The hype surrounding the release of Camp Rock 3 has been a “whirlwind” for its central group of talented young stars, so much so that when they stopped by DECIDER’s studio on Wednesday (August 19), they couldn’t believe it had been almost a week since the movie premiered on Disney Channel.
“It has?” Liamani Segura exclaimed.
“Wait, what” Lumi Pollack echoed.
Casey Trotter added, “That is crazy.”
As for how they feel about the reception to the latest entry into the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), which sees them as part of the new generation of Camp Rockers competing to be Connect 3’s (the Jonas Brothers) opening act, Torres, Segura, Pollack, Trotter, and Hudson Stone all had positive things to say.
“I think good,” Stone said of how fans have taken to the film.
Pollack quipped, “Obviously, we haven’t even had any perception of time because this whole week has been such a whirlwind for all of us. But just all good stuff I think!”
While Segura said she “can second that,” Trotter offered up a sense of gratitude for the experience and the hard work he and his co-stars put into the film, which is streaming now on Disney+.
“I feel so grateful. I feel like, just the amount of work that we all put in is so great and I’m just proud of everyone and so grateful,” he shared.
Outside of their auditions and screen tests, the four young actors hadn’t previously known each other, but quickly took a liking to each other’s company while shooting in Canada.
“I don’t think there were any moments when we weren’t hanging out,” Pollack recalled. “Even if we had been filming all day, we were like, ‘We should just watch a movie in someone’s room.’”
Segura said their group pastimes ranged from the aforementioned movie nights to seafood boils, and the quality time clearly paid off. Here’s what the actors shared about which Camp Rock songs they loved recreating, how long they’ve been privy to Demi Lovato and Milo Manheim’s Camp Rock 3 cameos, and what they’ve been watching (outside of Camp Rock 3, of course)…
DECIDER: I’m so excited to talk to you about Camp Rock 3. It’s now been almost a week since the movie premiered on Disney Channel.
LIAMANI SEGURA: It has?
LUMI POLLACK: Wait, what?
CASEY TROTTER: That is crazy.
LP: It’s only been like three days! What do you mean?
I know, it’s crazy!
LP: Wait, sorry? Pause!
Today’s Wednesday, I think it came out last Thursday.
HUDSON STONE: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
CT: No, what?
So how are you guys feeling? What has the reception been like?
HS: I think good.
LP: Obviously, we haven’t even had any perception of time because this whole week has been such a whirlwind for all of us. But just all good stuff I think! Yeah?
LS: I can second that, yeah.
CT: I feel so grateful. I feel like, just the amount of work that we all put in is so great and I’m just proud of everyone and so grateful.
You guys got to perform some of the most iconic songs from the first two Camp Rock movies. Which song was your favorite to recreate?
HS: I think for me, I loved recreating “Start the Party,” just because that was fun. The dancing, the choreo. We were all together, we were all in that number all at one time, and it just felt iconic.
LS: I think “We Rock.”
LP: I was going to say that, too.
LS: I think “We Rock” was my favorite especially because it was also with…
HS: “We rock!”
LS: … the Jonas Brothers. We got to perform it onstage for the Final Jam with them, and that was really full-circle.
LP: I would say ‘We Rock” too. It was just crazy because I think the day before we actually filmed that, later that night, we got to go to an actual Jonas Brothers concert. So being able to perform onstage with them in a soundstage and then go and watch them in an arena full of thousands of people was one of the most surreal moments of filming.
Two exciting cameos that fans only found out about just ahead of the movie being released were obviously Demi Lovato and Milo Manheim. How early on did you find out they were going to appear in the movie, and how difficult was it to keep this a secret?
LS: Milo Manheim went to the concert with us!
LP: And that was like, such a last-minute thing. I think at the concert — like, we saw him at the Jonas Brothers concert. And then I think Gary Marsh — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this.
LS: You’re allowed to say that.
LP: Mr. President of Mr. Disney Channel was like, “Hey, you should be in our movie.” And he was like, “Hey, yeah.” So that was cool. Demi we knew.
HS: Demi we knew.
LP: We been knowing.
LS: We knew about Demi, but it was so hard to keep a secret. I swear our lips were so sealed. And I think the fans started catching on, literally a few days before the movie came out. And we were like, “No! We’ve done so good!”
With the Demi cameo, Liamani, you got to share a special onscreen moment with her when Mitchie waves to Sage from the wings. How surreal was that to shoot?
LS: That was so insane. I remember that day… ooh, that day. Oh my gosh! I remember it like it was yesterday. The look that we share is such a special moment in the film, and it kind of feels like she’s passing the torch, which is so crazy to even say out loud. But I definitely look up to her so much. So to have that moment with her just means the entire world, and I can’t wait for the fans to see it.
Lumi, hearing that you learned to play the cello for this role was incredible. How long did it take for you to get down?
LP: Well, we had about a month of prep before we actually were shooting. So I think literally Day 1, we started dance rehearsals, we started all of our musical lessons. So it was like Day 1 of prep, and I think it was about a month of lessons. At first I think there were like two hours every day, to just get the basics down of cello. I feel like everybody who you see playing the cello has had experience since they were 5 years old, and I think Rosie, my character, is the type of character to have had played the cello her entire life. So that was a lot of pressure stepping into that, I think. But I just made sure to stay committed and practice on my own. So yeah, it was about an hour to two hours of practice every single day until we started shooting.
Wow, that’s amazing.
LP: And then also while we were shooting. Whenever I had free time.
We need a Camp Rock album set to strings. Like each song with a strings take on it.
ALL FOUR: [Laugh]
HS: Yeah.
Hudson, I have to tell you I loved the song “Get Ready.” Such a bop.
HS: Thank you!
And you’re a musician outside of your onscreen work. Did you feel like you were infusing any of yourself into the role?
HS: Oh, for sure. I feel like Veronica Rodriguez, our director, helped do a great job of that and bringing me to the role of Desi. And I think, as far as me bringing Hudson to the role, I’m a musician, I write my own music, and I feel Desi is very much in that same vain. And “Get Ready” is a song that’s like him stepping into the spotlight, and that felt like a moment for me to do the same. I’ve never danced before Camp Rock, so a lot of my personal arc meets up with Desi’s in a way. So that’s really cool.
That’s so cool. Casey, I read how you started as a drummer, and that has led you to so many roles that include both acting and drumming, which I think is so cool. Do you have any other dream role that could combine the two?
LP: Whiplash?
CT: Like a Whiplash could be super cool. Something band-related. I feel like a lot of the time, a lot of the focus really isn’t on the drummer because there’s so much else in the band. And I’d love to do something that would be really mainly drummer-focused. That would be super cool.
Did any of you four know each other before filming? And if not, how did you bond on set to create this chemistry?
LP: I don’t think we did.
CT: [To Lumi] I met you at the testing.
LP: Yeah, we met on tests.
HS: On auditions.
LP: But no, we hadn’t known each other. But I think, like, filming something — especially filming on location where we all were in a different country together — you bond just so quickly. And with these people, it’s really easy to become friends with them. But I think, like, we were all staying in the same hotel and we were kind of forced to hang out with each other because there’s no one else when we’re in a different country.
HS: Yeah, you don’t know anybody but the people you’re with. Like, it’s crazy.
LS: This is true, this is true.
LP: I’m kidding. We all willingly [hung out with each other].
LS: It was so fun. It was never a dull moment on set.
LP: I don’t think there were any moments when we weren’t hanging out. Even if we had been filming all day, we were like, “We should just watch a movie in someone’s room.”
LS: Like we would hang out in someone’s room, have movie nights, go to seafood boils.
LP: Seafood boils!
CT: [To Hudson] That was so good.
Is there another DCOM that you would like to see revived after Camp Rock?
LP: High School Musical! [Turns to Liamani, who starred in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series] Oh wait, that actually already happened!
ALL FOUR: [Laugh]
LS: Okay, but that was a series! Shoutout Tim Federle.
LP: Lemonade Mouth, Teen Beach Movie.
HS: Teen Beach [Movie], I’d want to see that. That’s incredible. Live-action Frozen.
CT: [Laughs]
LP: Let’s make a new one! Let’s make a new DCOM.
LS: Yeah, I’m down! I’m down for that.
LP: Me and Lia, we’ll work on it. Don’t worry.
LS: We’re gonna write the script.
Obviously, I can’t let you go without talking about the Jonas Brothers. What were the tips they gave you for stepping into the world of Camp Rock?
HS: Oh, they gave so much advice, let me just put it that way, while we were on set. Every time they could, they were literally talking to us about all things because they’ve had these long careers and they were doing it since they were our age. They had so much wisdom to share with us. I just found it incredible getting to talk to them. They’re such great guys.
LP: I think, for me, not even just the tips that they gave us, but just being able to observe them on set and watch how they carry themselves professionally and just as talented people. Also, I was just watching them and observing them stepping onto a set that kind of was like probably deja vu for them. And I think just learning to take everything in, because 15 years ago it was them right there, our age, doing all this. So I’m like wow, imagine that’s us in 15 years!
LS: I agree. I literally feel like they could have easily been so protective over the film because it’s their baby, you know? So I feel like they could have easily been protective. But they really allowed us to be our own people, be artists, and be creative, and do what we want to see, and bring ourselves to the film. So it was really cool.
I know you mentioned that you got to go to their concert. Will any of you be at their concert coming up?
LP: I’m actually going on the 21st I think! And I think Ava Jean from Camp Rock [3] is also going.
HS: Maddie the Baddie.
At DECIDER, we’re a site that’s dedicated to all things streaming. So what are you guys watching right now?
LP: Oh my gosh.
HS: So much.
LP: Well, I will say, a show I’m watching right now is Sterling Point on Prime [Video].
LS: Oh my gosh, I started it last night!
LP: You did?
LS: I did!
LP: It’s so good! And also shoutout Megan Park! She created that show, and she also wrote and directed the first movie I was in, The Fallout. So it’s like so amazing to watch that now. And I’m actually obsessed. It’s so good. And also, [I] go to the movies. Watching The Odyssey, Spider-Man: [Brand New Day], all that good stuff.
HS: I’ll say for me, I’m a little late to the party, but I just started Severance. I’m, like, halfway through Season 1 and it’s incredible. Adam Scott is incredible. And I’m watching Season 3 now of Silo, which is on Apple [TV], and that’s a great show. I’ve never really been into that sci-fi kind of world, but I’ve really gotten deep into this show and the plot just thickens at every turn, so I’m loving those two.
CT: So I saw an announcement for Grown Ups 3, and that was my movie. So I just recently rewatched those. And then The Hangover trilogy, I also rewatched that. A bunch of comedies. Like a lot of comedies.
LP: Camp Rock 3!
HS: Camp Rock 3, I’ve watched that one a few times.
LP: It was pretty good.
Camp Rock 3 is now streaming on Disney+