Actress Alexa PenaVega chatted about her new Hallmark film “A Paris Proposal.”
She is best known for her role as Carmen Cortez in the hit film series Spy Kids, and then reappeared as a grown-up Carmen in the fourth film, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.
PenaVega has performed on Broadway in Hairspray, played Ruby Gallagher on the ABC Family television sitcom Ruby & the Rockits, and has held roles in several other films.
Most recently, she starred in a series of Hallmark made-for-television films, which included “Love in the Limelight.” When she and Carlos Pena married in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the couple combined their last names to form PenaVega and are now the proud parents of two sons, Ocean and Kingston, and one baby girl, Rio. “That was a really fun movie. Carlos got to play himself in it, it was perfect,” she said about “Love in the Limelight”
PenaVega stars in “A Paris Proposal” alongside Nicholas Bishop, and it will premiere on Saturday, February 11 on Hallmark as part of its annual “Loveuary” programming event.
The movie shot partially on location in Paris and features iconic locations. “This movie was unreal,” she exclaimed. “We actually filmed it in Paris and Bulgaria and the cast was amazing. It was an incredible experience, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in Paris.”
“The architecture in Paris was incredible and the food is delicious. Even when you walk around there, you just feel cooler, there is something about it. You feel elevated,” she added.
The synopsis is as follows: Anna (Alexa PenaVega) is an account manager for a New York City advertising agency who has the opportunity to land the biggest client of her career – Durand Diamonds. “I loved Anna’s wardrobe and how much heart she has, and she tries to be helpful,” she said.
Much to her chagrin, her boss dispatches her and her colleague Sebastian (Nicholas Bishop) to the “City of Light” to make the pitch and seal the deal. Anna’s by-the-books work style clashes with Sebastian’s looser approach and over-the-top ideas that dazzle the client but exceed budget realities that land them in hot water.
Not only that, but Paris holds painful memories for her since that’s where she and her now ex-husband honeymooned at the start of their brief, one-year marriage. When they arrive in Paris to meet with the client, a misunderstanding leads the Durands to believe Anna and Sebastian are married, making them excited about the prospect of having real-life couple in charge of the creative vision for their brand.
As they work on their campaign pitch and try to keep up appearances of being a happy couple – which becomes more complicated when Sebastian’s family becomes involved – they begin to learn about each other and the most romantic
city in the world just might be working its magic. But when the truth about their relationship, or lack thereof, comes to light will this mean the end of their professional partnership as well as their budding romance?
“Working with Nicholas Bishop was great, he is a sweetheart. The ongoing joke we have is that if Carlos can’t make a project, Nicholas is my benchman,” she said.
“Nicholas is so lovely and really talented, he takes his craft very seriously so he puts the work in,” she added.
“A Paris Proposal” is from Hallmark Media. Cameron Johann is executive producer.
Producers are Jeffery Beach, Phillip Roth and Kristina Kambitova. Jessica Harmon directed the movie from a script by Andrea Canning.
“This is such a special movie, it hits home on so many subjects such as getting validation from your parents and making your family proud, and that is something a lot of people can relate to, and I think it will be fun to watch,” she said.
Dream acting partners
On her dream acting partners, she said, “If I could work with anyone from Hallmark, it would be Lacey Chabert or any of the amazing ladies on there. I would love to do an awesome ladies movie with them. I don’t know what that looks like yet… perhaps a road trip movie. I am very curious to get all the girls together.”
‘What If Love Is The Point?’ book
She also spoke about the success of her book “What If Love Is The Point?: Living for Jesus in a Self-Consumed World.”
“It was such a special book and we are finishing up the second one, and that is supposed to come out later this year. Things are moving along, it has been a huge blessing,” she said.
“What If Love Is The Point?: Living for Jesus in a Self-Consumed World” is available on Amazon by clicking here.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said with a sweet laugh, “Peace in the Chaos.”
PenaVega is thrilled to have signed a multi-movie deal with Hallmark. “Hallmark is so wonderful, it truly family for us and the perfect spot to be really creative together and to create projects that we are really proud of,” she said.
‘Ocean’s World’ children’s book
She also opened up about her new children’s book “Ocean’s World: An Island Tale of Discovery and Adventure,” which she co-wrote with her husband Carlos, and it features illustrations by Kiersten Eagan. “Kiersten totally captured what we were going for, we got the great colors in there but they are not overly bright, they are a bit muted. It felt very peaceful and that was the goal for the book,” she said.
“Ocean is so excited about that book, we are working on hopefully creating more. The goal is to hopefully create a television series out of that book, we will see what happens. That is near and dear to our hearts because it is about our kids and the adventures that they go on. It literally wrote itself,” she said.
Their children’s book is available on Amazon.
To learn more about Alexa PenaVega, follow her on Instagram.
