Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Jesse McCartney's having himself quite a summer, with his 25-concert swing with New Kids on the Block launching tomorrow (6/4) in Atlanta — followed by production of the big-screen "The Gonzo Files" in Vancouver in August.

McCartney, whose involvement in the project has yet to be announced, tells us, "It's a well-written script — a darker high school film. It's kind of a little twisted, a slice of life. Very smart." The writer is Bryan Goluboff of "Basketball Diaries" and "In Treatment" fame.

As for how his fan base from such fare as "Summerland" and "Greek" will handle his new edge, McCartney says, "I do what I love to do. I can't be worried about that so much. It would drive me nuts if I had to worry about that all the time. I started at 15; now I'm 22. I've been watching my audience getting a little older. I think they'll want to see this."

And of course, he's looking forward to McCartney fans seeing him onstage. And this time, his concertgoers will be able to drive themselves.

Or, as he puts it, "The audience is an older audience."

McCartney, who's been pointedly moving out of the teen pop arena — supported by his "Departure" R&B-inflected album that came out last year — admits, "My biggest challenge was getting over this ... I call it musical puberty. It was that awkward stage where people didn't know whether they should listen to a kid they'd listened to when they were 16. It had to go in an organic way — honest, not forced."

Of "Departure" and its hit single, "Leavin'," he notes, "I'm very proud. A lot of amazing writers and producers were involved, and my management team and label that supported me when they could have just let it all go. ... It took two years to write this album and put it together. It's worked, though. The release of 'Leavin'' opened a lot of doors."

Including abetting his desire to move into more mature acting roles.

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: The cast of "Twilight" recently wrapped its sequel "New Moon" with new director Chris Weitz, and cast member Elizabeth Reaser tells us while she misses their original director, Catherine Hardwicke, she feels like Weitz has brought something different to the table.

"I loved working with Catherine and I thought that she did an amazing job. She's incredible the way she shoots and deals with actors. Then they brought Chris in and he's such a phenomenal storyteller and has such an amazing presence on set," says Reaser, who plays Esme Cullen. "It's like comparing apples and oranges because they're so different. We just feel very lucky to be in good hands."

We caught up with Reaser, along with her cast mates, at the MTV Movie Awards this past weekend in Los Angeles. A-listers such as Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Megan Fox, Eminem, Sacha Baron Cohen, Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron were in attendance, but the night was all about the vampires. Reaser happily reunited with co-stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Cam Gigandet, Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli and Taylor Lautner — all of whom made fans jump out of their seats with excitement. However, the actress claims life hasn't been much different since joining the popular franchise. "I don't feel like anything has changed, believe it or not. I get recognized a little bit more, but that's it. I feel like my life is just as boring as ever," she says with a laugh. "I've never been in a movie that anyone's really seen so that's nice. What's also cool about it is that I love all of these actors so we have a good time together. It's a party. We have fun."

THE REAL DEAL: Sofia Coppola's casting minions have put out the word that the filmmaker wants a 40-to-50-year-old craps dealer, male, African-American, with a "great character face" for a dealer role in her soon-to-shoot untitled pic.

And Tyler Perry wants a genuine pro football player to play same in his "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?"

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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