Oh hey, me. Anyone who knows me well knows my love for Hanson. Hell, anyone who doesn't know me, knows my love for Hanson. It doesn't take more than 2 seconds to figure it out. Most people (especially members of my family, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles) all hoped and prayed that it was just a phase I was going through and that I would someday grow out of it. Boy were they wrong. Everyone has come to terms with the fact that I will love Hanson forever. It only took them 16 years, but they've finally accepted it.
Last January my friends and I got word that Hanson was going to be filming their music video for their new upcoming single in LA and they were going to cast local fans to be in the video! I must first mention that I made a list years ago of things I wanted to do in my lifetime, and be in a music video was in the top 10. And that was just any music video, I wasn't specific. So when I found out there was a chance I could be in the music video for my favorite band in the entire world I pretty much lost my shit. I knew I had to be in this video. There was no other option in my mind. The only thing is you had to submit a picture and they would cast you based off of it basically. Fan club members got first priority. I am not a fan club member (though I was in the past) because I can't afford it. And I don't need a stupid key chain or member card to prove my love and devotion to these boys. My friends and I submitted our pictures and info and anxiously waited for any kind of news, call or email. I figured it wouldn't be a problem and we'd all easily get casted because, let's face it, sadly there aren't that many Hanson fans anymore.
Anyone who is a fan of Hanson knows they boys (bless their hearts) are notorious for doing things very last minute. So it was not surprising when at 10pm the night before the music video shoot, no one had heard anything. By no one, I mean absolutely no one: none of my friends, no calls or emails. We were checking Hanson's Facebook and Twitter page every 30 seconds, and the only news we found out was that no one had heard anything. At least we were not alone. Fans were freaking out everywhere. Finally around 1am, the emails starting being received. 3 of my friends got emails saying they had been chosen and gave them all the details for the morning shoot. I couldn't sleep as I was too nervous and kept checking my email. I checked Facebook and more and more people were posting on Hanson's page saying they had been chosen. I noticed that people from all over the place like New York and Canada were saying they were cast, but couldn't make it because they only gave a few hours notice. That is why it was supposed to be for local fans only. I on the other hand, had yet to get an email. I was loosing hope. At 3am Hanson tweeted that they were finishing up the last of the casting and all the emails would be sent out within the next half hour. Still no email for Colleen. At 3:30am I cried. Yeah, I shed a tear. My dream of being in my favorite band's music video was shattered. Sue me. At 6am I awoke to a text from my friend saying she had received "the email" and she was picked to be in the music video. I was happy for her, but sad for me. And the worst thing about it was that she wasn't even a fan club member. So fan club members all got picked, because they had priority, and then they picked a lot of non fan club members and then they did not pick me. I called my mom and crying and said "They didn't pick me! I'm not pretty enough!"(Don't judge me. It was a moment of weakness after a sleepless night, my dreams were crushed so I was a little emotional.) My mom felt bad and but couldn't believe they didn't pick me and they chose every single one of my friends. She's such a good mom. My friend who did get cast told me when and where they'd be filming and told me I should just show up and see if I can somehow get in or at the very least see Hanson. Okay, I had no desire to just "see Hanson." I've seen them 50 times in my life. I wasn't interested in that. As I cired to my mom I told her it wasn't fair because not only did they choose fan club members that weren't local LA residents, the people that weren't even in America, which is bull shit because there was no way in hell they'd be able to get to Los Angeles within 6 hours. So these greedy bitches took the spots of people who actually lived in LA (ummmm, ME!). I was livid. My mom asked me how I knew this, and I told her I saw people posting it on Facebook. Suddenly the light bulb went off in my head and a Grinch-like smile creeped across my face. I can only assume you've seen the Dr. Seuss cartoon "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." You know the scene where the Grinch comes up with idea to steal Christmas and this creepy, mischievous smile slowly spreads across his face? Yeah, that's exactly what my face looked like. I told my mom about one girl in particular (who will go unnamed) I saw on Facebook. She said she received the email saying she had been cast but lived too far away and couldn't make it. She was upset because she didn't live that far away and something about having problems with her internet or email and by the time she got the email it was too late and she wouldn't be able to get to LA in time. I felt bad for her as I completely understood. "Mom, I'm going to use this girl's name, show up to set and pretend him her." My mom thought it was a brilliant idea and in that moment I truly believe she had never been more proud of the young women her daughter turned out to be. Stealing someone's name to sneak into a place she didn't belong. I was creative and thinking outside the box and she thought that was great. I then said "Thank you _______ _______" out loud, asked my mom to wish me luck and hung up. And just like that I had a name that would be on the list and didn't have to worry about this person showing up to set. Then I prayed that they wouldn't ID anyone (as it wasn't a huge production) and was on my merry way. My friend who had an early call time told me when she showed up they didn't ask for a her ID or anything like that. All they asked for was her name. Golden.
They were filming at a small venue called The Satellite in Silver Lake, which is about as hipster as it gets. I met up with my friends and filled them in on my master plan. They were all very supportive (as true friends are) and told me I had a lot of balls to bust into a place that I had no permission to be in. "I'm Colleen" I told them "I do what I want" I said matter-of-factly. See, I have always lived my life like this: You can tell me the rules, and then I will decide if I want to follow them or not. I see no use for stupid rules that are, well, stupid. As long as I am not hurting myself or others, there's really no problem with breaking rules sometimes. Just because you tell me "no" doesn't mean I'm going to say "Oh, OK you're right. I give up." Hell to the no! If you tell me no, I will just find another way to get what I want. This was one of my dreams dammit and no one was going to stand it my way. I also feel the need to tell you one small thing about me. This thing had the power to ruin my entire plan: I am a terrible liar. The absolute worst. Everyone tells me I'm very real and have an open, expressive face. Whatever emotion I'm feeling: happy, sad, angry, tired, sick, excited, etc. you can clearly see it on my face. I can't hide it. I knew I'd be tested when they asked for my name and I had to give them my name, which was not really my name. "Colleen, you can do this. It's just a name. All you have to do is say 2 words and you're in the clear. This is a music video with Hanson we're talking about. Don't be a little bitch. Get it together!" And I did. I got in line, they asked me my name and I gave it to them. They said, OK, no questions asked. The hard part was over. I was still nervous because I didn't want to get caught and thrown out. I was so close I could feel it. Then a production assistant came out to the holding area and informed us that before we could go inside to film, we would all have to get our pictures taken and sign release forms giving our permission to be on camera as the video would be seen everywhere. My heart sank into my stomach. "Release form?" I choked on the words as I said them to my friend. "Dude, I can't sign a release form with someone else's name!!! Can't you go to jail for that?!?!?" I could already picture myself getting cuffed and put into the back of a LAPD cop car. The shame. The horror. "You guys, I can't go to jail. I have to be in this music video. If they want to take me to jail after, then so be it." I should also explain that I have a tendency to jump to the worst case scenario at times. Sometimes my mind gets the best of me and I get carried away. I usually talk some sense into myself, but not until after I've thoroughly freaked myself out for no reason. My friends calmed me down and told me it would be best if I just signed my real name. They already checked us in off the initial list. There were a hundred people and there was no way they were gonna make us all check in again off the same list, or go back and match everyone's release form to their name on the list. It wasn't necessary and would be a complete waste of time. When the time came I signed my real name, took my picture and was let into the venue to film. "Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! You're the man!" I said in my head, as I didn't want to cause a scene. I made it! It was smooth sailing from here on out. For the rest of the day I could just relax, hangout with my friends and my favorite boys/band in the whole entire world.
Once my friends and I got inside the assistant director put us in our places and gave us directions on when and where to go for when we started filming. The scene was set in a bar so they needed people to be hanging out in the background, walking around and talking just like you would do if you were out at a bar with your friends. They told my friend to walk with this short girl and then told me to walk by myself. "Walking alone? Story of my life, dude." I told him. So the plan was my friend would walk across the bar talking to this girl and then 30 seconds later I would follow them...but all alone. "This is super lame" I whispered to my friend. "I'm not doing that. I don't care what they told me to do. I'm walking with you two. I'm not gonna be the only loser walking walking alone in this video." My friend laughed and agreed with my plan, she knew my whole follow rules problem and would rather hang out with me then some short strange girl anyways. We rehearsed walking to our places a couple times. I went along with what they had originally told me to do, but was going to do what I wanted and walk with my friend when they actually started filming. There were a hundred extras they had to deal with so I knew if I waited a couple minutes they wouldn't remember what they told me to do, or even notice if I did anything different. I was right. Filming started and right on cue I walked with my friend right past the camera. It was really hard to concentrate the first time because the second they started playing the music, my friend and I almost peed our pants. Here's the thing, we have loved these boys for 16 years, and no matter how many amazing experiences we have with them, it never gets old. We are always just as excited as we were the first time we saw them when we were 10 years old. The reason for the peeing of the pants this time was Hanson's new single. It had been 3 years since they last put out an album. 3 years is a very long time in Hanson years. So they started playing the new song and we damn near lost it. My friend and I stopped and looked at each other with "OH MY GOSH!" expressions on our faces. Sometimes you don't have to say anything. One look is all it takes. "THIS SONG IS AMAZING! I mean it's really good, really, really good! I'm actually surprised and impressed!" I said to her. "I can't believe it! They sound like a real band!" my friend screamed excitedly. See, we love these boys so much, it doesn't matter what they do, we'd love it. They could sing the alphabet and we'd still love them, even though we may not agree with their song choice. We joke about that a lot. But the truth is, these 3 guys are incredibly talented. People will most likely never realize it because they won't be able to get past a little song called "MMMBop". Which, for the record, is no where close to being their best song. It's a great catchy song, but it doesn't even compare to their other music. Honestly. So we were excited because this song was good. Really damn good. So good it actually had a chance to get air time on the radio, and the best part was, no one would know or even expect it to be Hanson. Which is exactly what these boys need. They need to come out with an amazing song that people will like, then once they're already hooked they'll ask "Who sings this?" and all at once we will yell "Hanson, bitches! That's right! You like a Hanson song. Now suck it!" That's exactly how I envision it.
Back to the filming part. We filmed the scene (over and over and over. And over again. If you've ever been in any type of film or production, you understand what I'm talking about). During one take, Zac Hanson (the drummer and youngest member, who is 28 years old now) came over and talked to me. [Side note: Hanson fans are insane. They are the craziest people I have ever encountered. Every once and a while you will come across a few diamonds in the rough that are actually cool and most importantly normal. Those are my friends. That's why we have to stick together, because we're all that's left. I've meet Hanson countless times, and though they don't know my name (which I thank god for, it's a good thing!) they do recognize my face. I always say, "The day they know my name, is the day I know I've gone too far." They generally know they crazy fans that have stalked them their entire lives. I don't fall into this category, believe it or not. Every time I see Hanson, I keep my distance from them. I don't get all up in their faces asking annoying questions, because it's weird, and honestly, I don't know what to say to them. And it always works in my favor. I can't tell you how many times I have been aroudn them, keeping my distance, and Zac has walked up to ME and started a conversation with ME! That's right people, it's crazy what can happen when you give people a little thing called respect. don't be a crazy bitch, and it will work in your favor. I promise.) I am standing there in my position and Zac walks over to me and asks me how I am and how everything is going. "It's going great" I said playing it cool. Inside I am freaking out, always have, always will, when he talks to me. But I have learned how to play it cool like I'm talking to my friend, even though on the inside I am hyperventilating. The director yells that they're rolling and to get in position. "Watch this," I say to Zac and then walk across the room, just as I have 20 times already. The director yells "cut!" and tells everyone to go back to their starting position. I walk back all cocky and say "Nailed it!" to Zac and he started laughing. I said it with such pride and confidence like I had just completed a 5 page monologue in front of an audience of 5,000 people without making a single mistake. In reality all I did was walk without tripping. I'm not gonna lie, that's actually a huge accomplishment for me.
After we were done filming the bar scene it was time to film the performance part of the video. This was my favorite part because we got to watch Hanson perform their new song about 10 times in a row. It was awesome! My favorite part about attending any type of Hanson event with my best friends is that we have so much fun dancing and being stupid together, that we actually forget Hanson is there. We always dance crazy like we're completely drunk, when all we've had to drink is water. We're just that cool. We payed attention to Hanson the first couple times they performed, then we were over it and stood in the very back and danced like idiots. And it worked in our favor. Throughout the video, you can see us dancing in the back having fun. We didn't even have to push our way to the front or cut a bitch to get on camera. During the final scene Kat Dennings (you know her from "2 Broke Girls" and Nikki Reed, from "Twilight" are watching Hanson in the crowd with their "dates" and they both kiss the guys. I'm standing there, minding my own business and the director goes "Ok, Kat, I want you to stand right here" and literally shoves her next to me. She bumped into my, but not in a rude way. I didn't mind at all. "You're gonna stand here, then you're going to kiss Alex (her "date") and then you're going to watch the rest of the show with each other." "Oh shit!" I say to myself. "THIS IS MY MOMENT! The camera is going to be right on me!" I devised a plane in my head of how I was going to play this, because like I said, this was my big moment. I decided to go for the swinging and flipping my blonde hair through the air type of move. That's my signature, go-to move. People always tell me I have great hair, and I really couldn't let my fans down. They start rolling, the music plays, and I begin swaying my long blonde locks back and forth. I was afraid the director was gonna be like "Hey blondie, let's take it down a notch, shall we? It's not that serious." To my surprise, no one said anything. "Nailed it again!" I thought to myself. After the shoot was over. We were sad, but so happy and grateful as we had just spent the entire day with our favorite band filming their new music video. A day we will never, ever forget. Another side note, I know I trail off topic a lot but I have ADD and I can't help it. I just have to say, Kat Dennings and Nikki Reed are the nicest people I have ever met. And they are pretty famous celebrities. I ran into them in the bathroom and they were really sweet. I didn't ask them for an autograph or a picture, cuz I'm not like that, but they made small talk with me and Nikki Reed held the door open for me when I left. I think we should acknowledge the fact that random strangers don't even do something as simple or nice as holding the door open for you, let alone a famous actress. I said "Thank you" and she said "You're welcome" really sweet. Sometmies it's the simple things in life, ya know. I already liked Nikki and Kat before I met them, but they really went up in my book after, especially Miss Nikki. It's proof that you can be famous and still be a nice person. And they are actual Hanson fans, which is why they were in the video in the first place, which makes them twice as awesome in my opinion.
The hardest part of this whole experience was waiting for the actual video to be released. We filmed it in January and it wasn't released until mid April. Our little Hanson hearts had to wait 3 and a half months to finally see the video, which might as well have been 3 and a half years. That's how long it felt. We finally got word of the release date and the second it was released online all my friends watched it and we agreed that we'd call each other immediately after to discuss what we had saw. Have I mentioned how cool we are? I watched the video and I swear the world stopped in that moment. I went into it telling myself, "Colleen, they probably won't even show you. There's a chance they could have cut out your scene. Do not be upset. Just be thankful you got to be there in the first place." I watched and I couldn't beleive what I was seeing. "THEY SHOWED MY FACE! YOU CAN SEE ME! I'M IN HANSON'S MUSIC VIDEO!" I screamed! The only person who was around to hear me was Samberg, and he was looking quite alarmed as he couldn't understanding why I was jumping and screaming and yes, crying. He was very worried for his mother. I was happy with my quick cameo, but it doesn't stop there. It shows my friends and I dancing in the back and then my big moment came at the end. Yep. That's right. When Kat Dennings has her kissing scene you can see my blonde hair swaying back in forth IN SLOW MOTION. It was everything I dreamed and more. I've always imagined myself on camera whipping my hair around in slow motion. Every girl has dreamed about that one time or another. It finally happened for me...IN A HANSON MUSIC VIDEO. I was beside myself. I am not too proud to admit I cried, a lot. I called my mom crying. She was so happy for me. She couldn't believe it and asked me to send her the link to the video. My mom watched the video and called my back immedialtly. She was so happy and excited for me. "Did you see my hair?!" I exclaimed. "Yes! It looked beautiful!" she said. "I need to call Sheli (my hair stylist) and thank her for making me look like a natural blonde. I couldn't have done it without her" I said dead serious. "Yes, I am going to tell her. She will be so excited!" Before you start judging me, I'm from Sacramento ok, not a lot of exciting things happen there. This was big news for all of us and it was with Hanson. Everyone in the greater Sacramento area knows about my love for Hanson. It was a big day for our community.
I watched the video over and over for the next week, each time smiling as big as I did the very first time I watched it. The music video is such a big deal for me because it represents so many things. One, and the most obvious, my love for Hanson after all these years. I got to cross something off my bucket list and do it with my favorite band of 16 years. Second it's proof that dreams do come true, you just have to work for it. Don't take "no" an answer. If someone tells you "no", find another way to get your "yes". That's exactly what I did. It's funny because I wasn't even supposed to be in this music video at all and they ended up giving me more screen time than almost anyone else! There were girls that were cast as "special key roles" that were guaranteed they'd be seen in the bar scene, and they didn't end up showing them. I busted my way into a place I had no business being and ended up on camera. That is how you make things happen. Ever since I was little I have always been a girl with big, big dreams, but never knew how to achieve them. I thought that I wasn't lucky enough or smart enough to make my dreams a reality. I fell victim to my dreams and that's the worst feeling in the world. Feeling like you can't get what you want or that you don't deserve it. This day helped me realize that I CAN get what I want and I CAN make my dreams come true. I just have to fight for them. And let me tell you, being in a Hanson music video is one of the smallest dreams on my list. I've got much bigger dreams I'm fighting for. But no matter how big or small your dream is, you can make it a reality. If people achieved their dreams easily or if they were just handed them, it wouldn't be as rewarding. Reaching your dream is amazing, but I think what makes it so much better is know you made that dream happen. You worked hard for it. You figured a way, you went for it and you made it happen. I can't explain how empowered you will feel once you realize what you are capable of. It has to be one of the greatest feelings in the world. I honestly believe that if you do everything in your power and work your ass off, you can do anything in this life. You can make any dream come true, whatever it may be.
Last January my friends and I got word that Hanson was going to be filming their music video for their new upcoming single in LA and they were going to cast local fans to be in the video! I must first mention that I made a list years ago of things I wanted to do in my lifetime, and be in a music video was in the top 10. And that was just any music video, I wasn't specific. So when I found out there was a chance I could be in the music video for my favorite band in the entire world I pretty much lost my shit. I knew I had to be in this video. There was no other option in my mind. The only thing is you had to submit a picture and they would cast you based off of it basically. Fan club members got first priority. I am not a fan club member (though I was in the past) because I can't afford it. And I don't need a stupid key chain or member card to prove my love and devotion to these boys. My friends and I submitted our pictures and info and anxiously waited for any kind of news, call or email. I figured it wouldn't be a problem and we'd all easily get casted because, let's face it, sadly there aren't that many Hanson fans anymore.
Anyone who is a fan of Hanson knows they boys (bless their hearts) are notorious for doing things very last minute. So it was not surprising when at 10pm the night before the music video shoot, no one had heard anything. By no one, I mean absolutely no one: none of my friends, no calls or emails. We were checking Hanson's Facebook and Twitter page every 30 seconds, and the only news we found out was that no one had heard anything. At least we were not alone. Fans were freaking out everywhere. Finally around 1am, the emails starting being received. 3 of my friends got emails saying they had been chosen and gave them all the details for the morning shoot. I couldn't sleep as I was too nervous and kept checking my email. I checked Facebook and more and more people were posting on Hanson's page saying they had been chosen. I noticed that people from all over the place like New York and Canada were saying they were cast, but couldn't make it because they only gave a few hours notice. That is why it was supposed to be for local fans only. I on the other hand, had yet to get an email. I was loosing hope. At 3am Hanson tweeted that they were finishing up the last of the casting and all the emails would be sent out within the next half hour. Still no email for Colleen. At 3:30am I cried. Yeah, I shed a tear. My dream of being in my favorite band's music video was shattered. Sue me. At 6am I awoke to a text from my friend saying she had received "the email" and she was picked to be in the music video. I was happy for her, but sad for me. And the worst thing about it was that she wasn't even a fan club member. So fan club members all got picked, because they had priority, and then they picked a lot of non fan club members and then they did not pick me. I called my mom and crying and said "They didn't pick me! I'm not pretty enough!"(Don't judge me. It was a moment of weakness after a sleepless night, my dreams were crushed so I was a little emotional.) My mom felt bad and but couldn't believe they didn't pick me and they chose every single one of my friends. She's such a good mom. My friend who did get cast told me when and where they'd be filming and told me I should just show up and see if I can somehow get in or at the very least see Hanson. Okay, I had no desire to just "see Hanson." I've seen them 50 times in my life. I wasn't interested in that. As I cired to my mom I told her it wasn't fair because not only did they choose fan club members that weren't local LA residents, the people that weren't even in America, which is bull shit because there was no way in hell they'd be able to get to Los Angeles within 6 hours. So these greedy bitches took the spots of people who actually lived in LA (ummmm, ME!). I was livid. My mom asked me how I knew this, and I told her I saw people posting it on Facebook. Suddenly the light bulb went off in my head and a Grinch-like smile creeped across my face. I can only assume you've seen the Dr. Seuss cartoon "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." You know the scene where the Grinch comes up with idea to steal Christmas and this creepy, mischievous smile slowly spreads across his face? Yeah, that's exactly what my face looked like. I told my mom about one girl in particular (who will go unnamed) I saw on Facebook. She said she received the email saying she had been cast but lived too far away and couldn't make it. She was upset because she didn't live that far away and something about having problems with her internet or email and by the time she got the email it was too late and she wouldn't be able to get to LA in time. I felt bad for her as I completely understood. "Mom, I'm going to use this girl's name, show up to set and pretend him her." My mom thought it was a brilliant idea and in that moment I truly believe she had never been more proud of the young women her daughter turned out to be. Stealing someone's name to sneak into a place she didn't belong. I was creative and thinking outside the box and she thought that was great. I then said "Thank you _______ _______" out loud, asked my mom to wish me luck and hung up. And just like that I had a name that would be on the list and didn't have to worry about this person showing up to set. Then I prayed that they wouldn't ID anyone (as it wasn't a huge production) and was on my merry way. My friend who had an early call time told me when she showed up they didn't ask for a her ID or anything like that. All they asked for was her name. Golden.
They were filming at a small venue called The Satellite in Silver Lake, which is about as hipster as it gets. I met up with my friends and filled them in on my master plan. They were all very supportive (as true friends are) and told me I had a lot of balls to bust into a place that I had no permission to be in. "I'm Colleen" I told them "I do what I want" I said matter-of-factly. See, I have always lived my life like this: You can tell me the rules, and then I will decide if I want to follow them or not. I see no use for stupid rules that are, well, stupid. As long as I am not hurting myself or others, there's really no problem with breaking rules sometimes. Just because you tell me "no" doesn't mean I'm going to say "Oh, OK you're right. I give up." Hell to the no! If you tell me no, I will just find another way to get what I want. This was one of my dreams dammit and no one was going to stand it my way. I also feel the need to tell you one small thing about me. This thing had the power to ruin my entire plan: I am a terrible liar. The absolute worst. Everyone tells me I'm very real and have an open, expressive face. Whatever emotion I'm feeling: happy, sad, angry, tired, sick, excited, etc. you can clearly see it on my face. I can't hide it. I knew I'd be tested when they asked for my name and I had to give them my name, which was not really my name. "Colleen, you can do this. It's just a name. All you have to do is say 2 words and you're in the clear. This is a music video with Hanson we're talking about. Don't be a little bitch. Get it together!" And I did. I got in line, they asked me my name and I gave it to them. They said, OK, no questions asked. The hard part was over. I was still nervous because I didn't want to get caught and thrown out. I was so close I could feel it. Then a production assistant came out to the holding area and informed us that before we could go inside to film, we would all have to get our pictures taken and sign release forms giving our permission to be on camera as the video would be seen everywhere. My heart sank into my stomach. "Release form?" I choked on the words as I said them to my friend. "Dude, I can't sign a release form with someone else's name!!! Can't you go to jail for that?!?!?" I could already picture myself getting cuffed and put into the back of a LAPD cop car. The shame. The horror. "You guys, I can't go to jail. I have to be in this music video. If they want to take me to jail after, then so be it." I should also explain that I have a tendency to jump to the worst case scenario at times. Sometimes my mind gets the best of me and I get carried away. I usually talk some sense into myself, but not until after I've thoroughly freaked myself out for no reason. My friends calmed me down and told me it would be best if I just signed my real name. They already checked us in off the initial list. There were a hundred people and there was no way they were gonna make us all check in again off the same list, or go back and match everyone's release form to their name on the list. It wasn't necessary and would be a complete waste of time. When the time came I signed my real name, took my picture and was let into the venue to film. "Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! You're the man!" I said in my head, as I didn't want to cause a scene. I made it! It was smooth sailing from here on out. For the rest of the day I could just relax, hangout with my friends and my favorite boys/band in the whole entire world.
Once my friends and I got inside the assistant director put us in our places and gave us directions on when and where to go for when we started filming. The scene was set in a bar so they needed people to be hanging out in the background, walking around and talking just like you would do if you were out at a bar with your friends. They told my friend to walk with this short girl and then told me to walk by myself. "Walking alone? Story of my life, dude." I told him. So the plan was my friend would walk across the bar talking to this girl and then 30 seconds later I would follow them...but all alone. "This is super lame" I whispered to my friend. "I'm not doing that. I don't care what they told me to do. I'm walking with you two. I'm not gonna be the only loser walking walking alone in this video." My friend laughed and agreed with my plan, she knew my whole follow rules problem and would rather hang out with me then some short strange girl anyways. We rehearsed walking to our places a couple times. I went along with what they had originally told me to do, but was going to do what I wanted and walk with my friend when they actually started filming. There were a hundred extras they had to deal with so I knew if I waited a couple minutes they wouldn't remember what they told me to do, or even notice if I did anything different. I was right. Filming started and right on cue I walked with my friend right past the camera. It was really hard to concentrate the first time because the second they started playing the music, my friend and I almost peed our pants. Here's the thing, we have loved these boys for 16 years, and no matter how many amazing experiences we have with them, it never gets old. We are always just as excited as we were the first time we saw them when we were 10 years old. The reason for the peeing of the pants this time was Hanson's new single. It had been 3 years since they last put out an album. 3 years is a very long time in Hanson years. So they started playing the new song and we damn near lost it. My friend and I stopped and looked at each other with "OH MY GOSH!" expressions on our faces. Sometimes you don't have to say anything. One look is all it takes. "THIS SONG IS AMAZING! I mean it's really good, really, really good! I'm actually surprised and impressed!" I said to her. "I can't believe it! They sound like a real band!" my friend screamed excitedly. See, we love these boys so much, it doesn't matter what they do, we'd love it. They could sing the alphabet and we'd still love them, even though we may not agree with their song choice. We joke about that a lot. But the truth is, these 3 guys are incredibly talented. People will most likely never realize it because they won't be able to get past a little song called "MMMBop". Which, for the record, is no where close to being their best song. It's a great catchy song, but it doesn't even compare to their other music. Honestly. So we were excited because this song was good. Really damn good. So good it actually had a chance to get air time on the radio, and the best part was, no one would know or even expect it to be Hanson. Which is exactly what these boys need. They need to come out with an amazing song that people will like, then once they're already hooked they'll ask "Who sings this?" and all at once we will yell "Hanson, bitches! That's right! You like a Hanson song. Now suck it!" That's exactly how I envision it.
Back to the filming part. We filmed the scene (over and over and over. And over again. If you've ever been in any type of film or production, you understand what I'm talking about). During one take, Zac Hanson (the drummer and youngest member, who is 28 years old now) came over and talked to me. [Side note: Hanson fans are insane. They are the craziest people I have ever encountered. Every once and a while you will come across a few diamonds in the rough that are actually cool and most importantly normal. Those are my friends. That's why we have to stick together, because we're all that's left. I've meet Hanson countless times, and though they don't know my name (which I thank god for, it's a good thing!) they do recognize my face. I always say, "The day they know my name, is the day I know I've gone too far." They generally know they crazy fans that have stalked them their entire lives. I don't fall into this category, believe it or not. Every time I see Hanson, I keep my distance from them. I don't get all up in their faces asking annoying questions, because it's weird, and honestly, I don't know what to say to them. And it always works in my favor. I can't tell you how many times I have been aroudn them, keeping my distance, and Zac has walked up to ME and started a conversation with ME! That's right people, it's crazy what can happen when you give people a little thing called respect. don't be a crazy bitch, and it will work in your favor. I promise.) I am standing there in my position and Zac walks over to me and asks me how I am and how everything is going. "It's going great" I said playing it cool. Inside I am freaking out, always have, always will, when he talks to me. But I have learned how to play it cool like I'm talking to my friend, even though on the inside I am hyperventilating. The director yells that they're rolling and to get in position. "Watch this," I say to Zac and then walk across the room, just as I have 20 times already. The director yells "cut!" and tells everyone to go back to their starting position. I walk back all cocky and say "Nailed it!" to Zac and he started laughing. I said it with such pride and confidence like I had just completed a 5 page monologue in front of an audience of 5,000 people without making a single mistake. In reality all I did was walk without tripping. I'm not gonna lie, that's actually a huge accomplishment for me.
After we were done filming the bar scene it was time to film the performance part of the video. This was my favorite part because we got to watch Hanson perform their new song about 10 times in a row. It was awesome! My favorite part about attending any type of Hanson event with my best friends is that we have so much fun dancing and being stupid together, that we actually forget Hanson is there. We always dance crazy like we're completely drunk, when all we've had to drink is water. We're just that cool. We payed attention to Hanson the first couple times they performed, then we were over it and stood in the very back and danced like idiots. And it worked in our favor. Throughout the video, you can see us dancing in the back having fun. We didn't even have to push our way to the front or cut a bitch to get on camera. During the final scene Kat Dennings (you know her from "2 Broke Girls" and Nikki Reed, from "Twilight" are watching Hanson in the crowd with their "dates" and they both kiss the guys. I'm standing there, minding my own business and the director goes "Ok, Kat, I want you to stand right here" and literally shoves her next to me. She bumped into my, but not in a rude way. I didn't mind at all. "You're gonna stand here, then you're going to kiss Alex (her "date") and then you're going to watch the rest of the show with each other." "Oh shit!" I say to myself. "THIS IS MY MOMENT! The camera is going to be right on me!" I devised a plane in my head of how I was going to play this, because like I said, this was my big moment. I decided to go for the swinging and flipping my blonde hair through the air type of move. That's my signature, go-to move. People always tell me I have great hair, and I really couldn't let my fans down. They start rolling, the music plays, and I begin swaying my long blonde locks back and forth. I was afraid the director was gonna be like "Hey blondie, let's take it down a notch, shall we? It's not that serious." To my surprise, no one said anything. "Nailed it again!" I thought to myself. After the shoot was over. We were sad, but so happy and grateful as we had just spent the entire day with our favorite band filming their new music video. A day we will never, ever forget. Another side note, I know I trail off topic a lot but I have ADD and I can't help it. I just have to say, Kat Dennings and Nikki Reed are the nicest people I have ever met. And they are pretty famous celebrities. I ran into them in the bathroom and they were really sweet. I didn't ask them for an autograph or a picture, cuz I'm not like that, but they made small talk with me and Nikki Reed held the door open for me when I left. I think we should acknowledge the fact that random strangers don't even do something as simple or nice as holding the door open for you, let alone a famous actress. I said "Thank you" and she said "You're welcome" really sweet. Sometmies it's the simple things in life, ya know. I already liked Nikki and Kat before I met them, but they really went up in my book after, especially Miss Nikki. It's proof that you can be famous and still be a nice person. And they are actual Hanson fans, which is why they were in the video in the first place, which makes them twice as awesome in my opinion.
The hardest part of this whole experience was waiting for the actual video to be released. We filmed it in January and it wasn't released until mid April. Our little Hanson hearts had to wait 3 and a half months to finally see the video, which might as well have been 3 and a half years. That's how long it felt. We finally got word of the release date and the second it was released online all my friends watched it and we agreed that we'd call each other immediately after to discuss what we had saw. Have I mentioned how cool we are? I watched the video and I swear the world stopped in that moment. I went into it telling myself, "Colleen, they probably won't even show you. There's a chance they could have cut out your scene. Do not be upset. Just be thankful you got to be there in the first place." I watched and I couldn't beleive what I was seeing. "THEY SHOWED MY FACE! YOU CAN SEE ME! I'M IN HANSON'S MUSIC VIDEO!" I screamed! The only person who was around to hear me was Samberg, and he was looking quite alarmed as he couldn't understanding why I was jumping and screaming and yes, crying. He was very worried for his mother. I was happy with my quick cameo, but it doesn't stop there. It shows my friends and I dancing in the back and then my big moment came at the end. Yep. That's right. When Kat Dennings has her kissing scene you can see my blonde hair swaying back in forth IN SLOW MOTION. It was everything I dreamed and more. I've always imagined myself on camera whipping my hair around in slow motion. Every girl has dreamed about that one time or another. It finally happened for me...IN A HANSON MUSIC VIDEO. I was beside myself. I am not too proud to admit I cried, a lot. I called my mom crying. She was so happy for me. She couldn't believe it and asked me to send her the link to the video. My mom watched the video and called my back immedialtly. She was so happy and excited for me. "Did you see my hair?!" I exclaimed. "Yes! It looked beautiful!" she said. "I need to call Sheli (my hair stylist) and thank her for making me look like a natural blonde. I couldn't have done it without her" I said dead serious. "Yes, I am going to tell her. She will be so excited!" Before you start judging me, I'm from Sacramento ok, not a lot of exciting things happen there. This was big news for all of us and it was with Hanson. Everyone in the greater Sacramento area knows about my love for Hanson. It was a big day for our community.
I watched the video over and over for the next week, each time smiling as big as I did the very first time I watched it. The music video is such a big deal for me because it represents so many things. One, and the most obvious, my love for Hanson after all these years. I got to cross something off my bucket list and do it with my favorite band of 16 years. Second it's proof that dreams do come true, you just have to work for it. Don't take "no" an answer. If someone tells you "no", find another way to get your "yes". That's exactly what I did. It's funny because I wasn't even supposed to be in this music video at all and they ended up giving me more screen time than almost anyone else! There were girls that were cast as "special key roles" that were guaranteed they'd be seen in the bar scene, and they didn't end up showing them. I busted my way into a place I had no business being and ended up on camera. That is how you make things happen. Ever since I was little I have always been a girl with big, big dreams, but never knew how to achieve them. I thought that I wasn't lucky enough or smart enough to make my dreams a reality. I fell victim to my dreams and that's the worst feeling in the world. Feeling like you can't get what you want or that you don't deserve it. This day helped me realize that I CAN get what I want and I CAN make my dreams come true. I just have to fight for them. And let me tell you, being in a Hanson music video is one of the smallest dreams on my list. I've got much bigger dreams I'm fighting for. But no matter how big or small your dream is, you can make it a reality. If people achieved their dreams easily or if they were just handed them, it wouldn't be as rewarding. Reaching your dream is amazing, but I think what makes it so much better is know you made that dream happen. You worked hard for it. You figured a way, you went for it and you made it happen. I can't explain how empowered you will feel once you realize what you are capable of. It has to be one of the greatest feelings in the world. I honestly believe that if you do everything in your power and work your ass off, you can do anything in this life. You can make any dream come true, whatever it may be.
One of my hair whipping slow motion shots. See the music video (below) for the full effect.
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