andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

An early screening of This Is It in Los Angeles sold out of the 3,000 available tickets in two hours, reports CBC. Another early screening is planned for Oct. 27 at the Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 in Los Angeles. The film opens in theatres Oct. 28 for two weeks only.

In London, 30,000 tickets to the film were sold in the first 24 hours of sales, while $1 million American worth of tickets were purchased in one day in Japan.

READ MORE »

Perez Hilton reports High School Musical’s Zac Efron may be given the lead in an upcoming film based on the novel Spin by Robert Rave.

Hilton describes the film as “like Devil Wears Prada, only with sex, drugs, and a homoerotic bathroom scene with Efron’s character.”

The role Efron, 21, is being considered for is that of Taylor Green, “a recent college graduate from the Midwest who works for one of New York City’s most wretched publicists.”

High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale got a tattoo Saturday, according to Perez Hilton. Tisdale, 24, along with her boyfriend, music video producer Scott Speer, and her mom were spotted at the Shamrock Tattoo shop in Hollywood.

She spent about 30 minutes choosing the tattoo, located on her left shoulder. It was covered with a bandage when she left the parlour. No word on what the tattoo is of.

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year” took home top prizes at the slime-filled Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles Saturday.

The Disney musical was voted favourite movie, while star Vanessa Hudgens was named favourite movie actress at the 22nd annual awards, which took place inside UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.

Hudgens’ co-star Zac Efron thanked the fans as he accepted the movie’s trophy. “Lately, a lot of people have been taking credit for bringing back the musical,” he said. “The truth is we’ve known who’s been responsible for bringing back the musical all along. It was you guys!”

READ MORE »

According to MTV News, rumors are swirling around concerning a possible fourth installment of “High School Musical.”

Kenny Ortega, who directed the first three films in the Walt Disney franchise, thinks that the public is still interested in the teen musical concept.

“If these kids are still reacting this way after three it would be fun to try and imagine how we would do it for the next generation,” said Ortega.

The latest chapter of the franchise, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”, will be parting ways with the original characters, while also introducing some new fresh faces- Justin Martin, Jemma McKenzie-Brown and Matt Prokop, who will try to continue where the original HSM cast left off.

However, Martin, sees this as an opportunity to expand the story, not simply replace it. “Our characters are so much unlike [the other cast members],” he told MTV News. “Like, people always say, ‘Oh, you’re the new Corbin [Bleu] or the new Zac [Efron] or the new Ashley [Tisdale].’ But our characters are so much unlike them. I think it’s more a breath of fresh air for ‘High School Musical’ as the three new characters.”

“It would be great if the opportunity came along for a fourth one, but we haven’t been told anything officially,” said McKenzie-Brown. “We’ve heard the rumors probably that you’ve heard as well, but we had such a great time doing ‘3.’ I would do it so many more times. It was the best.”

Fans of “High School Musical” need to get ready for their newest love: MTV’s new movie musical “The American Mall.”

To help introduce their audience slowly, before mind-boggling obsession will inevitably set in, MTV will launch the official web site today, www.vmtv.com.

The virtual Mall site allows fans to get to know the cast, including “The O.C” star Autumn Reeser, “Degrassi: The Next Generation” cast member Nina Dobrev, and dreamy “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant Neil Haskell. The site includes virtual tours of the set, video diaries, and exclusive photos and footage.

Fans can then blog about the movie, and attend events, like the virtual karaoke party on August 22.

The movie, airing Monday, August 11, “is the story of Ally, a hardworking young woman whose mother has owned a music shop that’s been the soul of the mall ever since it opened when Ally was a kid. Ally’s singer/songwriter dreams seem to come closer to fruition when she meets Joey, a musician who’s moonlighting as a janitor at the mall in order to support his own rock star ambitions. While Joey understands her songs (and heart) like no one else, Ally’s happiness and the fate of the music store are threatened when the mall owner’s spoiled daughter Madison – who will stop at nothing to get what she wants – becomes involved.”

The soundtrack will be available in stores the day after it airs.

What time is it?

Time for another High School Musical, with all six stars of the hit series returning for more song-and-dance hijinks.

After months of negotiation, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman have all signed on for “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.”

The movie, expected to be the last in the series, finds super-couple Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) dealing with the prospect of being separated as they head off to different colleges.

“I’m excited,” said Tisdale, who plays diva Sharpay Evans, about the movie. “But it’s going to be sad. It seems like it will be graduation, and I’ll be crying while we’re filming.”

Shooting will begin in the spring under the direction of Kenny Ortega.

It will be the first big-screen adventure for the East High gang, who debuted along with the first “HSM” on the Disney Channel in January 2006. Not only did it become the highest-rated program in the channel’s history, the soundtrack to the first sequel was also the second-best-selling album of 2007.

“High School Musical 2″ is now on DVD!

“High School Musical 2″ pops with more of the infectious music, high energy dancing and exuberant young cast that created worldwide “High School Musical”-mania, and brings back Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and the entire Wildcat gang in another spectacular must-own musical experience! “High School Musical 2: Extended Edition” is packed with bonus material including music videos and sing-along and karaoke features.

andPOP spoke with cast members from the film.

At least it’s not a nude picture scandal.

22-year-old Ashley Tisdale, star of “High School Musical,” confirmed to People magazine that she had a nose job on Friday.

Tisdale insists that the surgery was not cosmetic, and that she was simply correcting her deviated septum. “Growing up I always knew I had a deviated septum on the right side of my nose, which caused trouble breathing. The older I got, the worse it got. I went to get it checked out, and the doctor told me the septum was 80 percent deviated and that I had two small fractures on my nose.”

Though the surgery to fix a deviated septum is called a septoplasty, the mag calls Tisdale’s surgery “rhinoplasty.” After Tisdale recovers, photos will reveal whether she had any additional shaping done, but she said she takes her role model status seriously.

“I didn’t do this because I believe in plastic surgery. I did this to help my health. I literally almost could not breathe out of the right side of my nose. I want my fans to know the truth. I’m not someone who is going to act like I had nothing done. I just want to be honest because my fans are everything to me.”

Tisdale added that she was scared of having the procedure done and had difficulty sleeping the night before.

Zac Efron will have a heck of a lot more money to spend on makeup and hairstyling costs after the upcoming “High School Musical 3.”

After holding out for more money and script approval, Efron has signed a deal with Disney for a $3 million paycheck.

Efron and all of his original co-stars, including his off-screen girlfiend Vanessa Hudgens, will be back. This time, however, the flick will hit movie theatres. The previous HSM movies have been Disney Channel television specials.

The movie will focus on the kids’ senior prom, and will start filming in March.