It all starts with a dream

L.A. Correspondent

Talking with kids can be a lot of fun. They express their thoughts in a way that can be both entertaining and spirited, although, at times, challenging, too.

Recently, this writer, along with a group of select journalists from other parts of the world, sat with the three kids who star in Dimension Films’ The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl for an early afternoon, post-lunch interview in a converted hotel suite at the posh Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"This is Shark Boy, Taylor Lautner."

"This is Cayden (Boyd), Max."

"This is Lava Girl, Taylor (Dooley). Again!"

One by one they identified themselves by speaking directly to an assortment of voice recorders neatly arranged on the round table at the request of a Japanese colleague; to ensure that we don’t get confused with whose voice is whose when we review the tape later on.

Coming to our room after having gone through the rounds of interviews in the morning, the kids seemed not tired at all. It’s as if they were grown-up veterans doing the junket rounds. During interview breaks, they were huddled together inside a room where they played together and watched TV. When I got to the hospitality suite for my 1 p.m. schedule, I saw them running around, checking out the food in the buffet table and not forgetting to say their hellos to people they meet.

They were playful during the interview. Months spent together filming the movie in the Texas studio owned by director Robert Rodriguez has certainly fostered a closer bond that, if I didn’t know, seemed to have been borne out of a long friendship.

"Even if I was the only girl, I never really felt left out. They were really nice." Taylor Dooley said of her co-stars.

There are two Taylors in the movie. And they both play the titular characters. Their casting, however, was serendipitous. "After just the first day of casting, Taylor and Taylor were the first two kids to come in to read for Shark Boy and Lava Girl and there was something so fantastical about them," recalled Robert.

Twelve-year-old Taylor Lautner is an accomplished martial arts athlete. He has three Junior World Championships aside from being a member of the LA Hip Kids, a hip-hop dance performance group.

"I didn’t know I was going to do all those flips because Robert didn’t know I did martial arts. But then, when we were there he found out that I did it and he asked me to choreograph my own fight scenes," Taylor recalled. "I said, yeah! That would be awesome. So I did that and I flipped to a song."

"He did all his stunts, I did mine on wires," Taylor Dooley added. She is the other Taylor in the movie. Taylor Dooley is a veteran in the commercial circuit, having appeared in national campaigns for Disney Superstar Kids and Honda.

"And I was just falling on my face during the entire movie," Cayden Boyd said in fake lament, to the delight of the two Taylors. Cayden Boyd is the most veteran among the three coming into this movie. He has with Tim Robbins in Mystic River and with Ben Stiller in Dodgeball. His other movie credits include Envy, Exposed and Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan.

The three, together with George Lopez, Kristin Davis and David Arquette, star in Robert Rodriguez’s latest film after the critical and commercial blockbuster, Sin City.

The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D is the tale of a young boy’s adventure into a world he created in his dreams.

Robert Rodriguez shares screenwriting credit with his seven-year-old son Racer Max, whose drawings of Shark Boy and Lava Girl inspired him to make the movie. His other two sons appear as the younger Max and the younger Shark Boy in the movie.

"Man, this Rodriguez boys work around the clock," George jokingly shared. "Most kids want a bicycle, they want a final draft!

"My kids, they all draw a lot. Every time they see me work on different designs for my movie, they come and draw with me and Racer is very much like me when I was his age. He came up with Lava Girl and Shark Boy and Mr. Electric, and he came up with more ideas very quickly."

His son’s drawings and the idea of dreams and the power it wields germinated in Robert’s mind while in production with Sin City.

"Everything begins with a dream and the message of the movie is when you have a dream you have to keep working at it."

In the movie, Max (Cayden Boyd) is an outcast little boy lost in his own fantasy world. He imagined Shark Boy – a half-boy, half-shark creature – and Lava Girl – a volcanic creature that spews flames when angry. One day, he finds himself on a mission to Planet Drool where Shark Boy and Lava Girl live to help them save their planet from the evil clutches of Mr. Electric and the sinister Minus.

In Planet Drool, Max discovers a world of extraordinary wonders. He can ride on the Train of Thought to take him to the Land of Milk and Cookies. It was almost perfect until Max meets the evil duo trying to eliminate all the dreams in Planet Drool forever.

"It was a blast doing the movie," said Taylor Lautner.

"It was hard because it was my first movie," Taylor Dooley added. "So, for about the first month, it was difficult because I was used to three-day shoots, but this two (referring to her co-stars) helped me a lot."

She also admitted being nervous at first when told her hair had to be dyed purple.

Although most of the action sequences were filmed amidst giant green screens, the child actors still had a grand time on the set. Real chocolates were used as props in the scenes set in the Land of Milk and Cookies.

Taylor Lautner recalled, "My favorite probably would be when I stepped on a puddle of chocolate on a cookie and I get to lick it up and then the next scene Cayden had to eat all the chocolate… then next came lunch." They all broke into sweet laughter, as they remembered how they couldn’t eat lunch after stuffing themselves with chocolate.

"I loved the scene where I sneeze." Lava Girl, when angry or startled, emits gigantic leaping flames. Taylor Dooley shared: "It was so funny and both of them were screaming and running and Cayden suddenly says ‘Woooh!’ the expression on his face was so funny."

Cayden, who was mostly quiet during the interview and had to be directly asked to answer, said of his favorite scene: "My favorite is when me and him (referring to Taylor Lautner) were running away from Lava Girl and we were screaming like little girls."

There are other scenes in the movie where children would be delighted. The Dream Duel between Max and Minus in the climactic scenes where, literally, a Brain Storm occurs, should be something to watch out for.

Although shooting the film ended months ago, they still find time to see each other. And since Taylor Dooley is the best of friends with Cayden’s sister, they get to see each other often.

"Everything that is or was began with a dream," Lava Girl explains one scene. Notwithstanding the many variations one can make from this, it very much captures the essence of how things are universally equal. With just a vision, a dream, a goal can be formed and success achieved.

Racer Max may not have had this in mind when he made those fantasy doodles. But looking at where his creation has taken him, it is no wonder that he has fired the kids’ imagination, and he has kept it alive.