They rock!By Valerie Kuklenski
Monday, June 5, 2006Smashing success of 'High School Musical' pushes cast into spotlight
Six months ago, Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens could freely roam San Fernando Valley malls and movie theaters. Barely anyone noticed the guy who played Cameron on "Summerland" and the girl sometimes seen on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
That's changed since they won the starring roles in the wildly successful "High School Musical," a Disney Channel made-for-cable movie about a basketball jock and a brainy girl who step outside the bounds of their peers' expectations by taking a shine to singing.
In fact, Hudgens says she and her co-stars recently went to a movie on a Friday night and were overwhelmed by fans. "We won't do that again," she says.
"High School Musical," directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega, premiered Jan. 20 and, in 12 airings on the network, has been seen by 36 million unduplicated viewers, according to Disney research. In 11 of those 12 broadcasts, it was the No. 1 household-rated cable show for the day.
Its soundtrack twice has topped the Billboard album chart, has been certified double platinum -- a record for a TV movie soundtrack -- and for three weeks held the top spot on iTunes. Radio play and downloading has made hits of "Breaking Free," "What I've Been Looking For," "Bop to the Top," "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Stick to the Status Quo." (See review below.)
Then there's the DVD that went on sale May 23. Buena Vista Home Entertainment reported that 400,000 copies sold in the first day, making it the fastest-selling TV movie of all time.
The movie, which has been described as "Romeo & Juliet" meets "Grease," casts Efron and Hudgens as Troy and Gabriella. The two first meet on vacation and find themselves uncomfortably in the spotlight at a karaoke party. They later reconnect when Gabriella enrolls at Troy's school, where he's the star of the basketball team. They find an unexpected thrill in the possibility of performing in the school musical, much to the chagrin of Troy's teammates and Gabriella's scholastic decathalon squad. In addition, they face the outrage of Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), a brother-sister act who expect the starring roles in the show.
Efron, 18, Hudgens, 17, Tisdale, 20, and Grabeel, 21, got a taste of their skyrocketing fame recently when Buena Vista Home Entertainment hosted a red-carpet Hollywood premiere to launch the DVD -- as if it needs such promotion. Celebs on hand included "American Idol" contender Ace Young, Lisa Rinna of "Dancing With the Stars" and Lori Loughlin of "Full House" and "Summerland."
Hundreds of kids in the invitation-only audience at the El Capitan squealed and cheered as the cast was introduced and then sang along to its popular numbers with gusto.
At the after-party at Hollywood & Highland, the young actors gamely signed hundreds of autographs and posed for pictures. As two sisters at a make-your-own-video station danced Ortega's routine to "We're All in This Together," the movie's show-stopping finale, Hudgens joined them on camera.
A couple of hours into the party, Efron remains upbeat about the crush of attention.
"You know what? It's great. I'm so excited to have it," he says. "I just can't get caught up in it. Otherwise I won't stay focused. It's very awesome, and it's so exciting."
"They're great kids," Marsh said.
Tisdale, who already has some star power as a regular on Disney's "Suite Life of Zack & Cody" sitcom, and Hudgens say they're close to signing record deals of their own.
Disney Channel, seen in 87 million homes, already has set a sequel in motion, signing up the actors to reprise their roles, with Ortega and writer Peter Barsocchini creating a summer story line. It's expected to shoot next spring for air next summer.
From Los Angeles Daily News