Results tagged “High School Musical” from Access Hollywood
Well, the big day is almost here! No, I'm not talking about Election Day. I'm referring to the opening of "High School Musical 3!" If you have kids of almost any age, you are well aware of the frenzy surrounding the third installment of the widely popular Disney franchise. When I arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday, there were a few more teenage girls hanging around with cameras hoping to get a shot of the two males stars Zac Efron or Corbin Bleu. Security and publicists were buzzing about the hotel - you could tell they were preparing for a big day.
I made my way to the 12th floor when our camera crew had just finished setting up for our interview with the cast. I was happy to find out that things were running pretty much on time - my interviews with the cast were scheduled early in the day so I was getting them "fresh" - not worn out from an entire day of making the media rounds.
It was shortly before 9 AM when Zac and Corbin walked into our junket room - all smiles and excited about the movie. I must say young ladies, these two gentlemen are very sweet and even MORE handsome in person!
I had never met Corbin - so cute with his mass of curly hair. I first met Zac back in July on the red carpet during the ESPY Awards. The only thing that had changed about him was that he was becoming an even bigger star but still seemed as humble.
After the boys, it was time to interview Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. It's obvious that these two are friends and really like each other. They said there were lots of tears during shooting this movie - knowing that it would be the last time they all starred together.
Or will it be? Could there be a College Musical? Check out my interview on Access to find out!
Shaun
Considering this latest incarnation of "High School Musical" has the added line of "Senior Year" to its title, I think we can all be pretty sure this is the last we will be seeing of Zac, Vanessa, Ashley, Lucas, Monique or Corbin in the halls of East High. Unless of course someone wants to make "College Musical." Instead, should this feature film version of "High School Musical" be a huge hit, I think Disney may keep its franchise alive by introducing us to a brand new class of kids.
That's exactly why I think such a big deal has been made about the three new cast members making their debut in HSM3. Disney held an international casting search involving over 1,000 teen actors across the United States, Canada, and the U.K. to find three sophomore Wildcats. Matt Prokop, Justin Martin, and Jemma McKenzie-Brown were the lucky three plucked out of near obscurity.
17-year-old Matt's biggest role to date was a small part in "Hannah Montana". 14-year-old Justin played Simba in "The Lion King" on Broadway. British born Jemma had a role in a BBC show called "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard.” After this film comes out October 24th, I have no doubt their names will become as familiar to pre-teen and teenage girls everywhere as the rest of the HSM cast.
I traveled to the set and had a chance to sit down with the three newbie’s who seem to be fitting in with the group quite perfectly. Ashley Tisdale has taken Jemma under her wing. Vanessa Hudgens admits to whipping out her English accent around Jemma. Corbin Bleu has the gang over to his room almost every night to play video games. Everyone is giving the trio tips on how to stay grounded should fame strike. According to Matt their main advice was not let fame go to their heads,
"Be yourself mainly. That's the one thing they said. With all of the success, just don't change. Just be who you are and true to yourself."
The phenomenon of "High School Musical" is coming to the big screen and I had an opportunity to visit the
Dish of Salt readers will remember that I spent three days up on the
I was told it was because "space was too tight" where they were filming in the boy's locker room. I wonder, however, if maybe I was kept away because I witnessed first hand and reported on the obvious budding romance between Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens on HSM2 or the full blown relationship Ashley was having with dancer Jared Murrilo.
Maybe they wanted to keep my prying eyes away!
I did get the opportunity to visit the real East High, the school that stands in for the Wildcats and talk to several stars of the movie including Zac, Vanessa and Ashley. It was a bit surreal walking around the high school where much of the first film was made. I wandered past the gym where Troy Bolton and the basketball team danced to "Get'cha Head In The Game" and down to the commons area where the entire East High student body belted out "Stick To The Status Quo."
While waiting for interviews, I spent most of my time hanging out inside the school's theater, which I learned was actually not the theater used in the first film. Rather that theater was at
