Stars stop by to talk up movie projects

"I'm not good at this," said actress Taylor Schilling, scooting onto her knees. "This is my first press junket."

In town to promote "The Lucky One," the romantic drama co-starring Zac Efron that opens in theaters April 20, Schilling was scheduled for a number of interviews. Before ours began, we agreed that the sterile hotel conference room we'd been assigned seemed more suitable for an autopsy or an IRS audit, so we moved into the lobby.

"I'd rather just sit and talk," she said. "I hope that doesn't sound too cheesy."

In the movie, based on the Nicholas Sparks book, Schilling's character is bold and headstrong, fiercely loyal to her son and grandmother and passionate about the animals she cares for in her job as a dog groomer and trainer.

"I really connected to Beth," she said. "I was really struck by how dynamic she is. She's a full-time working single mom trying to do the best she can, even if that means putting her own wants and needs in the back burner."

Blythe Danner stars as Beth's droll, wise grandmother.

"When I found out she’s playing my grandmother that was the second most thrilling day," Schilling said, noting the first was, of course, when she got the part. "I feel honored to have her in my life."

And the smoochy scenes with Zac? Not a bad gig, Schilling allowed.

"He’s pretty cute. He’s got such great eyes," she said. "When I first met Zac at our screen test he made me feel so comfortable. It was like he was a friend already."

Schilling portrayed the steely industrialist Dagny Taggart in last year's "Atlas Shrugged: Part I," but the movie based on Ayn Rand's libertarian opus wasn't exactly what you'd call a mainstream hit. She's hoping this role will open more doors.

"I’m a pretty lucky girl," she said.

In other movie news, Mario Van Peebles and his son Mandela Van Peebles were in town the other day talking up their movie, "We The Party." The idea struck after Mandela and his siblings wanted to hit some Los Angeles nightclubs to check out the dancing scene. No way, their dad said. They compromised by tricking out the star and director of films, including "New Jack City," to look like a bodyguard.

"They swagged me out in skinny jeans," Mario Van Peebles said.

"He’s pretty much a big teenager," his 17-year-old chimed in.

The result of these "research" excursions is a movie billed as a "cutting edge hip-hop infused dramedy about the first generation of high schoolers to come of age during the Obama years."

"I like to think of ‘We the Party' as a crisp corn dog," said Mandela Van Peebles, using the metaphor to describe a project he says is fun, yet substantive. "The music and the dancing make it all the sweeter."

His dad, who also stars in the film, noted his family's entertainment legacy. His dad and Mandela's grandfather is actor/director/screenwriter Melvin Van Peebles.