Hannah Montana

The camera work in Hannah Montana: The Movie. Was great. We were taken to this pale, shallow world where you are a mask, a wig, a costume. And then we were taken into the real world - the quiet sounds and sights of a Tennessee meadow. The hands that work the fields. The sunrise and sunset over the bluegrass.

We also had this kind of zero gravity shot moving in over the stage - this little girl getting complete power over 120 people at a country concert, 2,000 people in an auditorium - the kind of thing that captures the heart-in-the-mouth excitement of performance.

The whole thing really worked well. People in the movie theatre stood up and applauded. They sang along. They cheered. The film did incredibly well at the box office. Success.

For me the best part about the film was that I got to learn a little bit about being a Dad to a prodigy. After seeing what happened to Charlotte Church, and Britney Spears ... whatever can be said about Billy Ray mostly working his career through his daughter - in the film - helping his daughter to manage being two people - and even his willingness to sacrifice his personal life (which in the film was largely symbolic, falling in love with a woman that can take apart a truck is something thats a little harder to reverse than it looks) - he did the right thing.

John Updike once wrote 'fame is an iron mask that when worn, grafts itself to your face and will not be removed except for taking a portion of the flesh with it'. Billy's work laid the foundation for Hanna, and her work one day will end. Maybe next year. The two will walk offstage intact, the Montana contracts will make them north of a billion dollars. From the way they did the film, which is really all I have seen of Hanna Montana - both of them will have a future career. I am told that by the time she turns 16, she'll have pulled in 1 Billion. Thats billion with a B. The most important part of that - is that they will walk away with it. Not implode. Shave their heads. End up in rehab.

Thats Miley Cyrus. Thats Billy Ray. As a parent, I liked that part of the film the most. Certain values and ways of doing things, still work best. I'm glad they decided to make that part of the movie.