark" to me. How did everyone stay upbeat?

Christina: It was actually very dark in Romania. We were there for two months. So, it was about entertaining yourself, a little bit more. We had the worst trailers that smelled like dead cat. It was disgusting. And, there were wild dogs everywhere. They have over 70,000 wild dogs in Romania. They're everywhere. But, there were a couple dogs that were friendly and became our friends [laughs], so I guess that lightened the mood for us, day to day. We spent a lot of time working out. Working out was our past time. We spent an hour to two hours a day, just running on the treadmill for fun. And, our iPods were on us 24/7.

TeenHollywood: See, there's that technology again. Did you get the chance to travel around Romania?

Christina: No. I mostly stayed within Bucharest. A couple of people went to Transylvania, but they said it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, anyways. They said they went out there and it was nothing like what they expected, and the beach had bugs. So, I'm happy I didn't go. I did get to go to Rome for three days, which was nice. I found three days and told them I was doing a show there, but really it was just a vacation. [Laughs] So, I went and it was the best time ever. Believe me, I needed it. It was hard for me. It was a little depressing, to be honest with you, being out there and shooting the film there. And, on top of that, you're shooting a scary movie. But, it worked out, in its own way, because it kind of puts you in the mood for the scenes you're preparing for. We stepped away from the whole Hollywood scene, which was nice.

TeenHollywood: What was the food like in Romania?

Christina: I eat anything. The one good thing that they had was Benihana. Benihana was like the Mr. Chow or the Crustacean of Romania. It was so good. We ate that. There was a Chinese place down the street. I did try the Romanian food, right before we left, and it was actually delicious. It just didn't look as appetizing, but it was actually very good. They have a stew that was meat in a red sauce, and their rice was delicious. They had the most delicious vegetables because everything there is organic and fresh, and it doesn't have all that extra stuff that we put it ours. So, I got by with the food, believe me. I found my way. [Laughs]

TeenHollywood: What's a scary movie that scares you, either as a kid or recently?

Christina: As a kid, Stephen King's 'It.' [Mini-Series on TV]. I was never scared of clowns, but after seeing that movie, it did give me a little phase where I don't look at clowns the same way, at all. Freddy Krueger was another one. When I watch it now, I can't believe how scared I was of him because he tells a bunch of jokes. When you watch it now, you're like, 'Oh, my gosh.' But, I had a lot of nightmares about Freddy Krueger. He was in a lot of them.

TeenHollywood: You have some gruesome make-up in this movie; all black and veiny. Can you talk about your make-up?

Christina: The effects make-up was really very unique. They spent about three or four hours working on my make-up, particularly, drawing this design, and they wanted it to look a particular way, so there were several brushes. I would sit there and, especially for that particular scene, I was getting prepared for it. I would sit there and listen to depressing music and look at pictures of my family, preparing for that scene. But, yeah, the effects make-up was unbelievable. He did a really good job.

TeenHollywood: It looked like it took a while to put on.

Christina: Yeah and the first two days we thought we were going to shoot that scene, it didn't happen, so he kept having to paint me, every day. That was right before I was going to leave to come back home to America, so I was like, 'Please do this scene soon. I cannot wait until this is over.' But, finally, on the third day, [we shot that scene]. I was really looking forward to that scene, to be honest with you, because a lot of the time, people look at a lot of the musicians that have become actresses and the work that comes to them seems very easy.

TeenHollywood: So you were hoping for a big, dramatic scene?

Christina: When I got the script for Pulse, I thought it was an opportunity for me to challenge myself as an actress and show that, not only am I a musician, but acting actually was my first dream and I'm going to go out there and do it. And, on top of that, with that particular scene, I was like, 'No make-up.' A lot of these Hollywood girls would have been putting on lashes [laughs] and still getting their hair all pretty, but as an actress, I really wanted to become that character. So, that was a big thing for me and, also, in the movie, I think it was a great scene.

TeenHollywood: How was it working with Jim Sonzero, being a new director?

Christina: I had never gotten to see Jim's work, but he seemed like he had the persona. The movie's very dark. Jim's buff and he's got all these tattoos. [Laughs] I was like, 'Is he a biker? Is he kinda weird? There's something different going on with him.' But, he's actually the coolest guy in the world. He was great with direction. We spent a lot of time doing table reads 'cause there were a lot of different changes that they made in the script. So, he was very hands on, and he allowed us to be hands on, like saying, 'This doesn't make sense,' or 'I wouldn't say it this way.' He was really cool and very open. That was what was great about him. It was fresh and new, and he knew what he was doing.

TeenHollywood: You say some horror films scared you. How did you like being the person doing the scaring?

Christina: I loved it. [Laughs]. I think it's cool. I always watch scary movies and wonder, 'Okay, were they actually scared? Did they get scared from it?' But, being in the scene, it was both, 'Okay, I know what's going to happen', but, at the same time, they put me in moments that were very true to life. With the laundry room scene, I've actually felt like that. I've been in my apartment building and there's the laundry room, and you're by yourself, and the hairs on the back of your neck are raising because you're afraid somebody's going to come in and do something. I get freaked out. I actually was scared, and they were scared for me, especially when the phantom attacks me. [Laughs]

TeenHollywood: Without giving the "scare" away, was there anything there, or was that all computer?

Christina: No, there was somebody there. They had six guys and, I didn't know what the effect was going to be. I thought they were going to do CGI, but they actually had the guys [laughs] there, and I had no clue how they were going to do it. And so, I said, 'Don't let me see it. When you say, 'Action!,' I'm just going to go for it. I'm getting chills thinking about it. Their timing was impeccable. It was just so freaky and scary. The scream that came out of me was just so natural. I've seen that particular scene probably three of four times, and every time I watch it, I don't feel like it's me in the scene. I feel like I'm watching a movie. It feels weird and I still get scared.

TeenHollywood: Can you talk about your music?

Christina: This past year, I had a single called "Say I" that came out, and an album called 'So Amazing' that came out, as well. And, since then, I've actually parted ways with Island/Def Jam, which was the record label that distributed it. Now, I'm in the process of moving on. I've gotten a lot of great offers and I think I've found my home, so we're in negotiations and I'm in the process of working on new music, and placing new music. I have the second single for this girl named Paula Deanda. She has a new single coming out called 'Hard to Walk Away,' and I wrote that with Ne-Yo. It's cool.

TeenHollywood: When do you think your next album will come out?

Christina: I want to do it right and take my time, especially because the single "Say I" was just out this summer. Sometimes you don't want to keep pounding people in the face with yourself. I want to make sure, at the end of the day, that I'm going to take my time and do it right, so it could be sometime in 2007. Late 2007 is what I'm hoping for.

TeenHollywood: Who do you listen to?

Christina: I listen to everything. I really do. I listen to Fall Out Boy, and I listen to Jay-Z. My iPod is just filled with different types of music. Lately, I've been listening a lot to LeToya Luckett. I'm really happy for her. She's doing well. And, I'm looking forward to Christina Aguilera's album coming out, and Justin Timberlake. I think there's going to be some good albums.

TeenHollywood: How was the experience of working on Jessica Simpson's "Public Affair" video?

Christina: It was fun. It was actually the first time I met Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate and Andy Dick. I'm a huge fan of Andy Dick. I love him. And, I'd met Jessica Simpson on different occasions, but we'd never really gotten to hang out, so the first time was on the set. It was actually a lot of fun. All the girls were really nice. Brett Ratner was the director, which is a dream come true for any actress to even just work with him. So, he made us look beautiful. [Laughs] He did a great job. And, the set was laid back. It was cool.

TeenHollywood: Was it weird that it was someone else's video?

Christina: Well, when you're put into the position of being on another female's video, you never know how you're going to be treated, or if they're going to say, 'Okay, enough camera time.' You never know the rules. I didn't want to be in the way. But, they were the coolest group of people. There were no egos. Nothing like that was going on, on the set. We had some very funny moments, actually, during shooting, that were accidental, like us hitting each other or people falling. Eva's dress went all the way up by accident [laughs], so you could see everything. We had some funny moments that were going on, but we giggled and laughed it off.

TeenHollywood: What's next for you?

Christina: I kind of just gave the go to my agents to send me the scripts because I've been doing music so heavily this summer. So, I'm reading scripts right now and hoping the next project is going to be even better.

Christina: Drama. I would love to do a drama, even something independent. I would love to do an independent film. It's really not about the money for me, to be honest. It's such a challenge, and I love being on screen and becoming somebody else. [Laughs] So, I think that's what's next for me.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.