Editor Caitlynn McDaniel sits down with Prom Pact's Peyton Elizabeth Lee & Blake Draper to discuss the film. Peyton talks about the importance of playing strong female characters that empower young women and Blake talks about his talent of doing a believable Australian accent. Prom Pact' is an American romantic comedy Disney Original Movie that explores the whirlwind of high school experiences, from nostalgic promposals between close friends to the high-stakes ambition of elite college admissions. 'Prom Pact' is currently streaming on Disney+
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00:00 - Well, congratulations on the film.
00:01 It's wonderful to meet you both.
00:03 I'm so excited.
00:04 I watched it last night and I really adored it
00:06 and all of the characters.
00:08 So just to dive right in Peyton,
00:11 I'd love to go to you and just talk about
00:13 this powerful female character that you get to play.
00:15 'Cause I know you've played many roles
00:17 in Disney films before,
00:18 but I really, really loved seeing you as Mandy.
00:21 And I just wanted to know what it meant to you
00:24 to be cast as this powerful character
00:26 and how you brought her to life.
00:28 - Yeah, I mean, I think it means everything to me
00:31 that I was given the opportunity to bring her to life.
00:33 I think throughout my career thus far,
00:36 I've been very fortunate in getting to play
00:39 strong female characters.
00:41 And it's become a huge focus of mine to find roles
00:44 that I think empower young people, especially young women.
00:48 And getting to show that you can be anything
00:51 and everything you want to be.
00:54 It doesn't matter what you look like or where you come from.
00:56 And I think showing that idea manifesting
00:59 in these very different ways through different projects
01:02 has been so important to me and exciting for me
01:06 and inspiring to be a part of.
01:10 So bringing Mandy to life was very special for me.
01:13 It was extra special because it was very applicable
01:16 to my life at the time.
01:18 We were shooting Mandy's second semester of her senior year
01:22 and I was going through my second semester of senior year.
01:26 My high school prom was occurring
01:27 as we were filming "Prom Pact."
01:29 I graduated high school on set.
01:32 So her journey was very aligned with mine at the same time.
01:37 And so it was really cool getting to sort of bring
01:41 my personal experience, my feelings towards that kind of
01:45 moment in your life where you're ending a chapter
01:47 and starting a new chapter and sort of all of the feelings
01:50 and excitement and nerves that come with that.
01:52 They were all happening to me.
01:54 So getting to kind of just infuse
01:56 that kind of authentic experience into the film
02:00 was really special for me.
02:01 And I had a lot of fun doing it.
02:04 - I love that.
02:05 I can only imagine though, like how it would feel
02:07 to be going through high school and then filming the movie.
02:10 'Cause I mean, for me, you know, high school musical
02:12 was nothing like my high school experience.
02:13 So I feel like having these giant promposals,
02:16 I don't know how your high school had promposals,
02:19 but mine were nothing like the ones that, you know,
02:21 the artistry we see in this film.
02:23 - Yeah, from Graham.
02:24 - Blake, I wanted to go to you
02:26 and talk about your character, Graham.
02:27 I feel like, you know, there's a lot that people
02:30 don't really know about him,
02:31 especially Mandy in the beginning, we get to learn more.
02:34 But I wanted to ask, are there any hidden talents
02:37 or habits that you discovered on set about yourself
02:40 or about your co-stars that you can share with us?
02:43 - Yeah, what are you good at?
02:44 (laughing)
02:47 - I did, Hayden has this little skill that she does
02:50 where she does, you draw faces in a way
02:55 that looks nothing like people,
02:57 but captures the essence so perfectly
03:01 that the most like strange little caricature-y
03:04 little pictures that you draw.
03:08 So that's Hayden's talent.
03:09 - Okay, gotcha.
03:10 - Then Milo is, Milo is a man of many talents.
03:15 What can't Milo do?
03:17 Milo's really good at-
03:19 - Geography games?
03:20 - Yes, oh my-
03:21 - I just thought, I didn't want to answer it.
03:22 - Milo, you can show any flag to Milo
03:25 and you know exactly what it is.
03:26 - And where it is.
03:27 - And yeah, so that's his talent.
03:30 And my special talent, I'm just here having fun.
03:33 I don't know.
03:34 - You're really good at your Australian accent.
03:36 - I'm very good at my Australian accent.
03:38 - It's almost believable.
03:40 - Right, it's almost like he could be from there.
03:43 - If it's a real place. - But not quite.
03:44 - But not quite, not quite.
03:46 - I love that.
03:47 I'm really curious about these pictures
03:48 'cause I don't know how you can draw someone
03:52 and it not look anything like them.
03:53 I mean, that's just an amazing concept.
03:55 So that's a true, true talent right there.
03:56 - It's more of a feeling than a look.
03:59 - Yeah, it's the essence.
04:01 That's what you can-
04:02 - Right, absolutely.
04:03 And I have to ask, I mean,
04:04 was there a lot of one direction listening on set
04:07 or did we avoid that?
04:09 - There was for me in private, to make sure.
04:11 - In private, okay.
04:12 - I just went-
04:13 - And listened to one DJ.
04:14 - 'Cause I had to sing it and I, very poorly,
04:17 but I trust you.
04:18 - No, it was amazing, yes.
04:21 I put some little like-
04:22 - Darsen, if you give me this ego boost,
04:24 I'm gonna leave here today,
04:25 speak to my agent and say,
04:26 let's get the music career going.
04:27 So be careful, you don't want that.
04:29 - You're gonna end up with Blake's Raper on the radio
04:32 and nobody wants that.
04:33 - No, I would take full credit for it, honestly.
04:36 If anyone's saying that to me, I would have cried.
04:38 So I think you deserve all the props for it.
04:42 You did a good job.
04:43 - Well, congratulations to you both on the film.
04:46 I can't wait for everyone to see it.
04:48 And thank you for chatting with me.