{alltv} 'Gigantic' with stars Grace Gummer, Gia Mantegna

Friday, October 8, 2010

{alltv} 'Gigantic' with stars Grace Gummer, Gia Mantegna

"Gigantic," the new scripted drama on TeenNick about growing up in the glitz of Hollywood, stars two girls who are no strangers to that very experience. Grace Gummer is the daughter of actress Meryl Streep and Gia Mantegna is the daughter of actor Joe Mantegna.

But they stress that while "Gigantic" may be set against the Hollywood backdrop, the show deals with universal teenage issues.

"The show is about teenagers who are mostly the sons and daughters of celebrities, but the cool part is it deals with real teenage situations that every teen goes through around the world," Gummer tells Zap2it.

"Our characters are frenemies," adds Mantegna. "What we've come to realize is one day they are best friends, the next day they stab you in the back, then the next day they're friends again. It's one of the many issues that all teenagers go through and all kids will be able to relate to."

And part of being frenemies means that Mantegna's Vanessa King is very jealous of Gummer's Anna Moore and the relationship she has with her parents.

"I equate [my parents] to an Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt but older," Gummer says of her on-screen parents. "A power couple, really successful, very famous. But Anna is this 17 year old girl who is very moral and very driven and she wants to be a journalist. She loves NPR and she loves Christiane Amanpour. She's very well-read and wants to go to grad school. She's not in the industry."

"And Vanessa actually comes from a troubled home," says Mantegna. "They compare her family to the Barrymores ... She became emancipated when she was 14 and has lived on her own since then. That's where a lot of her envy and jealousy comes from because she sees the supportive relationship that Anna has with her mom. She will do anything to somehow become a part of that and to have some sense of family."

"Gigantic" premieres on TeenNick, the No. 1 TV network for teens, Friday (Oct. 8) at 10 p.m.