''On the Line'' may be Lance Bass' debut as a leading man, but the 'N Sync singer appears to be making the transition from pop idol to thespian without much trouble. It's a chilly April day in downtown Chicago, and Bass' character Kevin, a shy adman desperate to track down a dream girl he encounters on the L train, has just spotted his soulmate at the Wabash and Adams stop. He bounds up the platform stairs to catch her. After two takes, Bass jogs over to Beth Flanagan, his personal assistant and childhood friend.
''Did you see the emotion in my steps?'' he asks, nudging his pal's arm. ''I did on the first take,'' she says, playing along. ''It was kind of overwhelming.''
Okay, maybe Flanagan's a bit biased -- after all, she's known Bass since she was 13. Still, America, prepare yourself: The 22-year-old singer might just be saying bye, bye, bye to being a teen dream and hello to becoming a Hollywood hyphenate. The $10 million romantic comedy, due Oct. 26, is not just Bass' first major film role (the IMAX hit '''N Sync: Bigger Than Live'' notwithstanding), it's also the first project from his 10-month-old production company, A Happy Place.
'''N Sync can't last forever,'' says Bass of his move toward producing. ''Hopefully, we've got another good 10 years ahead of us.... I just think with acting, there's not a time limit on it. That's why I want to get into this – I love to entertain, and this lives forever.''
The 'N Sync guys have always roamed outside the boundaries of boy-banddom: JC Chasez wrote and produced for the girl group Wild Orchid; Chris Kirkpatrick has his skater-style clothing line, FuMan Skeeto; and Justin Timberlake dabbles in songwriting and acting (remember last year's ABC movie ''Model Behavior''?).
Bass and Joey Fatone -- who has a supporting role in ''On the Line'' as Kevin's rocker buddy, Rod -- are the movie geeks. In addition to writing treatments for 'N Sync videos, the duo once penned a script for ''Grease 3,'' though copyright issues kept that project from happening. ''God did not give me the talent to write [songs],'' says Bass. ''But I love creating movies.''
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