FEATURE
LA Film Features
Greatwood Teen Brooke Billedo in her First Starring Role
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Photo by Kristine Canterbury.
F
rom her start as Owl in Winnie the Pooh to her casting in Melanie, about a disturbed little girl who turns into a monster, 14-year-old Brooke Billedo has always enjoyed exploring characters. “My favorite part of acting is the auditions,” Billedo said. “Each time you get a script, you get to create a new person and just be really creative. It’s ok to be sassy, mad or sad because it’s in the script!” In 2018, when the Melanie audition opportunity was first presented to Billedo, her mom was hesitant. “Brooke was always very strong comedically, and mostly auditioned for those types of roles. So this was a big departure for her,” said Pam Billedo. “I didn’t think she’d be interested, but she read the script and thought it was really cool. I was both surprised and impressed with her ability to embody such a different character.” Writer, producer and director, Howard McCain, known for movies such as Underworld and Outlander, was also impressed with Billedo’s range and ability to understand the character. “Brooke’s instinctual interpretation of the character was wonderful. She was able to take the idea of this disturbed, lonely little girl, who was not so likable on the page, and make her both relatable and empathetic, even as she is slowly becoming a monster,” he said. “The audience is both worried for her and afraid of her. It is a terrifically uncomfortable emotional state and it keeps your eyes glued to her. That’s all Brooke. She created that.”
Brooke Billedo.
Billedo plays the title role in the film about a disturbed little girl with dark thoughts about life and people. The short screenplay upon which Melanie is based, was written by Cody Young, originally titled Goodnight, Scarecrow. “I first read his story when I was judge for a short screenplay competition, where his screenplay easily won first prize. His original story had this wonderful, dark fairy tale feel to it and at its center was this unexpected story about two lonely characters who find each other, who also just happen to be monsters,” McCain said. “I bought the rights to his screenplay and together, Cody and I began the process of rewriting and expanding the story together. Many drafts later the screenplay tripled in length and changed its title to Melanie, which, since
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it is really is her story anyway, is a more appropriate title.” “Her parents try to help, but as Werner, the scarecrow, comes to life, it becomes a little otherworldly,” Pam said. “I was so excited to be cast as Melanie, but to be honest, it was kind of hard to get into character,” Billedo said. “I had to think the complete opposite of everything I normally do. I had to focus on evil things to stay in character.” Brooke, now a Reading Junior High 8th grader, started acting as a kindergartner, doing local theatre camps where her favorite role was Owl in Winnie the Pooh. Her family soon realized that this could be a ‘thing’ for her. They originally signed her with a local agency, then entered her into an online competition, where she soared to the top in just three
The official film poster.