Byrd's Eye View: Miley Mania!
PICTURED: There was a circus atmosphere outside Daivs Kidd as Miley Cyrus signs her book "Miles to Go" for adoring fans. The event is in advance of the Nashville premiere of Hannah Montana the movie, later that night.
From entertainment writer Cindy Watts:
The country music community came out in force Thursday night to celebrate the Nashville premiere of Hannah Montana: The Movie with its stars at Regal's Green Hills 16 Cinema.
Actually, judging by the squeals of delight, we suspect the children were doing most of the celebrating.
Martina McBride showed up with her three daughters. Sara Evans and family came with six of their seven children. Phil Vassar was there with his two daughters. Jennifer Hanson and husband Mark Nesler brought 11-year-old Machaela. Clint Black and wife Lisa Hartman Black walked the carpet with daughter Lily, who is the spitting image of her daddy.
Big Kenny Alphin and his wife, Christiev, carried shy toddler Lincoln into the theater, and Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum strolled past with fiancée Cassie McConnell and her younger sister in tow.
"I'm excited about seeing the movie," said Martina, holding 3-year-old daughter Ava, who declared Miley's character's brother, Jackson, to be her favorite on the show. "We watch the show all the time," Martina said. "My kids really wanted to be here, and it's something the whole family can do together."
Sara Evans agreed, saying that even the boys in her family like to watch Hannah Montana.
"It's on all the time," said the singer as she signed autographs for the crowd. "The boys think she's very cute. My son will get mad at me for saying that! Miley is very funny. Her show is the perfect balance of cheesy and adult enough for kids and parents to be able to watch it together."
Taylor Swift,who makes an appearance in the movie, also showed up, signed autographs and posed for pictures for the couple of hundred screaming fans who lined the sidewalk and hung over the side of the parking garage.
But Miley Cyrus and dad Billy Ray Cyrus, who were last to arrive, received the loudest cheers from the young crowd. They both seemed excited about showing the movie to the hometown crowd.
"I think it's awesome to be home showing the movie, because Nashville played just as big a role as any of the other characters in the movie," Miley said. (The film was shot in and around Nashville over three months last summer.) "Nashville really shined. But I think the most important thing in this movie is to be true to yourself."
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports Miley is already looking toward her next big-screen endeavor. The governor's office in Georgia says Disney movie The Last Song, starring Miley, will be filmed in Savannah this summer. The script is by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook), and Hannah Montana is not a character.
