Past Deadline

ABC Family's Francia Raisa--show biz runs in the family

By Barry Garron

Her father is one of the most popular figures in Los Angeles and now Francia Raisa is poised for stardom, as well. Ironically, though, their careers are worlds apart.

Starting Tuesday, Francia will be a regular on "The Secret Life of an American Teenager," a new ABC Family series from Brenda Hampton, creator of long-running WB drama "7th Heaven." The drama, about families and friends, also stars Molly Ringwald.

Francia's father, Honduran-born Maximo Renan Almendarez Coello, is better known as "El Cucuy" (the bogeyman), the top-rated disc jockey in Los Angeles. From early childhood, her father and her mother, Virginia Almendarez, have been grooming Francia, the eldest of three daughters, for show business.

"They put me in dance class when I was five and I did dance for about 15 years," says Francia, a petite brunette who turns 20 on July 26. "I wanted to get my homework done and watch TV but, not only did I go to dance, after dance I went to karate. And after karate, I went to ice skating. And after that I had to play an instrument, the accordion. That wasn't my choice. I wanted drums but they gave me accordion lessons."

"They knew I wanted to be an actress so they were preparing me," Francia continues. Tap. Ballet. Jazz. Even Polynesian. Francia still takes dance, although she focuses more on hip hop these days.

"Secret Life" is mostly about the relationship among teens, including one, a band geek, who becomes pregnant.

"My character is Adrian. I am what you'd call the hot girl in school. She's the one every guy wants. She teases a lot. She's a big flirt. But, at the same time, she's very studious and gets straight A's." Adrian's mother is a flight attendant who is away from home a lot and she doesn't know much about her dad.

Before this series, Francia co-starred with "Heroes'" Hayden Panettiere in "Bring It On: All or Nothing." She also landed the female lead in ABC Family's ice skating movie, "The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream." "I think I had a little advantage because they (ABC Family) had seen me before and they know how I work."

ABC Family has ordered 10 episodes of "Secret Life" but could ask for more. Francia, meanwhile, has her heart and mind set on building a career that includes acting and other activities, as well.

"I want to do everything," she says eagerly. She cites Jennifer Lopez as a role model. "She started out as a dancer and then became an actor and then became a performer with her own clothing line. So I'm doing the acting thing, which I love and want to keep doing the rest of my life. But I eventually want to perform live. I could kill onstage."

Mark her words. She will.

Beware of 'Greek' Bearing Stereotypes

Michelle Shimberg has a bone to pick with "Greek," a new dramedy on ABC Family, but it's not clear, at least to me, just how upset she really is. Or even whether there's anything to get worked up about.

If you haven't seen "Greek," which premiered last month, its about fraternity and sorority members at fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University. Sorority sisters at Zeta Beta Zeta spend most of their time catfighting and trolling for guys. For them, classes and exams are mostly inconveniences.

Shimberg is international president of Delta Delta Delta (a real sorority) and, through a public relations firm, she issued two statements condemning the way sorority members are depicted. Well, sort of.

In the most recent statement, issued this month, Shimberg said, "I am particularly concerned with how ABC Family's 'Greek' continues to use sex, drinking and scheming relationships to define its lead female characters and the sorority experience overall. I look forward to seeing whether or not the show will offer any balance to these overly-used stereotypes..."

I talked with Shimberg on the phone and she is very sincere and well-intentioned, so I'd like to save her some time and effort. It won't happen. A big part of what makes "Greek" funny, at least to those who find it funny, is the extreme portrayal of sorority sisters. That's not about to change.

Does that simply infuriate Shimberg? Not really. She said the popularity of the show is a positive thing because it demonstrates interest in the Greek system. "We aren't protesting the show. We feel it is a positive opportunity for people to learn what membership in a Greek organization is about."

Huh? You hate the way the way sororities are portrayed but you're not protesting? Sorority sisters run around like bikini models in heat and you call it a positive opportunity? What do the producers have to do to make it negative for you?

Either because they get the joke or don't want to acknowledge it, there doesn't appear to be another sorority on record opposing the show. Also, the National Panhellenic Conference ignores "Greek" on its web site. For their part, the producers have yet to respond to calls, letters and e-mails.

So what will Shimberg and the Tri Delta PR firm do if, as seems likely, the women of Zeta Beta Zeta remain wild and crazy?

"I anticipate we will continue to provide our thoughts to reporters and I think we'll try to reach out to the show and see if we can shape some of the communication that's going out about what being a part of a Greek organization is."

OK, but when you're done, how about we start a campaign to make those lawyers on "Boston Legal" start acting like real attorneys?

Posted by Barry Garron