At a huge historic hotel in downtown Los Angeles, dogs are everywhere, outside in the courtyard and inside the hotel lobby -- canine craziness for cinema's sake. The movie centers on 16-year-old Andi (Emma) and her brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin), both way into animal rescue. They live in a foster home -- with a no-pets policy. So they turn an abandoned hotel into doggie digs for furry family member Friday (and then some). We catch up with Emma for a little question-and-answer sesh.…

Q: Have there been any on-set bloopers?
A: Well, I had to run out of a building with about 20 dogs following me and the ground was wet. One dog hit my knee, and I fell down and skinned both knees. All the dogs trampled me! I was really upset, but then I was happy because I didn't have any bloopers before that.

Q: In the movie, you and your BFF have a crush on the same guy. Has that ever happened to you in real life?
A: Yes! Since me and my friends have really good taste, we always like the same boy. But usually we work it out. No one has ever been in a fight over a boy.

Q: Have you ever liked a guy who didn't like you the same way?
A: I think everyone has!

Q: What kind of dates have you been on lately?
A: When I was in England, I went to dinner and a movie. It was fun. I love England! There are really cute boys. I got to meet Rupert and Daniel [Grint and Radcliffe of Harry Potter] when I was there. Two of the nicest people I've ever met.

Q: What's your favorite thing to do in L.A.?
A: My friends and I go out for sushi every weekend.

Q: What are your essentials for having a good party?
A: The worst thing is when you're in a big space and there's not a lot of people. That makes it awkward. It's nice to let people bring other friends because then you can meet new people.

Hotel for Dogs opens in the United States on Jan. 16, 2009.

We heart pop culture! From books to bands to video games, these are our absolute faves (in no particular order).

Spore
Where can you go to create your own funky creature and develop it through quirky evolutionary phases as you travel to other planets? Straight to your computer (and soon Wii, according to word on the street) with this outta-this-world computer game. Install the disk, then go online to romp in an infinite architectural universe all generated by you and other gamers. Spore…never a bore.

The 39 Clues
The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones is the first in a fictional book series that places the reader squarely in the role of detective. Meet Amy and Dan of the Cahill clan, the world’s most powerful family. When Grandma Grace dies, the kids are given a choice: one million dollars or one of 39 clues leading to a global quest for treasure and untold power. This is a multimedia adventure that combines reading, online gaming and card collecting in an awesome interactive experience.

Metro Station
We love the everygirl-fave boy band Varsity Fan Club just as much as the next gal, but Metro Station is the real rock-it-out deal. The band just wrapped its UK tour with Boys Like Girls (who, incidentally, recently released a live-concert DVD titled Read Between the Lines). Don’t blink and you might catch a glimpse of Miley Cyrus doing a bumper-car cameo in Metro Station’s “Seventeen Forever” video, but singer/guitarist Trace Cyrus doesn’t piggyback on his little sister’s popstar success. Yes, they’re sibs. But this isn’t mentioned even once on the band’s Web site, and that’s one of the things we like best about these guys.

Fearless
This is a two-fer fave! What are the odds that a pair of young female musicians would each release a CD of the same name? Sizzlin’ R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, 21, was nominated for five Grammy awards, including Best New Artist, for the release of her CD titled Fearless. And smokin’ hot Taylor Swift, 19, was country music’s best-selling artist of 2008 with the release of her second CD, also titled…Fearless. These girls couldn’t be more divided in their musical tastes, but they both have gobs of go-for-it gumption. Love it!

In case you haven’t heard the name, Celtic Thunder is a group of five male vocalists from Ireland who belt out traditional Irish tunes, as well as some originals and modern classics -- and they’re rapidly gaining popularity. We caught up with Damian, the youngest cutie of the clan, as he and his bandmates storm the States.

Ireland Calling
Celtic Thunder is nearing the end of a 48-city concert tour, and Damian is just a tad homesick. Still, he takes the time to phone us up for a chat between calls to his home in Northern Ireland. He misses his family and friends. And he misses his girlfriend Jenna. “I talk to her every few days,” he tells us. “But at the moment, I’m really enjoying my time out here. The tour is ending Dec. 17, then I go home, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.”

Lightning-fast Blast
Damian won’t be home for long before hitting the road again in March 2009. The current tour kicked off in October 2008 at the world-famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. “My family came to the Radio City show, and it was their first experience of America. It’s kind of weird that their first experience was to see me perform. Our first performance was in Dublin, but we’re focused on America for now. If all goes well, we’ll end up in Europe eventually. Some of the other guys have toured, previous to this, to places such as Germany, Belgium and Canada.”

Doin’ Some Damage
Flash forward to the next evening after our phone call….Celtic Thunder is onstage -- another show, another packed arena. And Damian is a standout. Girls in the audience shriek when he steps out onto the stage for solos, particularly during his rendition of ’70s pop hit “Puppy Love.” The adult men of the group look polished in their tailored suits and shiny dress shoes, while Damian is endearingly disheveled. His Converse sneakers peer out from beneath the hem of his baggy dress pants, a left shoelace slightly untied, his white collared shirt not quite tucked in all the way. While the other singers switch up their outfits frequently throughout the show, Damian does only one wardrobe change: For the encore act, he wears a skirt. (OK, it’s a kilt.)

Storm Chasers
One might mistake this for a Jonas Brothers event, as a slew of lucky fans are lined up after the performance for a meet-and-greet with Damian and Keith Harkin, the 23-year-old hottie of the group. Girls are giddy with excitement, clutching their CDs and waiting for Sharpie signatures and snapshots. Outside the venue, another crowd accumulates, hoping to get a glimpse of the guys as they board their tour bus before heading to another city. Next!

The Forecast
We meet up with Damian backstage, and he’s every bit as charming in person. And he’s even cuter close up than he appeared from our seats in the arena. He had told us on the phone how important his education is to him, in case the music doesn’t take off for the long haul, but he says, “A hundred percent, I want to be a singer all my life.” We certainly predict a long-running musical career for this dynamo from Derry, whose charged-up performance ended with a standing ovation.