When 16-year-old Sara Paxton turns into one of this year's It girls March 3 -- and you can count on that -- no one will be able to complain that she didn't earn it.

Already known to NBC Discovery Kids watchers as the title star of 'Darcy's Wild Life,' Sara stars alongside 15-year-old pop singer Jojo and Emma Roberts (Nickelodeon's 14-year-old 'Unfabulous' star and Julia's niece) in 'Aquamarine,' about two girls who discover a mermaid. Sara's the mermaid, a part she terms 'every girl's fantasy.' But the logistics were anything but a dream. 'Putting on the tail was really, really challenging -- four hours lying there. And once I got it on, it was really a problem if I had to go to the bathroom, like a big project with a lot of people involved, which is embarrassing.'

Paxton was well prepared for the swimming part of her role: 'I was lucky that I could already hold my breath for a long, long time. And I used to practice swimming with my legs held together when I was a little girl.'

Fortunately for her, most of 'Aquamarine' has Aquamarine enjoying the benefit of legs.

Shooting took place on Australia's Gold Coast, from last February to May. 'All the actors lived in the same apartment complex, right on the beach. You'd press the Lobby button, and they'd all come down,' Sara recalls. And, 'Emma and Jojo and I -- we got along really well. We still talk all the time, and have sleepovers. We're really, really close.'

Sara's also swimming into the music world, having cut a song for the 'Aquamarine' soundtrack. Her own pop-rock album is coming out in April, and yes, she'll be touring.

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Lea Thompson's third season of her Hallmark Channel 'Jane Doe' mystery movies launches Saturday (1/14) with Donna Mills aboard as her ex-CIA operative mother. 'She's so beautiful. Everyone kept saying, 'She doesn't look old enough to be your mom!' And I'd say...'Waaaah!'' admits Lea. 'I hope people say that to my daughters one day.' (By the way, Mills is 19 years Lea's senior.)

Lea's been doing back-to-back assignments this past year, making 'Jane Doe' movies -- in which she plays a soccer mom-turned-government-agent -- with the upcoming independent feature comedies 'Out of Omaha' and 'Doubting Thomas' in-between. 'I'm contracted to do four more Jane Doe movies this year,' she says of the Hallmark franchise. 'I hope they'll make them. I'm looking at three different scripts right now. I think they're really happy with this one with Donna.' She also directed a forthcoming 'Jane Doe' movie, and may direct another soon.

NOT BEACHED: For those 'Laguna Beach' fans who thought Lauren Conrad (A.K.A. L.C.) gave her boyfriend Jason Wahler the boot for good, think again. She may have kicked him to the curb on the finale of the MTV reality series after he was caught kissing his ex-girlfriend, but all seems to have been forgiven.

L.C. says of the situation, 'We were dating for a while but no one from MTV knew because we were trying to hide it. They found out and started filming us and then we had a big fight on TV. We broke up for about a month but ended up getting back together.' In fact, Jason will be back when L.C.'s new MTV show, 'The Hills,' premieres in the Spring. When asked if any other 'Laguna' friends will show up, she responds, 'Maybe. We're trying to work it out right now. Originally we weren't supposed to, but I'm still dating Jason so we're trying to figure out what to do with him.'

LESS THAN LIKELY: Although ABC's "Less Than Perfect" hasn't officially been cancelled, one of its stars, Zachary Levi, admits, 'It kind of looks that way,' when asked if this past season was its last. 'We did full three seasons and then this last year they only picked us up for half a season,' he notes. 'It looks like it's probably the end of the show, but television is such a weird game that this May they could realize they've got nothing else to put on the schedule so they could renew us.' As for whether the stars of the sitcom want the show to continue? 'There are ups and downs to all of it,' he responds. 'I think a lot of people are ready to move on. Some people don't want to. It's a mixed bag of feelings.' Levi's next project, 'Big Momma's House 2,' hits theaters Jan. 27.