Will High School Musical Continue?

Parents, you might need to console your tweens and teens: it’s a bittersweet day for fans of Disney’s mammoth “High School Musical” franchise. After two Disney Channel movies, one silver screen flick, and countless albums, merchandise, theater and international spin-offs, the era of the Wildcats as we know it is over. But the story isn’t entirely finished, thus the silver lining to the cloud. Ashley Tisdale, who played the drama queen antagonist of the series, signed on to star in the spin-off tv movie “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.” The movie starts filming this summer for a 2011 release on the Disney … Continue reading

Celebrity Headlines: “High School Musical” Returns and Oprah Gets a New Dog

It was just a matter of time before we were all in this together… again. Disney just announced that it plans to go back to school with “High School Musical 4.” The fourth edition of the cult phenomenon will reportedly begin production later this year and air sometime in 2010. Disney sources say the popular musical will include a few new twists this time around, including the introduction of a new cast of characters and a storyline that will focus on a cross-town school rivalry. Disney execs say they are hoping the new characters will draw a record number of … Continue reading

Celebrity Good Week/Bad Week News

It’s that time of the week again to check in with celebrities who are doing well and those who are not doing so well: It’s been a good week for…ER Fans The show is in its fifteenth and final season, but fans will get three additional episodes before the show leaves the air. Perhaps part of the reason is that the aging show has been winning its time slot as of late. It’s been a bad week for…Gregg Allman Singer Gregg Allman had his Richmond Hill house broken into this week. Among the things the burglars took were Allman’s 19th … Continue reading

Paul and Nick Hit the Books

Now that Paul McCartney has finally settled his bitter $48.6 million divorce from second wife Heather Mills he is turning his attention to his one true love—-his cherished first wife Linda. In honor of the photographer, singer and animal rights activist the former Beatle is planning to release a coffee table book he says he hopes illustrates his devotion to his beloved late wife. Linda McCartney died in 1998 after losing her battle with breast cancer. According to reports, McCartney will “share lots of intimate moments” of his life with his “best friend” in the book, which will be released … Continue reading

High School Musical… 55?

Parents of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu fans brace yourselves… it appears the popular kids from Disney’s “High School Musical” series aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. “High School Musical 3” hasn’t even started shooting (filming begins in two weeks in Utah and it’ll be in movie theaters in the fall) and the folks at Disney are already working on “High School Musical 4.” According to Disney execs, the script for “High School Musical 4” is in the process of being inked and as it stands now the project will likely be a TV movie unlike “High … Continue reading

Efron Emergency

“High School Musical” star Zac Efron is missing a body part this morning. Luckily it’s one he can live without. The teen heartthrob reportedly underwent emergency surgery Tuesday to remove his appendix. According to the 20-year-old actor’s rep, Efron was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles Tuesday and went under the knife shortly after he arrived. No word on whether gal pal and co-star Vanessa Hudgens is helping her boyfriend recover. However, the timing of Efron’s medical emergency is noteworthy. The actor’s hospitalization comes a day after Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Productions announced that he and his … Continue reading

Dancing With Disney Stars

Grab your dancing shoes. Disney is giving you and your kids the chance to get your groove on with the crew from “High School Musical 2.” It’s been a solid week since the Disney Channel’s made-for-TV movie exploded onto the small screen and sent millions of Zac Efron fans into overdrive. In previous blogs I told you about Disney’s attempts to speed up production on the big screen version of “High School Musical 3” in an effort to ride the wave of popularity generated by the phenomenal success of “High School Musical 2.” Can you blame them? Last week “High … Continue reading

Is “High School Musical 3” In Trouble?

Oh no, say it isn’t so. Could “High School Musical 3” be in jeopardy? Fans of the popular Disney produced flick: brace yourselves—you may be in for a bumpy ride waiting for word on the future of Gabriella, Troy and the rest of the clan. Following the phenomenal success of Disney Channel’s “High School Musical 2”on the small screen, it makes total sense that Disney execs want to ride the wave of popularity to the big screen. The only problem: SUCCESS = $$$. And any self-respecting agent is not going to let their two-legged paycheck sign on to do a … Continue reading

Celebrity Casting Call

Why mess with success? With Disney’s High School Musical 2, attracting 17.24 million viewers on Friday (making it the single most-watched basic cable telecast in history), why wouldn’t producers follow it up with another sequel to the sequel? Plug your ears and brace yourself for the blood-curdling screams that will come from tweens across the country when they learn High School Musical 3 is in the works – as is a movie feature that will play in theaters. And High School Musical 4 is in the planning stages. Also on tap for the Disney Channel: the upcoming debut of High … Continue reading

Pop Culture Potporrui: Movie News

Did you have any doubt that Disney’s “High School Musical 2” would NOT shatter records? (You wouldn’t have if you had read my previous blogs.) It was a date with Disney shared by millions of tweens and teens across the country. Make that multi-millions. According to Nielsen Media Research, Friday night’s premiere of “High School Musical 2” on The Disney Channel drew an astounding 17.2 million viewers, making the made-for-TV movie the most-watched basic cable telecast in history. What’s more, it also became basic cable’s highest-rated movie ever, bumping TNT’s 2001 Western “Crossfire” from the record book. The original “High … Continue reading