PLACENTIA — Kherington Payne continues her rise from local high school graduate to budding Hollywood performer.
The Placentia resident, who made the final 10 on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance”, has landed a major role in the upcoming remake of the 1980 dance-film, “Fame.”
Payne will play Alice, who she described as a “Park Avenue girl” who tries to get away from “her parents’ materialistic lifestyle.” It is Payne’s first role outside of the FOX show.
“I’m going to try my hardest to bring that Park Avenue girl out,” she said. “I think that’s what being a good actress is.”
Payne said she was approached by Clear Talent Group out of the blue while she was on tour with the cast of “So You Think You Can Dance”. She won the part after an audition. Filming starts in December, three weeks after the tour ends Nov. 17.
“I’m trying to fit ‘Fame’ things in while I’m on tour,” she said. “It’s crazy, but it’ll be fun.”
The film tells the story of about 10 characters who are all trying to make it in the entertainment industry. Payne’s character, originally slated to be a ballerina, has been recast as an aspiring contemporary dancer.
When asked if her character was similar to where she is in her life, Payne said: “Completely, completely. A lot of these actors and actresses that are in the movie with me have had some experience and have a name for themselves. I’m struggling, but it is an awesome experience for me to put myself up there and try to make it.”
For an 18-year-old girl who just graduated from El Dorado High School, Payne has made a quick entry into the movie business. She said fear of being in-over-her head isn’t a factor.
“It’s more like, ‘This is crazy,'” she said. “I just graduated high school, and now I’m into the real world. I missed the whole college, being-on-my-own experience and now I just went straight into it. So it’s kind of scary, where I’m like, ‘Whoa, I have to grow up so fast!’ I have to have a career already, but it’s exciting at the same time.”
Payne is being paid $65,000 to star in the film. Shooting will run through March. After that, she hopes to have an agent and audition for more roles. She said she’s been preparing for the role by practicing her lines in between tour stops and taking acting classes in each of the cities the tour stops in. Possibly her best preparation though came from the show that first put her in the limelight.
“It made me more comfortable in front of a camera,” she said. “I feel like I’m very comfortable speaking in front of the camera because of the show.”
MGM is financing the $25 million project, which will be directed by choreographer Kevin Tancharoen and produced by Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg of Lakeshore Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 1980 film won two Academy Awards – for Best Original Score and Best Song, “Fame.”
Contact the writer: 714-704-3782 or eneff@ocregister.com
