Some queens might have spent quarantine perfecting brand new stage shows or finding new and inventive ways to put on live shows from home, but Nina West is emerging from quarantine with two brand new projects! The first is a short film Coaster which features West’s (real name Andrew Levitt) voice inhabiting the mother, who herself narrates her own son’s very surreal world. As Entertainment Weekly describes it exclusively, “as the young man’s home scoots along a winding course of roller coaster track as the ride’s twists and turns mimic the ups and downs of his personal life (including mounting bills, a chaotic love life, and a dire job search).” West has an unlikely group of fairy godmothers to thank for inspiring her to speak her voice over dreams into reality; the ladies at The View!
West told EW last year “I’m a massive Disney fan, and I realized I was at the [parent company] ABC Studios. I was like, I’ll kick myself if I don’t,” Levitt tells EW of his on-air admission to Meghan McCain that he dreamed of doing voice work for Disney. Two days later, his management called with an offer to voice an animated short film called Coaster. In a twist of fate, director Amos Sussigan had seen Levitt’s appearance on The View, and immediately knew he wanted the 42-year-old to take the lead on the project (made in collaboration with writer-producer Dan Lund, a longtime Disney animator with visual effects credits on Tarzan, Hercules, and The Lion King).
Coaster is not the only brand new project the Queen of Colombus, OH has to reveal this summer. EW recently revealed that West is teaming up with the legendary Dolly Parton, who are going to be teaming up on a collection of apparel and accessories appropriately called, The Kindness Is Queen Collection. The collection contains an enamel pin, t-shirt, and tote bag will be sold for a limited time, with proceeds to benefit LGBTQ+ youth and children’s literacy, two passion projects for West and Parton respectively.
“When I approached Dolly with the idea for a collaboration between the Nina West Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, I was looking for an opportunity to continue to spread my message of kindness while building on the work I’ve done through my foundation supporting youth and families,” West said in an exclusive statement to EW. “Dolly is the Ultimate Queen of Kindness, and I am so thrilled that she agreed to this collaboration! We both want to spread the message that ‘Kindness is Queen,’ and that being kind is something that is desperately needed in our world right now!”
Watch “Coaster” exclusively at EW.com
Check out The Kindness Is Queen Collection here