Woo-hoo! Monday is the first day of camp for those attending Deborah Gibson’s Camp Electric Youth. Geared for those ages 7-17, the students are immersed in performing arts classes for ten days.

“It’s basically not only to teach kids about singing, dancing and acting, but also the mental side of the business, too, and how to emotionally navigate being a young performer,” she tells me. “There will also be courses for the parents involved so that they can learn the business end and how to look out for their child’s emotional well-being. This is my idea, and I really love kids. I want to mentor.”

98 Degrees singer Jeff Timmons, Wayne Brady and Dancing With The Stars finalist Marissa Jaret Winokur will also make appearances.

In this interview, Deborah, 37, talks about dealing with stardom at a young age.

How is fame different for today’s stars than it was for you?
The obvious is the Internet. You can’t make a move without people knowing. You can’t make a mistake without people knowing. I have no skeletons in my closet. I don’t think I made any major mistakes, but that’s my point. I don’t think I did. But people can capture any little thing and make something of it, and I think that’s really daunting. It doesn’t allow for much room for kids to be kids. That’s probably the biggest thing. The paparazzi.

It’s like I don’t know which came first -- the chicken or the egg. On one hand, the paparazzi is more present. On the other hand, I didn’t give them anything to write about or follow. Where were they going to follow me? To the skating rink in Long Island? I was living such an innocent, true, young person’s life that I wasn’t feeding them, but they weren’t as present either.

So now it’s become a combination of kids wanting to grow up too quick and the paparazzi being right there.

So many child stars are getting into trouble. Do you think starting out at a young age is a good thing or a bad thing?
It’s definitely not for everybody. I would never say it’s good or bad, it’s just simply not for everybody. And it’s not for everybody’s parents either. The parenting is where it really comes in to play. I’m lucky my parents never got more caught up in it than me.  I never got caught up in it at all, but you see some of these parents who are enjoying the fame and the perks even more than the kids are, which is very scary, because kids need parents to be solid and to be just parents.

I definitely think there are some people cut out for it. Neil Patrick Harris is a friend of mine. He’s a prime example of a survivor. He’s a survivor. He was always a real actor and a real singer. Kids who are in it from the right reasons, who have a passion for it, who have a work ethic at a young age, will be OK. But the kids who get in it because they simply want to be famous to be famous, those are the ones who get into trouble.

Miley Cyrus got into trouble for Vanity Fair. What’s your take?
On one hand, it’s a big deal out of nothing, but on the other hand it’s a brilliant example of … parents cannot leave their kids alone at 15 and assume they can make adult decisions. That’s the lesson that every parent and kid can take away from it.

The picture itself I don’t think is that awful or scandalous. She’s showing her back. But on the other hand, I have a fifteen-year-old niece, and I couldn’t imagine my fifteen-year-old niece being comfortable. She barely wears makeup.

This is again a case where a kid is in the business and being treated like an adult. Miley employs people -- and I was that age and employing people so I can understand it. People really do forget that emotionally she’s 15 and you’re not prepared to deal with the ramifications that come from such a photo or the male attention that comes from such a photo. That’s the bigger issue.

Your camp is called Electric Youth, and you also had a perfume called Electric Youth. What’s your favorite celebrity fragrance these days?
I don’t have any celebrity fragrance. One that I use is Victoria’s Secret Love because it’s just fresh and it’s kind of like a new version of Electric Youth. It’s kind of fruity. [Laughs] I don’t like perfumey kinds of musky perfumes.

 

Camp Electric Youth begins Monday.

It’s time to honor the red, white and blue now that Independence Day is here. As we enjoy cookouts, parades and fireworks with friends and family, the stars fondly remember their favorite Fourths.

“I spent my summers at the Jersey Shore,” Taylor Swift tells me. “There was a Fourth of July parade, and we lived on the bay. All these boats would pass our house and we would try to hit them with water balloons and a slingshot.” Did she ever hit them? “All the time! It was a yacht club parade, so all the elite were dressed in their best. We would try to hit them with water balloons.”

Ashanti tells me, “I was at a barbecue with some friends. They were doing firecrackers in the yard, and one of the bushes caught on fire on the side of the house. One of the guys came running up the patio, and there were so many people there. There were kids, there were people in the pool, barbecuing, dancing, there was drinks all over. So somebody dumped the cooler on the bush, and the fire got bigger. The fire got huge. All the guys were pouring ice and buckets of water. I forgot how they finally got it out, but they finally got it out. It was hilarious. They had to get the fire trucks to come up to the house. It was very funny.”

Guys get especially rowdy.

Stephen Colbert tells me, “I grew up in South Carolina, so it all has to do with fireworks as a child. All fireworks are legal in South Carolina. I like blowing things up.”

Trace Adkins tells me, “I set the pasture on fire behind the house. I shot the bottle rocket off in the backyard, and it landed way back. We kept shooting bottle rockets and hadn’t noticed the whole pasture was on fire. It was real dry. I’ll never forget that. I was like 14.”

Stephen Baldwin tells me, “Out on Long Island, we used to get a pack of firecrackers. It was called a mat. A mat of firecrackers in America is when you buy fifty firecrackers together and they’re all tied together by a fuse, and you light them off. One of the most fun memories that I have is when we lit off a mat of firecrackers in the house, and my dad whooped all of us. It was quite amusing.”

What’s Matthew Modine’s July 4 tradition? “Go find a park and sit under the fireworks.”

Clay Aiken tells me, “I grew up going to the fireworks.”

Camp Rock’s Alyson Stoner’s favorite Fourths have been in Toledo, Ohio, with her family.

“I love barbecuing. Being comfortable and being with family is the best feeling.”

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl star Madison Davenport says, “We had this giant crocodile across our lawn, but it wasn’t a real crocodile thank goodness, or else I wouldn’t have fingers. It was a Slip-N-Slide, and it was so fun because it was giant. It took up two lawns. It was the funnest thing. And we had snow cones, my mom made her famous cake – the American flag cake – and it was really fun.”

Some stars’ best times have been spent jet-setting on the holiday.

John Leguizamo adds, “I think I was in Ecuador on a ship, running around and drinking, carousing, water-skiing, near the Galapagos. It was pretty cool.”

How will they celebrate this year?

“I don’t really have a tradition, but a lot of my friends have barbecues, so I’ll probably do something like that,” Brittany Snow tells me.

Miranda Lambert adds, “Sparklers are my favorite. I love fireworks.”

Coming-of-age dramedy The Wackness opens today. The eagerly-anticipated flick takes place in 1994 NYC, and I caught up with the film’s stars at The Regency Hotel.

Was it tough for Josh Peck, who got his start on Nickelodeon’s Drake And Josh, to do nude scenes?

“It was awful,” the 21-year-old actor tells me. “It was petrifying. I was completely scared. Everybody’s got body issues, but especially when you transform onscreen, it’s very difficult. Olivia [Thirlby] and I didn’t talk to each other the first part of the day. We shot around 5:00 – that magic hour of when the sun was going down. We were right on the beach. I didn’t eat any lunch ‘cause I didn’t want to be bloated. [laughs] I did 100 pushups in my trailer beforehand, and I dropped the robe and went with God.” He adds, “Ghandi was there. That’s as close to God as you can get.”

The actor pretends not to hear when asked three times how he shed the weight he carried as a teen star. Noted!

Where was he in 1994?

“I was eight, so I was watching Power Rangers and rocking Bugle Boy jeans and shoes with lights in them. Listening to Spice Girls, and my first Joey Lawrence album. I remember the things I was saying in ’94. Things like we say now like ‘what’s good’ and ‘that’s tight’ – back then we said ridiculous things like ‘yo, that’s mad crazy b.’”

He was talking like that at 8? “Yeah.”

Here comes director Jonathan Levine, who talks about Sir Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s fabled love scene.

“It was cool because he’s playing someone who’s so immature and she seems really wise when you meet her … and it was also 3 o’clock in the morning,” he says. “They were having fun with it. They were having a good time.”

Meanwhile, Olivia Thirlby, 21, won’t tolerate Mary-Kate questions, but tells me she would “love to” work with Seth Rogen even though she was replaced by Amber Heard in his forthcoming comedy Pineapple Express. “I was really disappointed because I love Judd Apatow and I love Seth Rogen and I’m a huge fan of their comedy. I was super-pumped to be a part of one. It was disappointing, but I guess I learned a part of the business. Sometimes with casting it’s completely out of your control. You’ve gotta not take things too personally. I still have no idea why, and I’m not sure anybody knew why. It’s just a decision that came down from on high. I actually don’t know Amber. I’ve never met her before. It kind of happens. All my friends are always auditioning for the same projects, if not the very same roles. It’s sort of fun when I go to L.A., and I stay with friends and we work on the same sides together. It’s a fun experience.”

Method Man cracks a joke when asked about his watch.

“My mom hates when I leave the house with her jewelry, but I had to this morning,” the rapper/actor, 37, says. “I’ve gotta give this back to her.”

What’s his favorite thing about NYC in the summer?

“Fashion,” Method says. “Not for me to wear, but I like booty shorts. Sorry. If you have the legs, flaunt them. And those Spartan-type sandals. I love them. Y’all killing them. The women are murdering those sandals that look like Spartan shoes.”

The Wackness is in theaters now.

Donning sunglasses, Julia Roberts strides into the Kit Kittredge: An American Girl premiere alongside her sister, Lisa Gillen.

“I didn’t come alone, man!” executive producer Julia exclaims during the NYC premiere held at Ziegfeld Theater.

The Oscar winner caps off an evening that is all about the kids, as little girls – even a Girl Scout troop -- flock to the venue clutching American Girl dolls.

Jada Pinkett Smith is here giving some love to daughter Willow, who stars in the kiddie flick.

“I’m good, I’m great,” Will Smith’s wife says.

Willow certainly knows how to work those flashes – she’s only 7, but she was born posing. The crowd goes wild when her brother Jaden, 9, opens his shirt. (It’s in the genes!)

Chris O’Donnell is accompanied by a gaggle of girls, including daughter Lily, who is schlepping two American Girl dolls to the screening.

The true star of the night, however, is Abigail Breslin, who says her favorite food is pizza. What would she miss most if she lived in the ‘30s, like her character, who grew up in the Great Depression? “Probably my phone and my computer,” she says.

After bonding over the game Concentration on set by day, costar Zach Mills says he joined Abigail, Madison Davenport and Willow Smith for dinner every night.

“One of us would suggest where to go. We had a lot of fun. I filmed it in Toronto, and right next to our hotel was this great Indian restaurant. I wish I lived in Toronto to go there now. And we went to sushi places too. Abigail picked an Italian restaurant called Bellini’s.”

Mmm!

What is Willow really like?

“She is a ball of sass, and I love it,” Madison tells me. “She’s like ‘mmhmm.’”

And Abigail?

“She’s sweet. She’s not like ‘get me my sunglasses now.’ She’s very sweet.”

Costar Wallace Shawn seconds that thought.

“Abigail ignores the fact that she’s a famous movie star. If you talk with her, you would assume maybe she’s been invited on set for the day to play a small part, and tomorrow she’ll be back in school.”

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is in theaters now.