Star Spotlight: Madison Pettis
Madison Pettis stars in Mostly Ghostly. (Photo courtesy Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
Costars Madison Pettis, 10, and Sterling Beaumon, 13 help make the brand-new DVD Mostly Ghostly a scary laugh-riot. Based on the award-winning and bestselling book series by R.L. Stine, the movie has Max (Sterling) dealing with some uninvited visitors that only he can see! Tara (Madison) is one of Max’s new ghostly friends, and you can imagine how complicated and funny it can get!
Scholastic News Online got a chance to talk with Sterling and Madison, so check it out!
Scholastic News Online: Tell us about your character in Mostly Ghostly.
Madison Pettis: I play Tara. And her brother, Nicky, and I discover that we are now ghosts and no one can see us except for this one boy and our parents are missing. They disappeared; we don’t know where they are. So the whole movie we're trying find them and look for them and battle the evil ghosts.
SNO: Do you believe in ghosts?
Madison: Not too much, but it’s fun to believe in them when you’re watching a movie.
SNO: What’s the funniest thing that happened on the set?
Madison: We had so much fun! Well I got to actually be on the harness and fly around on the stage. They put me up in the air and it looked like Tara was flying. It was like on a green screen. It was so cool. Boosted me so high! I was so nervous at first, but then I loved it. It was so much fun.
SNO: How long were you up?
Madison: Well they let me go down every once in a while but the one time I was up for like an hour and a half or something.
SNO: And when you got back down were you dizzy?
Madison: No, I was like, "Let’s do that again!" [laughs] It was so fun.
SNO: Was it fun working with Luke Benward and the rest of the cast?
Madison: All of them were so much fun. We did so many things together. It was like a whole kid cast. It was a blast. The set was never boring.
SNO: What grade are you in now?
Madison: I'm in fifth.
SNO: You're not home-schooled right now are you?
Madison: I was, but this is my first year going back to regular school.
SNO: Do you like it?
Madison: I love it, yeah. It’s really fun. There’s a lot of group projects and stuff. It’s really fun.
SNO: What are you working on now?
Madison: I'm working on a giant social studies project. I have to make a poster on the Columbia Plateau.
SNO: So how do you do your research? Do you go on the Internet?
Madison: Yeah, I do a lot of Internet and then I also go into the school library and check out books. I love researching. That's one of my favorite parts about school. Doing projects and group projects and all that. It’s really fun.
SNO: What's your favorite subject?
Madison: I love writing. Writing and math—those are my favorite.
SNO: Do you have a favorite author?
Madison: Madeleine L'Engle. She wrote A Wrinkle in Time. That’s my favorite book, so she's a great author.
SNO: Are you reading anything special right now?
Madison: I'm reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
SNO: I read somewhere that you have a collection of American Girl dolls. Is that true?
Madison: I have two, so not really a collection. But I do collect things for them! I have a giant doll cabinet for my American Girl dolls. It is sweet. It's stuffed with clothes, and they have pets and shoes and hair accessories. I have it all.
SNO: Do you remember what your favorite book was when you were a little little girl?
Madison: When I was really little, my favorite book was The BFG. I read it—my teacher in like first grade read it to us. I love that book. I went out and bought it and I still have it and I still read it for a little giggle. It's fun.
SNO: Where do you like to read?
Madison: I read in my house. Usually I sit out on my big moon chair and I have a plush blanket that I’ll wrap around me and I’ll just relax and read.
SNO: Who would you like to meet, like a celebrity or a historical person or maybe a character from a book?
Madison: A character, historical person or famous person I’d like to meet . . . Oprah. She's kind of historical and a famous person.
SNO: And then she could recommend some books for you to read.
Madison: Yeah she could recommend a lot of books!
Star Facts
Star Calendar
September 30, 2008
Mostly Ghostly was released on DVD
December 17, 2008
Madison can be seen in the TV movie Letters To Santa: A Muppets Christmas on NBC
December 19, 2008
Madison can be seen in the theatrical release Seven Pounds
2009
Madison can be seen in the film Free Style
Star Facts
Name: Madison Angel Pettis
Birthday: July 22, 1998
Birthplace: Arlington, TX
Parents: Michelle and Steven Pettis
First Job: Madison modeled for Neiman Marcus
Star Faves
Fave Video Game: Guitar Hero 2
Fave Actresses: Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez
Fave School Subject: Math
Fave Fashion Accessory: Scarves
Fave Books: A Wrinkle In Time; The BFG; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Be sure to check out Scholastic News Online's interview with Madison's Mostly Ghostly costar, Sterling Beaumon!
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