Brian and Ella sit down with Mar & Mel at Words Feather blog.
Mar & Mel: We’re so excited to
have the stars of Cinder & Ella here with us today! Thank you guys for
stopping by to chat with us.
Brian: No, thank you for having us. We’ve been having a lot of fun with this blog
tour thingie.
Ella: Blog tour thingie? Is that a technical term?
Brian: It is now. I just coined it. I
can do that, you know. I’m a trendsetter.
Mel & Mar: Yes you are! Brian,
we’re really big fans of both you and the books in The Cinder Chronicles
series. We were very excited when you were cast to play Cinder for the movie. What
was it like to play your favorite character of all time?
Brian: It was a dream come true. I’ve
never had more fun on a project, or worked so hard to really bring a character
to life.
Mar & Mel: Being such a big fan
yourself, were you a headache (pain in the ass) to the writers/director/other
people involved in making the film?
Brian: Hell yes I was. I’m not even
ashamed to admit it. But I wasn’t difficult like the way Kaylee was. I’m not a
diva or anything. I just had a vision for this film and I couldn’t stand to see
anyone screwing it up. I swear my dad was ready to kill me so many times
because I kept trying to take over his job. But it was The Druid Prince! I had to.
Mar & Mel: What's the best part
about Ella being half Latin?
Brian: Obviously there’s her looks.
The combination of her skin tone and her eyes makes her so gorgeous she’s
literally painful to look at. But between you and me, I love it when she talks
dirty to me in Spanish. Okay, knowing Ella she’s more likely insulting me than
talking dirty to me, but the way the words roll off her tongue…it’s so hot. I can’t ever learn the language,
because knowing what she’s saying might take away some of the magic.
Mar & Mel: Aw, that’s so
romantic! You guys make such a great couple. Tell us more about how you met,
and what was the best part about having done it online?
Brian: I wouldn’t give back the way I
met Ella for anything. As you said, we met online. I came across a blog post about
the books that really resonated with me and felt compelled to write the blogger
a fan letter.
Ella: *snorts* A fan letter? Is that what you call it?
Brian: *grins at Ella* You liked it
enough to respond with a love letter. The rest is history.
Ella: Don’t mind him, he’s
delusional. He wrote a “letter to the editor” to tell me how crazy I was and I
wrote him back and told him where he could stick his letter to the editor.
Brian: *laughs* And like I said, the
rest is history. The best part about our relationship was that it was
anonymous. I was able to just be myself with her for the first time in my life
and not worry if she only liked me because I was rich, famous, and gorgeous.
Plus, she never held back her real opinions with me. No one else in the world
will ever defend themselves against me. Why do you think I fell in love with
her after I red her reply to my letter?
Ella: It’s true. The boy lives for a
good argument. Forget acting, he should have been a politician. I loved the
honesty of our relationship too, but I didn’t have his fame problem, and I
always wished we could have known each other in person. Though, if we had met
in person, I probably would have never gotten to know the real him. He hides
himself to most people. Which is a shame, because who he is on the inside is
even better than who he is on the outside.
Brian: Aw, thanks babe. But I gotta
say, I appreciate what’s on your outside just as much as the inner you. *grins
wickedly* Especially certain parts of the outer you.
Ella: Brian!
Brian: I’m talking about your eyes, Ella. Your eyes are beautiful. Geez, woman, and you say I have a dirty mind…
Mar & Mel: Wow, okay, um, so
Ella, we have lots of Chilean readers, which is where your mom born, would you
like to visit the country? Or any other part of Latin America?
Ella: Of course! I want to see all of
the world, but especially Chile. My mom’s family is from Concepcion, Chile. My
grandparents came to the States when my mom was twelve, so she remembered a lot
from her home country. She told me all about it and showed me tons of pictures,
so it sort of feels like this magical place from a fairy tale as well as an old
friend. I definitely have to visit there someday.
Mar & Mel: As a fellow blogger,
any advice you could give us?
Ella: Get a famous movie star to pimp
your blog. Kidding. Though, that does help. ;) Seriously though, the best thing
is to be yourself in your posts. Let your personality shine through. If the
readers feel like they know you personally, that’s what’s going to set you
apart from all the other blogs they read.
Mar & Mel: Thanks. And can we
just say that you are amazing at that? You are so funny on your blog! Especially
now that you’ve gone public with your relationship. You and Brian are hilarious
together. How does it feel dating this guy? Being famous and all. It must be
hard but incredibly awesome at the same time. ;)
Ella: I’m not sure I can put it into
words. The fame is really, really strange and a huge hassle, but I think
knowing that he’s the guy I chatted online with for so many years overwhelms me
more than the movie star thing. I mean Cinder was just Cinder for so long.
Sometimes I’ll look at Brian and the truth that he’s the guy who’s always been
my best friend will hit me all over again.
Mel & Mar: And would you like to
do something/reach out/help other people that go through by all you went
through?
Ella: I’ve actually already sort of
started doing this. I’ve made a couple of motivational public speaking
appearances, talking about my experiences, and I’ve got more scheduled for the
future. It started when The Kenneth Long Show invited Brian and I to do a
follow up interview after The Druid Prince Premiere. After telling my story on
TV I got so many calls from all kinds of different organizations from people
who wanted me to come and speak. What surprised me is how much I enjoy it. I
thought I would be nervous to be in front of an audience, but Brian convinced
me it wasn’t much different than posting my thoughts on my blog. He was right.
Brian: Of course I was. She rocked
it. She had the whole audience bawling like babies. She’s truly an amazing
woman.
Ella: *blushes* I just like that, if
sharing my story helps others learn to cope with the troubles in their life, then
at least something good came from all my tragedy. Well, something other than
Brian, of course.
Mel & Mar: That’s great! I’m sure
you’ll be able to help so many people. We were certainly inspired by your
story. Thank you both so much for stopping by today. It’s been so fun. We wish
you all the best with the new book and the new relationship!
