Oprah's advice stuck with 'Wrinkle' star Storm Reid
She hasn't yet turned 15 but child star Storm Reid is wise enough to have picked up some life lessons already -- the most important of them from Oprah Winfrey.
The talk show legend and media tycoon became a mentor for the Atlanta-born newcomer on the set of Disney sci-fi fantasy "A Wrinkle in Time," which came out in March.
"She said, 'Don't waste energy on things you can't change in life when you could be using that energy on something else positive.' It's my life motto," Reid told AFP.
Speaking on the red carpet at the MTV Movie and Television Awards in Los Angeles, Reid said she "fangirled a lot" when she met Winfrey, who was raised in poverty and became America's first black multi-billionaire.
"My head exploded! And when I walked in the room she knew my name," Reid said of their first encounter before filming started in Los Angeles in November 2016.
"She was like, 'Ah - Storm,' and I was like, 'Oh my God, she knows my name.' I was freaking out."
Unkind critics might point out that Oprah's advice would work well in the case of "Wrinkle," which was panned by critics and made losses estimated at up to $186 million.
Reid, though, described the experience starring in her first blockbuster as "amazing," adding that "to see my film impact so many people was really incredible."
Next up is HBO young adult drama series "Euphoria," in which Reid co-stars with Zendaya ("Spider-Man: Homecoming," "The Greatest Showman").
"It's basically about teenage drama, love, lies and drugs," Reid said.
"Even though it's a heavy topic, I feel like it underlines what's going on in the world right now."
The awards, hosted this year by comic Tiffany Haddish, have been taking a sideways look at Hollywood since 1992, handing out "golden popcorn" statuettes to honorees.
The nominees are decided by producers and MTV executives, while the winners are chosen by the public, who vote online.
The annual celebration of youth pop culture expanded last year to include television, and became a live show, but MTV reverted to pre-recording this time around.
Filming took place Saturday in a hangar at Santa Monica Airport, and MTV is keeping the winners top secret until the ceremony airs nationally on Monday.
"Black Panther," the breakthrough superhero film that has become the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time, led the nominations with seven.
Placing second with six nominations was "Stranger Things," the Netflix series about supernatural occurrences in a small town in Indiana.