HighschoolMusical Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I know you're probably sick of reading about Megan Fox, but the darn girl just fascinates me. Her acting fascinates me, her stardom fascinates me and my our addiction to her fascinates me. As of today she's only starred in like three films, and yet every magazine is itching to throw her on the cover; to feature some eight-page Megan Fox no-holds-barred interview/photo spread and then slowly release bits and pieces as if we're a pack of wolves fighting for just enough fuel to stay alive. And she must love every single minute of it. In fact, I'm not sure a better interview exists right now if you're looking for the classless, sexed-up raunch factor -- this girl doesn't care what she says or who she says it to ... and she ain't apologizing for any of it. Perhaps that's why I like her; she's like an anti-role model (and for all I know, she may be the anti-christ!).

Oh, and here's another reason why I dig this chick: As part of her recent interview in Esquire magazine, the gal says this about High School Musical (how or why they were on this topic is beyond me): "Let me tell you what it's really about. High School Musical is about this group of boys who are all being molested by the basketball coach, who is Zac Efron's dad. It's about them struggling to cope with this molestation. And they have these little girlfriends, who are their beards. Oh, and somehow there's music involved. You have to get stoned and watch it." I don't know what she's talking about, and I don't think she knows what she's talking about, but it's all kinda surreal and awesome and who cares. One day I will interview Megan Fox, and that interview will be epic. Until then ...







[via Vulture]

Strictly as an outside observer, I'm always surprised / perplexed by teen sensations making the leap to the big screen. The latest examples are Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron. Are they really movie stars already? Or are they beloved by millions simply because of the character(s) they've played?

When Cinematical's Dawn Taylor recently expressed her horror at the idea that Cyrus, a "marginally talented, pudding-faced 'tween idol," would be starring in a movie written by Nicholas Sparks, commenters were divided between hating Miley and hating Dawn. Nick Schager's review of Hannah Montana: The Movie was quite negative ("enduring the film is akin to being drawn and quartered"), but fans had clearly already decided to flock to theaters no matter what the reviews said. The narrative follow-up to the 3-D Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour proves, if nothing else, that 'tweens love Hannah Montana. But do they love the actress who plays her enough to follow her in other roles?

Efron has been making an effort to demonstrate his range beyond the High School Musical movies. He took on a dramatic role in Richard Linklater's yet to be released Me and Orson Welles, decided not to dance in Footloose, and stars in the comedy 17 Again, which opens on Friday. Is he a deft comic actor? I don't know. I missed Saturday Night Live, which he hosted last weekend, and the recent Pool Party video was not very funny. He became beloved for his singing, dancing, and romancing, but will his fans follow him to comedic and dramatic roles?

Do Zac Efron and/or Miley Cyrus have what it takes to be movie stars? Take our poll and let us know.

Looks like the High School Musical kids are starting to leave the nest, as Vanessa Hudgens may go the Megan Fox route and skip on over to slash her way through a horror flick. During an interview on the Comics to Comics podcast, Dead @ 17 creator Josh Howard said that Mike Dougherty (Superman Returns, X2: X-Men United) will adapt the Viper Comics series for the big screen and that High School Musical hottie Vanessa Hudgens is eying the lead role.

Dead @ 17 follows a girl named Nara Kilday who is killed and then reborn to fight demons. Sounds sorta like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, except everyone in the film is already dead. From Wiki: "Nara Kilday is killed, and finds herself mysteriously revived. She discovers she has to prevent the coming of Bolabogg, a demonic lord. This series also introduces Hazy Foss, her best friend, and Elijah, a friend of the two girls who Nara has a crush on. The mysterious Noel appears, who helps the three fight hordes of undead and other monstrosities. Nara banishes Bolabogg back to his realm."

I just can't get past the whole "who Nara has a crush on" part. Imagine being some dorky high school kid who finds out a really cute chick has a crush on you -- but then, crap, she's dead ... and she fights demons. Kinda nasty. Hudgens was also recently talked-about for a role as a werewolf in the Twilight sequel New Moon, but that may not be happening after all.

Which role would you rather her take on: A werewolf in New Moon or an undead demon fighter in Dead @ 17?

Just when you thought your favorite stars from High School Musical were graduating from the big-screen forever, it looks like Vanessa Hudgens (aka Oops, Remember When I Accidentally Took Naked Pictures of Myself) is auditioning for a role in another blockbuster franchise -- only this time she'll get to show her teeth. According to MTV, Hudgens has auditioned for the role of Leah Clearwater in the Twilight sequel, New Moon. Ah, but don't go hoping for tons of biting and sucking on Hudgens' part -- see, Clearwater is a female werewolf who's described as bitter and cynical, and eventually antagonizes Jacob because he's still in love with Bella ... who's about to marry Edward and become a vampire too. The character is also featured in the third and fourth books, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, which means there's a good chance Hudgens would sign for the franchise.

Summit would be smart to cast Hudgens in a role since she'd most definitely bring her High School Musical fanbase (most of which are probably Twilight fans already). Oh, and seeing as she's a total hottie, one might argue that her casting could entice more boys to scope out the sequel. With a bigger budget, a new director (Chris Weitz) and a host of familiar teen names, could New Moon break more box office records when it hits theaters on November 20, 2009?

What do you Twilight fans think of Hudgens? Too cutesy to play a werewolf, or perfect for the role?

The day before opening, I made an educated guess that we'd see a sing-along incarnation of High School Musical 3: Senior Year soon enough. However, while I thought that Disney might go for the relatively open weekends of November 14th or December 5th, last week's 65% drop in business suggests that repeat viewing has already somewhat exhausted itself and that the studio better milk their cash cow dry a bit sooner, so on November 7th, the lyric-laden version of HSM3 will pop up in 125 digital theaters nationwide.

There's something to be said for the digital aspect of this release. Though I have friends and colleagues who still cheer 35mm all the way, to dismiss the merits of digital projection -- whether in this or better cases -- seems downright foolish. Who knows: with any luck, we'll be treated to a digital release of Saw School Musical come next October...

In Utah -- the state so pure that some theaters owners refuse to show the relatively tame Zack and Miri Make a Porno but haven't given Saw V a second glance -- one theater moved their audience for the weekend's #1 movie, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, into a larger auditorium that had been showing the raunchy Sex Drive ... and promptly continued to do so once the lights went down.

This isn't a terribly uncommon mistake to be made. Just last year, a Long Island multiplex exposed children to the gruesome opening of The Hills Have Eyes 2 instead of The Last Mimzy, and back in 2005, I found myself attending a Saturday night sneak of Zathura in a theater where The Fog proceeded to begin instead. (Childless and intrepid as I was am, it took my fetching a manager to correct the situation, not any of the number of vocally concerned parents in the surprisingly full house.)

(No, please, it was nothing.)

I just hope that some giddy HSM3 fan let loose with "Go, Wildcats!" regardless. They wouldn't have been too far off...

Last night, I found myself surrounded by a swarm of youngsters who were eating up High School Musical 3: Senior Year (I'd tell you what I thought, but studio snipers are watching my every word; we'll have our official review up soon enough). Particularly towards the end, each and every opportunity to stomp and clap was embraced, which led me to wonder: just how long before an inevitable sing-along version is released?

Now, nothing's certain, but given that Disney saw fit to release this one theatrically, I doubt they're above any last chance to wring this for all the money it can make. Acting under that presumption, I'd be willing to bet that, were we to see HSM3: Senior Year Sing-Along, it'd be on either:

• November 14: the tweens couldn't care less about James Bond, are just old enough to pass on Madagascar 2 and just young enough to think that three weeks since their first time has been an eternity, or...
  
• December 5: the week after Thanksgiving is often a dead zone (home last year to, um, Awake), and between no direct family-friendly competition from Punisher: Take Two and screens likely freed up by whatever holiday release underperforms (there's always at least one), these are exactly the kind of conditions that nature abhors and that Disney may yet take advantage of

Did any of you turn out for Hairspray or Mamma Mia! these past two summers? Would you go back for another go here if the kids begged you? Would you totally just act like that was your plan all along as you tap your feet and wail in your shower voice as your spawn and those seated near stare on in awe/terror?

It seems most TV series can be watched online for free now, so why not also stream episodes of a program like ABC's Wonderful World of Disney? Sure each episode is actually a feature-length Disney-made film, but a TV show is a TV show. Fortunately, Disney seems to agree, as they're putting this summer's crop of WWoD films online for free. Typical of Disney, though, and unlike ABC.com's library of episodes, each film will only be available for a limited time. Basically, each title will screen on ABC on Saturday night, then it will be up on Disney.com (specifically the WWoD page) the following week, from Monday through Friday only. Currently, Finding Nemo, which appeared on WWoD June 7, is being offered.

Other movies on the schedule this summer include Monsters Inc., Freaky Friday, The Haunted Mansion, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Peter Pan will be the last to air and then stream, during the first week of August. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the one movie making its world premiere on the program, Camp Rock, will also (or is it only?) stream for 24 hours on June 23, on a separate page, after airing a few times on ABC and ABC Family the weekend prior.

As much as it would make fans of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and the others happy to see them together again, it's not quite an uplifting premise for a Disney Channel movie to see them all fail and have to re-do their Senior Year. Besides, Zac is starting to bring his mainstream, post-Musical career together now, so I would think that it would be hard, if not impossible, to get him back for another installment. Nevertheless, The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the Disney Channel is continuing the series. Silly me, to think that graduation would be the end of it, since High School Musical 3 is, well, "Senior Year."

The Disney Channel is so keen on continuing the series that they've already started working on the next one. Most likely, this will be a new television movie, rather than another big-screen adventure, and they're currently writing the script now. Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross says: "Are we going to have all the cast back? Probably not. Will we have some of them? I hope so." The juniors are now seniors? Freshman now sophomores?

Poor Disney ... They must have been aching at the thought of their High School Musical franchise coming to an end once number 3 hits the big screen. It's been an insane sensation, and certainly good for both the company and channel. But what do you do when it all comes to an end? You could look for new material, or you could spin it.

Variety reports that Walt Disney Pictures has picked Steven Antin (jerky prep Troy from The Goonies) to write and direct a new musical project for them, which will be produced by Scott Sanders (who recently developed The Color Purple musical). The plot and title are being kept under wraps, but they might as well call it High School Musical 4: The Next Generation. Antin says: "It's a music-driven movie set in a high school, geared toward a Disney audience." Gee, how original.

But we just might get a bit of a breather before it comes out. Antin has finished part of the screenplay, and says that this project is "neck and neck" with Burlesque for filming this fall -- he had written the script, and Diablo Cody spunked it up with a rewrite. Either way, we're not out of the musical woods yet. Stay tuned to see who wins the showdown between burlesque and teen singers!