Morgan Ferguson, CC ’12, is probably one of the few college students that will readily admit to being a faithful viewer of the Disney Channel. Then again, she has a better reason than most.
The self-proclaimed “avid Disney enthusiast” is a Disney Channel Movie Surfer, one of a group of adolescents who report on the newest Disney movies for short segments that air on the Disney Channel, sandwiched between episodes of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Wizards of Waverly Place.
The Movie Surfers, a selective bunch known for their unique blend of peppiness and maturity, go behind the scenes of movies like Hannah Montana: The Movie and the forthcoming Up!, interviewing cast and crew members involved with the films.
Ferguson got the Movie Surfer gig as a junior in high school and describes the audition process as atypical. “We had impromptu interviews where we weren’t, like, told who we were supposed to be interviewing,” she said. “So once we got into the room, they would be like, ‘All right, you’re interviewing Will Smith on his latest movie. Go!’”
For people who think they’ve got it bad, rushing between meetings and classes, Ferguson may have them trumped. “I fly back to Los Angeles a lot. I think I went home about eight times last semester. And I’ve done voice-overs here [in New York] as well.” She says that Disney is considerate of the demands of her new college life, but she still finds it difficult to bounce from coast to coast.
Ferguson’s schedule isn’t the only source of tension between college life and working at a channel geared toward children. Ferguson said that “they have us look very young, and the girls don’t necessarily look that young all the time.” Adhering to the Disney image can be frustrating, she added, but it’s all part of appealing ”to the demographic that we’re selling these movies to.” Still, she’s the first to admit that “it’s better than having a typical work-study job.”
Ferguson’s gig is certainly a far cry from shelving books in Avery. She has interviewed the cast of High School Musical 3, naming Vanessa Hudgens as her favorite member, or “maybe Zac Efron, actually. Maybe Corbin [Bleu]. I don’t know!” She even got to be in a scene for the film, but “I think they edited me out,” she said.
A feature on last year’s Wall-E brought Ferguson to the zero-gravity airplane in Florida, which simulates the weightlessness of space. Ferguson gleefully recalled the experience, “When we weren’t filming, we were literally just enjoying being in the plane and goofing around and ... throwing M&Ms everywhere because they literally float next to you.”
When asked how working with a company like Disney would have an impact on her future goals as an actress and singer, Ferguson said that she didn’t really see any stigma attached to being a face of the Disney Channel as a college student. “I really don’t mind that because, I don’t know, I don’t really consider myself that old anyway. I just turned 18 a couple of months ago.”
In fact, Ferguson is more grateful than anything for the opportunities she’s had, especially since furthering a career in broadcast can be very difficult. “It helps a lot because I can say I’ve already worked for Soapbox [a direction company], I’ve already worked for Disney,” she said.
“I’m probably going to start an internship next year with some of the Disney affiliates up here ... like Pixar and Hollywood Records, ... Discovery [Channel], History [Channel],” she said. The connections she’s made and the unique exposure of being a Movie Surfer will help her get “an internship anywhere.”
Ferguson may have Mickey Mouse ears on her head, but she wears them with pride.
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