Parental Guidance: Bailee Madison Worked With Bette Midler The Most ~ New Hallmark TV Movie Out August 18, 2012

Young actress heads back to Atlanta for charity
By Jennifer Brett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
6:46 a.m. Thursday, August 9, 2012

Young actress Bailee Madison spent a good bit of time in Atlanta last year filming “Parental Guidance,” a family comedy, to be released this Christmas, that stars Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei.

“Bette Midler I got to work with most. She was my grandma in the film. She loves Broadway. She’d always be singing. We’d sing, ‘Poison I-vvvvyy!’ That was a blast.” (Mister D: Now who remembers that song?)

While the 12-year-old loved working with the movie’s well-known stars, she took time to meet everyone who worked on the movie, including the many young extras needed for the film.

“There were tons of background [extras]. Mom took me into their lunch tent,” Bailee said. “They have become our friends forever now. I am so blessed.”

She’ll be back in town this weekend to spend time with her Atlanta BFFs – and to raise money for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, a charity she serves as national youth spokeswoman.

Bailee and her mom and friends will be at the Pretty Please children’s store at 3716 Roswell Road in Atlanta from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. During her visit, the store will donate 15 percent of receipts to the charity, which raises money for childhood cancer research.

“We are going to be at the store with all the families we met through ‘Parental Guidance,'” Bailee said. The week after her visit, she’ll appear in “Smart Cookies,” a Hallmark Channel movie about a hard-charging businesswoman tasked with mentoring a Girl Scout troop.

“It’s a family film that families can enjoy. I’m so proud to be a part of it,” Bailee said. The movie, which celebrates the Girl Scouts’ 100th anniversary, premieres at 9 p.m. Aug. 18 on Hallmark.

If you attend this Saturday’s event, take it easy if you shake Bailee’s hand. She’s on the mend.

“This summer was one we were going to be taking off, so I went to tennis camp,” she said. “The first day of camp, I fell backwards and broke both of my wrists. So my summer was bed to the couch, bed to the couch.”

Her tennis mishap won’t keep her from a big family celebration, though.

“This Aug. 25, my sister is getting married,” she said. “Oh my gosh you have no idea, I’m so excited. I’m going to be a bridesmaid. It’s crazy how things can happen. This year’s really going to be about spending time with family.”