Scout Taylor-Compton
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| Scout Taylor-Compton | |||||||
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 Taylor-Compton attending the 2007 Comic-Con to promote Halloween |
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| Born | Desariee Starr Compton February 21, 1989 Long Beach, California, U.S. |
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| Other name(s) | Desiree Compton Scout Compton Scoutie |
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Desariee Starr Compton (born February 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer, who goes professionally by the name Scout Taylor-Compton. She has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre. Recently, Taylor-Compton has gained notoriety in the horror genre, which has garnered her the title of "scream queen".[1][2][3]
Taylor-Compton began her career with small film roles and recurring television roles in Gilmore Girls, Ally McBeal, Charmed and Unfabulous. She had her first large Hollywood role in Sleepover (2004), a comedy aimed at teenage audiences. The cast of the film was nominated for "Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast" at the Young Artists Award. In 2006, Taylor-Compton starred in the films Tomorrow is Today, a drama film, and Wicked Little Things, a horror film. Tomorrow is Today won over 6 awards at various festivals and Taylor-Compton was awarded "Best Actress" at the Method Fest Independent Film Festival for her performance in the film. 2007 saw Taylor-Compton with her most prominent role to date, Rob Zombie's Halloween, a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. She portrayed Laurie Strode, a role originally made famous by Jamie Lee Curtis.
In addition to taking vocal lessons and singing the theme song for her film Chicken Night (2001), Taylor-Compton is recording her debut rock album. She is currently recording with pop music singer Vitamin C, however, singing is a side project and she does not intend to stop acting. Taylor-Compton had also provided voice over work in other films, including The Core (2003) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).
Taylor-Compton recently finished filming the television movie Love's Unfolding Dream which premiered on November 24, 2007. She has two more horror films yet to be released. The first, the 2008 film Pearblossom and the other is April Fool's Day, a remake of the 1986 film of same name. 2009 will see Taylor-Compton alongside Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci in Love Ranch.
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[edit] Personal life
Taylor-Compton was born Desariee Starr Compton in Long Beach, California,[4] and is of Mexican descent on her mother's side.[5] Her father is a mortician.[6] Taylor-Compton explains about her father's profession, "[I] grew up in that whole [horror] genre and visiting my dad at the mortuary. I have no problem with that stuff. [...] whether it was a coffin or my dad bringing his work home. My friends would never want to come over because of that." She claims to be a tomboy, once only having male friends and saying that much of free time when she was younger was occupied swimming, playing baseball, and rock-climbing.[7]
Previous to acting, Taylor-Compton had been a competitive swimmer and had plans to participate in the AAU Junior Olympics, before focusing on her acting career.[8] In a 2003 biography, she was said to have enjoyed volleyball, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics and roller-blading as well. According to the biography she has had four cats named Sprocket, Jordan, Baby, Zooey, and two dogs, Bear and Lexi; currently, Taylor-Compton no longer has Sprocket or Bear.[9]
On the morning of August 12, 2005, Taylor-Compton disappeared from her home in Apple Valley, California and was reported missing after an apparent family disagreement; she was missing for a total of two weeks. She had been sleeping in a playground before meeting a family who offered her shelter. After a school coach from Granite Hills High School told police that one of his students had been telling of having an actress in his home, Taylor-Compton was found in good health, and there were no reports of criminal activity in her time missing. In that time she had dyed her hair black and hid when officers arrived on scene, but was soon returned to her parents after speaking with an officer.[10] At the time, Taylor-Compton was homeschooled with a 4.0 grade point average.[8]
Taylor-Compton is a fan of horror films, her favorite being the Child's Play series,[5] of which she said, "I love [the characters] Michael [Myers], Jason [Voorhees] and Chucky."[7] She enjoys the other horror films Thir13en Ghosts,[11] Halloween 4 and Halloween 5, and has claimed to be a fan of the lead actress of the latter two films Danielle Harris;[12] the two later went onto appear together in the Halloween remake.
Taylor-Compton enjoys listening to various rock music groups and artists including NOFX, Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne and Nickelback.[6] She enjoys shopping at Urban Outfitters, and watching MTV and The History Channel; her favorite television program is Degrassi.[9] She is involved in charity work as well, participating as a celebrity youth member of Kids With a Cause and takes part in events for the organization.
After acting, Taylor-Compton has expressed interest in becoming a mortician and coroner, saying, "Maybe in the future I will go to college and study that."[13] Also, after an interview with Ron Howard, she had aspirations to become a film director.[11]
[edit] Career
[edit] Acting
In 1998, Taylor-Compton began her acting career with an appearance in the film A.W.O.L. with David Morse, and later in the short film Thursday Afternoon. She went on to have small roles in both television and film including Ally McBeal, ER, Frasier, The Guardian and The Division. She appeared in several student films, commercials for Fuji Film and the Disney Cruise Line, and various skits on The Jay Leno Show.[14] November 2000 saw Taylor-Compton make her stage debut as the title character in a production of Annie Warbucks at The Grove Theatre in Upland, California, and a stage production of Footloose at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.[11] In 2001, she had a small recurring role in the television series Gilmore Girls, appearing in a total of four episodes until 2004. Taylor-Compton's was nomination for "Best Performance in a TV Series - Recurring Young Actress" for her portrayal of Clara Forester (Dean's Sister) in the series.[8] She made a comedic appearance in the film Four Fingers of the Dragon (2003) playing herself auditioning for a role in a fictional Kung Fu film.[11] Later in 2004, she appeared in the teen comedy Sleepover, which had been her first large Hollywood film role. The cast of the film was nominated for "Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast" at the Young Artists Award. Sleepover did mediocre in the box office, totaling a gross of $9,436,390.[15] Following Sleepover, she appeared in numerous television series including Hidden Howie, Unfabulous (2 episodes), Cold Case, That's So Raven, Charmed (7 episodes) and Without a Trace (in which she portrayed a runaway teenager).
In 2006, Taylor-Compton appeared in the film The Honeyfields. That year as well, she starred in the drama Tomorrow is Today and the horror film Wicked Little Things. Tomorrow is Today features Taylor-Compton as Julie Peterson, a girl who saves the life of and befriends a hapless drifter. The film won over 6 awards at various festivals which included the California Independent Film Festival, the Garden State Film Festival, Method Fest Independent Film Festival, and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Taylor-Compton won "Best Actress" for her performance in the film at the Method Fest Independent Film Festival.[16] Wicked Little Things was one of the films featured in After Dark's 8 Films to Die For and saw Taylor-Compton star as Sarah Tunny. Following these films, she appeared in the television series Standoff and Close to Home.
In 2007, Taylor-Compton appeared in the film An American Crime which told the true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, whom had kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s. After losing the lead role in the Pang Brothers film The Messengers to Kristen Stewart,[8] Taylor-Compton then returned to the horror genre as Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie's remake of the classic Halloween. She endured a long audition process, but as director Zombie explains, "Scout was my first choice. There was just something about her; she had a genuine quality. She didn't seem actor-y."[7] The film broke box-office records as the highest grossing film on the Labor Day weekend. It pulled in $31 million dollars over the holiday weekend, surpassing the record set in 2005 by Transporter 2 of $20.1 million dollars. It surpassed the record set in 1999 by The Sixth Sense of $29 million dollars (in its fifth weekend), making it the highest grossing film over the Labor Day weekend.[17] Halloween currently stands as the highest grossing overall film in the Halloween franchise.[18] However, it received mostly negative reviews and sports a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Taylor-Compton recently finished filming the television movie Love's Unfolding Dream which premiered on November 24, 2007. She will appear in another television film, Deadly Suspicion with Marilu Henner. She has two horror films yet to be released. The first is the 2008 film Pearblossom in which she will have a cameo as Carrie Lain. The other is April Fool's Day a remake of the 1986 film of same name which finished filming in North Carolina for an expected March 25, 2008 DVD release.[19] Taylor-Compton explains on the starring in the role of Torrance: "I'll just be playing another wholesome 'good girl' that screams a lot."[5]
In an interview conducted in July 2007, Taylor-Compton reported that after completing April Fool's Day, she wants to stay away from roles in the horror genre for her next film projects.[20] Although she has received many horror film scripts, she believes that she "need[s] to move on from horror. Just drift away a little bit and do something else so I don't get stuck in that" and although she "love[s] doing horror films" and are her "favorite", she'd "like to do other stuff in between."[21] She has recently been influenced by the career of Scarlett Johansson, wanting to chose scripts and roles based on personal interest as she views Johansson does. Taylor-Compton went onto explain, "That’s what I kind of want to do. I love just being passionate about something rather than just caring about the money or who’s in the movie.[13] 2009 will see Taylor-Compton alongside Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci in Love Ranch.
She is currently represented by the The Gersh Agency.[22]
[edit] Other work
In 1998 she appeared in The Adventures of Lily music video for "Femme Fatale". In 2001, Taylor Compton provided voice overs for I Am Sam, and continued with voice over work with appearances in The Core (2003) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). The next year, she provided voice over work for the teen hero comedy Sky High.
She sang the theme song "Jet Set" for her film Chicken Night (2001)[11]. 2002 saw Taylor-Compton appearing briefly in the Will Smith music video for the song "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" for the Men in Black 2 Soundtrack. She appeared in the music video for the song "Sweet Valentine" by the band Born the Sky in 2007.
In 2003, Taylor-Compton had taken vocal lessons with Diane Gillespie and Vocal Power Institute. She had taken guitar, drums, and keyboard lessons, and was member a theatre group called "Shenanigans," where she performed and took weekly tap and jazz lessons.[11] Taylor-Compton attended the Hollywood Pop Academy for additional vocal training.[23]
Taylor-Compton is currently working on her debut rock/pop album,[4] in which she will sing and play drums. She cites Cyndi Lauper, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Kelly Osbourne and the band Green Day as musical influences.[13][24] Taylor-Compton has been working with ERA Productions and "with a very well-known punk/pop singer"[8] Vitamin C. While on the set filming Halloween (2007), Taylor-Compton had received "a few pointers" from director Rob Zombie, who had also fronted a band and continues his singing career.[21] She has stated that singing is a side project and "is just a little talent that I have on the side and if it does something then I'll do that but I'm not gonna give up acting."[6] Taylor-Compton has five songs that can be streamed on her official Garageband.com profile. All songs were recorded and posted for listening in 2005. The songs featured are "Bad Girl", the first song she wrote with her ERA producers, "Waiting for the Heartbreak" and "Where Do We Go", written with Vitamin C, "Freak Show", written by Adam Alvermark and produced Taylor-Compton along with ERA Productions, and "Words".[25][26][27][28]
Taylor-Compton had also done minor modeling for the teenage clothing brand Limited Too and the cellular phone service Sprint PCS.[29]
[edit] Selected Filmography
[edit] Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Thursday Afternoon | Anna | |
| 6/29 | Girl #2 | ||
| 2001 | Chicken Night | Penny | |
| 2003 | 7 Songs | Molly | |
| Afterschool Delight | Scout | ||
| Four Fingers of the Dragon | Herself | ||
| 2004 | Sleepover | Farrah | |
| 2006 | The Honeyfields | Mary Beth | |
| Tomorrow is Today | Julie Peterson | ||
| 2007 | Wicked Little Things | Sarah Tunny | |
| An American Crime | Stephanie Baniszewski | ||
| Halloween | Laurie Strode | ||
| 2008 | Pearblossom | Carrie Lain | Post-Production |
| April Fool's Day | Torrance | ||
| 2009 | Love Ranch | Christina | Filming |
[edit] Television
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ally McBeal | Young Georgia | 1 episode |
| 2000-06 | Charmed | Fairy | 7 episodes |
| 2001 | ER | Liz Woodman | 1 episode |
| 2001-04 | Gilmore Girls | Clara Forester | 4 episodes |
| 2003 | Frasier | Gym Girl | 1 episode |
| Audrey's Rain | Young Marguerite | TV movie | |
| The Lyon's Den | Girl Fenderson | 1 episode | |
| 2003-04 | The Guardian | Tiffany Skovich | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Class Actions | Lydia Harrison | TV movie |
| The Division | Katrina 'Trina' Merril | 1 episode | |
| 2004-05 | Unfabulous | Molly | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Cold Case | Leah 1993 | 1 episode |
| Hidden Howie | Madison, Jackson's Girlfriend | Unknown episodes | |
| That's So Raven | Lauren | 1 episode | |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Emily Grant | 1 episode |
| Standoff | Tina Bolt | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Close to Home | Grace Hendricks | 1 episode |
| Bones | Celia Nash | 1 episode | |
| Love's Unfolding Dream | Belinda Tyler | TV movie | |
| Deadly Suspicion | Hayley Danville | TV movie |
[edit] References
- ^ 'Halloween' Star Scout Taylor-Compton Calls Michael Myers 'Cute,' Talks Sequel. MTV.com (2007-03-15). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ INT: Scout Taylor Compton. joblo.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ Scout Taylor-Compton Turns Scream Queen. TeenHollywood.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ a b Scout Taylor-Compton. International Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ a b c Carmona, Josh. "Apple Valley actress, 18, stars in ‘Halloween’", Daily Press, 2007-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ a b c Barker, Lynn. "Scout Taylor-Compton Turns Scream Queen", TeenHollywood, 2007-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
- ^ a b c Turek, Ryan (September 2007). "Scout's Horror". Fangoria.
- ^ a b c d e Scout Taylor-Compton. superiorpics.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ a b GET TO KNOW: SCOUT TAYLOR COMPTON. teenmag.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Runaway teen actress slept at park. MSN (2005-09-26). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ a b c d e f Biography and Facts. celebritykidz.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ BDTV Exclusive: Interview With 'Halloween' Star Scout Taylor-Compton. bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ a b c An interview with Scout Taylor-Compton. losangelesjournal.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Other works for Scout Taylor-Compton. International Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ Sleepover (2004). Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
- ^ Tomorrow is Today. International Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ `Halloween' Scares Up $31 Million Debut. Forbes.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Carroll, Larry. Box Office History for Halloween Movies. the-numbers.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ March DVD Releases. videoeta.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Scout Taylor-Compton. youtube.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
- ^ a b Scout Taylor-Compton. Interview with Eric Alt. New 'Halloween' Heroine Scout Taylor-Compton. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
- ^ "Full 'April Fool's Day' Remake Casting, Release Details!", bloody-disgusting.com, 2007-10-19. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- ^ Success Stories. hollywoodpopacademy.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Scout Taylor-Compton. garageband.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Freak Show. garageband.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Waiting for the Heartbreak. garageband.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Where Do We Go. garageband.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Bad Girl. garageband.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Scout Taylor-Compton. imdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
