As I posted last week, the trailer for High School Musical 3: Senior Year was scheduled to hit Disney yesterday, and it did. You can check it out big or small and shnazzy over at Disney.com, but since it's location-locked, I'm including the YouTube video of the premiere after the jump -- and make sure you head on over to Moviefone to see their exclusive photos (including the one above) from the film.

Now it's mostly what you'd figure -- the perfect-looking kids singing pop songs while dealing with the woes of big-screen high school. In this case, it's basketball and lots of romance, but there's also some Footloose flavor in there. Well, that's what I'm assuming since the trailer shows some clips of Zac Efron dancing about in a plaid shirt and a white tee in an industrial yard. But seeing that he takes that look into the classroom -- is plaid back in style?!

The kids finally get to graduate this October 24.

Cinematical was just sent this brand new poster for High School Musical 3: Senior Year! This one hits the big screen on October 24th, and it marks the return of all your favorite High School Musical-ers like Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. From the official synopsis: "High School Musical 3: Senior Year finds high school seniors Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) facing the prospect of separation as they head off to different colleges. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future. With incredible new music and exciting dance numbers designed to take maximum advantage of the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers plenty of high-energy entertainment from East High's talented ensemble."

I don't think we need to tell you that this one is gonna be HUGE ... with a capital "We Love You Zac!" High School Musical 3: Senior Year touches down right on our hearts this October 24th.

Though this news hasn't officially hit the trades, Hollywood.com is reporting this morning that Orlando Bloom has landed the lead role in Jerry Bruckheimer's next giant adventure trilogy, The Prince of Persia. The deal is reportedly worth $40 million, and Bloom beat out Zac Efron (no way could I see him in that role) for the part. Bloom, as we all know, helped Bruckheimer's previous Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy become one of the most lucrative ever. So if Bloom is in, and a Princess still needs to be cast, does that mean we could be hearing Keira Knightley's name pop up in the near future?

Last we heard from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, shooting was to begin in Morocco this summer, with a release date of June 16, 2009 already in place (check out some concept art here). Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) will direct off a script from Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia, of course, is based on the very popular series of video games. The story will revolve around a Prince (Bloom) who teams with a rival princess (Knightley???) to stop an evil ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

So, what do you fans of the game think about Orlando Bloom in the lead role?

UPDATE: Disney has gone on record with several sources (including Cinematical) claiming this story is absolutely not true. Of course, we will let you know whenever the real casting announcement has been made.

After news that High School Musical 3 was going to be the "last" in the series, fangirls had to start dealing with the thought of no more dancing Zac Efron. Although really -- "last" never means what it's supposed to these days, so that could just mean a year or two hiatus. But, whether this is it or not, MTV reports that he will dance again -- and really soon.

No, he hasn't signed on for a new musical. Rather, Adam Shankman says that the young heartthrob will be singing and dancing in Seventeen Again. You remember, right? It's the comedy where a kid who had it all gives up his sporting aspirations to be with his high school girlfriend -- but then he gets to Matthew Perry age, and he's separated and in a dead-end job. When he thinks about how great things were at 17, he gets catapulted back to youth in Efron form, and is forced to become a kid again -- while going to school with his own kids.

Shankman raves about Efron's work as a comedian: "people are going to be so surprised how seriously great he is in this movie," and also says: "there's also this big thing with Zac dancing with a lot of cheerleaders that is very, very fun and funny." Why so funny? This is what Efron told the site during a set visit -- "It's all '80s dance moves, and it's completely random. The running man, a few moves from MC Hammer - what is it, 'Can't Touch This,' right? Yeah, it's pretty funny." Ah, yes Zac. It's "Can't Touch This." But I wonder -- is he too legit to quit?

Most Adam Sandler fans are probably more than a little relieved that he has left some of the 'earnest' comedy behind and is now headed back to a sillier state of mind with You Don't Mess with the Zohan. But don't get too comfortable; it looks like there's more family-friendly fare on the horizon. ComingSoon.net recently got the chance to speak with Adam Shankman on the set of his latest flick, Seventeen (starring the 'dreamy' Zac Efron) to talk about his upcoming directing gig with Sandler in Bedtime Stories.

Shankman told Coming Soon that the release date of December 25th is foremost in his mind and that production is going to have to work, "Unbelievably fast, because I'm going till mid-June; it's a long schedule. Then, I have to be out in theaters December 25th. And there's a ton of CG, so I'm excited." Sure, he sounds excited, but why am I suddenly worried that this film is going to be the Jumanji of 2008?

The family comedy was written by Matt Lopez, a relative newcomer who only has a few credits to his name -- one of which is the upcoming remake of Witch Mountain. Stories stars Sandler as a guy whose life is forever changed when the stories that he tells his nephew at bedtime start to become real. Keri Russell (Waitress) also stars, although there is no description of her part. The smart money is that Russell will get the thankless role of 'love interest'. Shooting is set to begin in the next three weeks and keep your fingers crossed that Shankman can keep on schedule.

For girls of a certain age, the very notion of Zac Efron is enough to send them into peals of ecstasy. Personally, I just don't get it. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Efron (star of High School Musical), has signed to star in the big-screen version of Robert Kaplow's coming-of-age novel, Me and Orson Welles. Efron will play Richard, a 17 year old boy "who, while strolling the streets of New York, happens upon the yet-to-open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial founder, Orson Welles. The man lands a bit part in Julius Caesar, the production that catapulted Welles to the top, and spends the next week learning about life and love." Joining Efron in the cast is Christian McKay as Welles and Ben Chaplin as the famed British stage actor George Coulouris.

Richard Linklater is signed to direct from a Vince and Holly Gent Palmo script. The Palmos are long-time collaborators with Linklater; Holly started as a production coordinator on Dazed and Confused, and Vince has worked with Linklater on most of his films. Now that the filmmaker is involved, it could raise Efron's profile as an actor to something a little more challenging than High School Musical 3? 4? How many of those movies are there anyway? Not to mention, regardless of what you may have thought of The Newton Boys, it seems like Linklater would be able to handle another period piece (this one is set in 1937). The story is considered half romance and half history of the Golden Age of Broadway, and could definitely be Efron's shot at being taken a little more seriously as an actor -- as opposed to just a cover boy for "Non-Threatening Boys Magazine." Efron is currently shooting the teen comedy Seventeen, but then he will be off to start work on Welles in mid-February and March.

I don't know why everyone keeps referring to 17 -- the Zac Efron movie in which a 40-year-old guy is suddenly a teen again -- as Big in reverse. Or, as The Hollywood Reporter writes today: "turns the concept of Big on its head." I guess nobody remembers the George Burns-becomes-Charlie Schlatter comedy 18 Again! Either that or it's simply easier to reference Big because it's a million times more well-known. Anyway, there's another movie 17 will make people think of: Back to the Future. Apparently, Efron's character (aka Matthew Perry's character as a teen) becomes the object of a crush -- from his own daughter! Playing the poor girl, who obviously doesn't realize her own Electra complex, is Michelle Trachtenberg. Also joining the cast, which includes Leslie Mann as Efron/Perry's wife and Trachtenberg's mom, is Melora Hardin ("Jan" on TV's The Office) as a high school principal.

So here's what I find strange about the new plot revelation: how is it the daughter doesn't recognize her own father as a young man? Hasn't everyone seen photos of their parents from when they were younger? At least with Back to the Future, in Lea Thompson's defense she hadn't yet birthed Michael J. Fox, and she had no way of ever having seen his face before he traveled back in time and became the object of her desires. In both scenarios, it is pretty gross to think about seriously. According to the main plot synopsis for 17, the reason Efron/Perry enrolls in high school is to be closer to his kids (hey, another movie this reminds me of: Mrs. Doubtfire). I guess he truly gets his wish in a terribly sick sort of way. Production on 17 begins this month.

Those rough mornings when the sleep is still in Zac Efron's eyes, when he has to get up early, wash up, and then spend the day at work singing and dancing -- do you think that he imagines himself growing up into Matthew Perry? Not to knock Mr. Perry. He had his own share of teen work. He was the teen paramour in an episode of Just the Ten of Us, and he took a Monkeys daughter to the prom in She's Out of Control. But he was never a teen heartthrob, wallpapering the bedroom walls of young girls all over the country. Nevertheless, The Hollywood Reporter has posted that he'll play the adult Zac Efron in the upcoming Big-like comedy, 17.

As you might remember from our previous coverage of the film, the whole thing focuses on a middle-aged guy (Perry) who wakes up one day and discovers that he's 17 again. Not 17 in mind, but 17 in body -- Zac Efron's body, to be exact. As THR describes: "In order to be close to his children, he enrolls in the same school as them." You can imagine how that'll work. I wonder if he'll then go to a dance and start busting out the dance moves of the '80s. That could be sweet. What I don't get is how he knows exactly what age he is. If that happened to me, I wouldn't know if I was 16, 17, or 18. Can you spot your 17-year-old face from the years that surround it? Maybe going back in physical time also allows one to inherently know how old they are. However it works, production begins next month, so we'll have more Efron in no time.

Since I'm well over the age of 18, you can probably understand why I'm not all that familiar with the work of Zac Efron. With only a passing familiarity with High School Musical and my refusal to sit through the Hairspray update (since they weren't bringing Pia "I play my bongos, listen to Odetta, and then I iron my hair" Zadora back), most of the time I'm just looking at the heartthrob wondering why he has chosen to revive Gwyneth Paltrow's haircut circa Sliding Doors. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Burr Steers (writer/director of Igby Goes Down) has just signed to direct the teen comedy 17 starring Efron. Written by Jason Filardi, the story centers on an adult man who suddenly finds himself to be 17 again and having to navigate the social mine field that is high school -- think of it as Mean Girls meets Big. Considering Steers' somewhat acidic take on young adulthood, it might help cut through the fairly cutesy premise of 17.

New Line snapped up the original pitch for the film back in February, and last June, Erik had given us the news that Efron had signed for the lead. The addition of a director must mean that the project is on its way to production. Efron has been recently linked to a remake of the 1984 classic, Footloose -- but as a musical! -- and our own Monika Bartyzel totally adores the idea. We kid. Of course, there is still the small matter of High School Musical 3 -- although, if you've been keeping on top of the gossip lately, you probably know that HSM producers might be facing a delay of in order to look for a new squeaky clean female lead.

So there's this young actress named Ashley Tisdale. You might recognize her from a number of television stints, blips in films like Donnie Darko, or from her time as Maddie Fitzpatrick in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody -- or better yet, her co-starring turn with Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens in High School Musical and its sequel. Tisdale doesn't have a big starring track record, but she's had solid parts in ensemble pieces, so I'm surprised to share that The Hollywood Reporter has posted that her latest film -- a teen flick called Picture This -- is heading straight for DVD.

Tisdale will star as Mandy, a high school girl who is noticed by the most popular boy in school. He's throwing a party and invites her, but -- oh no! -- she's grounded. Oh, the turmoil of adolescence! Sure, it sounds like an incredibly simple movie, but it doesn't sound too much different than other teen fare to me. I'm not sure why it's not getting some bigger treatment, and why she would choose to act in a direct-to-DVD flick as her Musical follow-up.

The movie, which begins shooting in Montreal next week, will be directed by Stephen Herek, the man behind flicks like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. And, according to IMDb, he's also currently filming another DVD flick -- a Dead Like Me sequel. (Ugh, no!) The script for Picture This is coming from Temple Matthews, whose last script was the amazing, box office smash, Aloha, Scooby-Doo. Maybe Tisdale will rock the socks off MGM and get a big-screen starring role after this, but either way, she's got a sweet High School Musical career to keep her busy.