It’s hard enough for a young actor to win over a casting agent, producer or even director to score a role.

Child star Nathan Gamble landed his biggest part to date by charming a bottlenose dolphin.

Gamble’s audition for the lead in “Dolphin Tale” meant spending some quality time with Winter, the dolphin famous for her prosthetic tail.

“There so much like humans. They have to like you and be comfortable with you,” Gamble tells Big Hollywood. “You have to be very respectful, and calm, and do the hand signals [the trainers] tell you.”

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Animals can create an impact in one’s life on a day-to-day basis. Whether you have a pet you consider family or one you frequently interact with as part of your job, animals do have souls, can inspire, love and help one cope with difficult situations. ‘Dolphin Tale’ tells the real life story of a special dolphin named Winter, who has touched the lives of all those around her.

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Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) is an 11-year-old boy who feels disenchanted with the world after his father left years ago. He even cuts himself off from his mother, Lorraine (Ashley Judd) and rarely confides in his closest relative, his cousin, Kyle (Austin Stowell). When Kyle, who is also an all-star swimmer, is shipped off to serve overseas, Sawyer feels more alone then ever. Sawyer comes across a beached dolphin, whose tail has been severely injured by a crab pot and appears to be in bad shape overall. The Clearwater Marine Hospital team shows up and takes the dolphin, later named Winter, under their wing and care for her. After days of analysis, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick, Jr.), a local marine biologist decides that in order for Winter to even have a chance of survival, her tail needs to be amputated. How is a dolphin to live if they don’t have a tail to swim? That’s the ultimate question the film rides on and the audience is taken through the journey of Winter’s hardships and triumphs.

I had the privilege of talking with Toby Nunn, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class, who spent a total of seven and a half years overseas and who also met the real life Winter in Clearwater, Florida. I asked Nunn what his initial reaction was when asked to meet Winter. He said, “When I was asked to come out to Florida to check it out, the idea of having an Iraqi veteran going to meet a dolphin was foreign to me. It was the most ridiculous request, but I was intrigued. It ended up being the best experience I’ve had in a long time.”

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A savvy man once said: “The biggest factor in attracting aid is not the amount of human suffering caused by an event, but the amount of media coverage it receives.” 

Celebrities traditionally love to depict themselves as humanitarians, often rushing to seize headlines in relief efforts following natural disasters.   But are Hollywood celebrities politically selective when publicizing human tragedy?

The problem is that celebrity showcasing of natural disasters, such as concerts for domestic relief, can be politically touchy: They imply governmental inaction or mishandling, hence the “need” for private fundraising, and second, they highlight tragedy and suffering by Americans in our country.  Together these are political buzzkill for an administration in full reelection mode desperate to keep a happy face on the state of the union.

Does Hollywood tend to publicly spotlight American suffering when Republicans control the White House?  Recall FarmAid during the Reagan Administration?  Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp rallied to “help” the suffering of farmers facing foreclosures under a backdrop of relentless media presentation of their suffering.  Yet during the Obama Administration, more homeowners have suffered foreclosure and repossession than anytime in history.  Yet no sweet music there.  No nationally publicized Hollywood relief to emphasize the suffering plight of Americans under Obama.

During Bush 43’s Administration, “A Concert for Hurricane Relief” was thrown together with, well, whirlwind speed and nationally broadcast on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, showcasing artists including Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis and Tim McGraw. Matt Lauer of the “Today” show acted as host of the telethon.  ”Shelter From the Storm” was another big Hollywood fundraiser featuring a Bush-bashing Kanye West.  Such star-studded Katrina fundraising is still ongoing.

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The Drew Barrymore-produced romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You has made the jump from catch-phrase to self-help book to movie hit. With an all-star cast this classic ‘chick flick” appears to be winning the weekend after posting a spectacular $10.5M in opening day ticket sales. That should mean a 3-day start of $27.4M or so, easily out-pacing holdover Taken (Fox) and three other new wide releases. With this kind of opening, Not That Into You could reach almost $60M by the end of next weekend (a 4-day Presidents/Valentine’s combo), which would forecast a potential $90M in US ticket sales.

The new movie developed by New Line and now released by Warner Bros is based on the book of the same name co-written by former Sex & the City scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo. The line itself has come to be a reassuring fallback for women in the dating scene (and I’m guessing single guys have adopted the mentality as well in the rough-and-tumble world of dating).

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Liam Neeson is officially a full-fledged action star. The Irish-born actor has often played heroes, whether it was Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List, the wise Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace or determined sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in 2005’s biopic Kinsey, Neeson has always had a knack for playing the earnest-but-flawed good guy. In his new movie Taken (Fox), writer/producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel have turned him into a Dad with the “mad skills” of a super-spy – think Mike Brady crossed with Jason Bourne.

The result is a well-reviewed (56% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) action film that will help to satisfy blockbuster-hungry audiences waiting for Warner Bros’ Watchmen (due March 6). Taken has scored big on its opening weekend. After grabbing an estimated $9.4M, the movie surged on Saturday to $11.62M (up almost 24% from opening day) and, despite today’s Super Bowl, the film could reach $24.62M according to studio estimates. That will be more than enough to win the Super Bowl 3-day, and positive word-of-mouth could get this one into the $70M-$75M range domestic.

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