Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: High School Musical (2006, TV movie) - Ortega's universally appealing teenage fantasy

1/18/2024

High School Musical (2006, TV movie) - Ortega's universally appealing teenage fantasy

♥♥♥♥♥

The central six teenage characters seemingly defy gravity because they are so brimming with positive energy on this theater stage-set poster for Kenny Ortega's High School Musical

Troy is East High School's basketball star #1, but privately he dreams of living out his other talents for singing and dancing in the school's coming musical, - preferably alongside the rousing transfer student Gabriella.

High School Musical is written by Peter Barsoccchini (Drop Zone (1994)) and directed by great Californian filmmaker Kenny Ortega (Newsies (1992)).

Brimming with enthusiasm and love for the musical genre, Ortega here erects a new classic for the small screen with catchy songs (We're All in This Together and a bunch more) and infectious performances. The universe presented is consequent in its excessively neat Disney Channel pedigree, which is actually part of the fun attraction here.

Zac Efron (The Iron Claw (2023)) is High School Musical's big scoop and find, very cutely paired with Vanessa Hudgens (Drunk History (2018-19)). Other top-performing young stars include Corbin Bleu (Chicago Med (2018, TV-series)), Ashley Tishdale (Charming (2018)), Lucas Grabeel (Pinky Malinky (2018-19)) and Alyson Reed (NCIS (2018, TV-series)), who is quite funny as the stern drama teacher.

High School Musical is pure fantasy, - and an inspired one at that, because who wouldn't want to have - or have had - this kind of high school experience? Despite one dorky number High School Musical is an outstanding musical.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 4.2 mil. $

Box office: None - TV movie

= Mega-hit

[High School Musical was first shown 20 January (Disney Channel, North America) and runs 98 minutes. It was commissioned as a response to musical episode specials of two Disney Channel shows proving to be highly popular with its young audiences. Efron was paid 100k $ for his performance. Shooting took place in Utah, including in Salt Lake City, and in Los Angeles, California. The film broke TV movie records for Disney with 7.7 mil. initial viewers, becoming the channel's top TV movie (their number 63), by 2019 reportedly having been seen by 225 mil. audiences worldwide. Additionally more than 3.8 mil. copies of the film's soundtrack were sold in North America alone. The home video release of the film also sold millions of copies, accruing more than 100 mil. $ in sales. A stage musical tour with the stars (minus the too busy Efron) played American venues for 2 months. An ice-skating version was created, a wealth of merchandise, a TV series spin-off, two direct sequels, a novel series and foreign adaptations also followed. Ortega returned with Gilmore Girls (2002-06) and feature-wise with High School Musical 2 (2007). Efron returned in 6 TV and music video credits prior to his theatrical return in Hairspray (2007); Hudgens in 7 TV and music video credits prior to High School Musical 2 (2007). High School Musical is fresh at 67 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of High School Musical?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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1/18/2024

High School Musical (2006, TV movie) - Ortega's universally appealing teenage fantasy

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