By Christina Radish

Disney’s High School Musical phenomenon leaps onto the big screen with High School Musical 3: Senior Year, this time with bigger musical numbers with more difficult choreography and more dancers, more elaborate sets with more complicated lighting and sound, and more detailed and fabulous costumes. Most importantly, all of the Wildcats are back for their senior year, which includes a basketball championship, the prom, a big spring musical and graduation.

Zac Efron (as Troy Bolton), Vanessa Hudgens (as Gabriella Montez), Ashley Tisdale (as Sharpay Evans), Lucas Grabeel (as Ryan Evans), Corbin Bleu (as Chad Danforth) and Monique Coleman (as Taylor McKessie) return to the roles they created in the international smash hit High School Musical and the record-breaking High School Musical 2, that catapulted them to teen superstardom. High School Musical became cable television’s highest-ever-rated telecast, the film and its sequel are the Disney Channel’s two highest-ever-rated movies, and it has spawned two multi-platinum soundtracks, a concert tour, an ice show, and numerous awards and accolades.

Co-stars Efron, Hudgens, Tisdale, Blue and Coleman, along with actress Olesya Rulin (as Kelsi Nielsen) and director/executive producer Kenny Ortega, spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about being part of such a huge teen franchise.

INTERVIEW WITH VANESSA HUDGENS, ASHLEY TISDALE, MONIQUE COLEMAN & OLESYA RULIN

Vanessa Hudgens at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

Actress and recording artist Ashley Tisdale has her own production company, at the age of 23. Discovered by a talent manager at the age of 3 in her hometown mall, she went on to land the role as the sweet candy-counter clerk on the Disney Channel’s hit series The Suite Life of Zach & Cody while her first solo album debuted at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Now, she is set to release the comedy They Came From Upstairs in early 2009, and will star in the upcoming feature film remake of Teen Witch.

Monique Coleman guest starred on numerous television series, including Boston Public, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls and Malcolm in the Middle, before making it to the top four on the hit reality series Dancing with the Stars. The 27-year-old from South Carolina went on to co-star in the cable movie The Ditchdigger’s Daughters, with Carl Lumbly (Alias) and Dule Hill (Psych), and landed a lead role opposite James Earl Jones in the Hallmark movie, The Reading Room.                                                                             

Olesya Rulin returns to her starring role as the playmaker who inspires the Wildcats with her musical arrangements. Born and raised in a small village four hours outside of Moscow, Russia, Rulin moved to the U.S. with her family at age 7, and was discovered by Model Search for America at the age of 12. She will next star opposite Billy Ray Cyrus in the independent film Flying By.

MediaBlvd Magazine> In this film, your characters have to make a decision about what to do with their lives after high school. Growing up, did you always know what you wanted to be when you were an adult?

Monique Coleman> Yes, but I’m not sure that our characters do have a clear vision of exactly what they want to do. I think that what High School Musical does is break us out of that box. Now, we’re living in a time where kids need to know what they want to do by the time they’re seven. That’s ridiculous! What this movie says is that you don’t need to know by the time you’re 18. You don’t need to know, ever. You actually have a whole world of possibilities that lay before you and, ultimately, the only thing that is important is that you do make a choice, and that choice is yours. It’s not your parents’ or your teachers’ or your friends’ decision about your future, but it’s your decision. My character is a little different than the others because she did know exactly what she wanted to do. And, when I was very young, I also knew what I wanted to do. But, I do seek inspiration from this movie. It has broadened my horizons and made me feel like I’m also interested in writing and speaking, and doing a bunch of other things. I don’t feel like any of us is necessarily bound to the specific types of roles we’ve been playing in these movies. Hopefully, we’ll all have a very colorful career ahead of us.

Ashley Tisdale at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

Vanessa Hudgens> I always really liked acting, singing and dancing, and it’s been a hobby of mine. I just got really lucky that I got to have my hobbies turn out to be my career.

MediaBlvd> It can be scary making big life decisions. From an actor’s point of view, what gives you the courage to take that step?

Olesya Rulin> For me, what gives me the courage to take big steps are the possibilities. I grew up in Russia. I moved to America at age seven. I was born in a little tiny village that had 12 houses with no indoor plumbing. My parents, through a lot of work and a lot of luck, came to America and they were given this world where anything is possible. Every day, when I wake up, I feel like that. I came from a little house without any plumbing, where my dad hunted for our food, and now I’m here, working for the Disney Channel, and I represent Mickey Mouse. I think that’s awesome! It just shows me that anything is possible. If you have that courage and faith in yourself, you can accomplish anything.                        

MediaBlvd> What would you say to teens out there who are going through what your characters in this film  go through, with senior year, the prom, graduation, going to college and all that?

Olesya> I would say, “Don’t worry because failing at something can be so beautiful.” Take a lot of time, especially right now, in middle school and high school. Kids are pressured to get straight A’s. They can’t make any mistakes. They need have to have 600 credit hours of community service, or they’re not getting into NYU.  There’s so much pressure. You know what? Be crazy! Try something different. Yeah, you might fail. You might be horrible at playing the violin, but at least you should try. There’s beauty in that. You can say, “Hey, I tried it and I was really bad, but I did it for three years.” That’s saying something. That’s how you develop and grow into the person you are. You grow your own personal character by making mistakes, and by going out there and experimenting as much as you can, and that’s life. There’s no way you should stop yourself from experiencing it.

MediaBlvd> Ashley, this kind of sets you up for The Sharpay Evans Musical for film number 4. Is that going to happen?

Ashley> I don’t know anything about that. It is flattering to have an open door for my character, but I am doing other projects as well, and moving on. But, this project is something I’ll always hold close to my heart. We have so much fun and we’ve created such an amazing family. I had the best time, on and off screen, with this cast.

Monique Coleman at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

Vanessa> I get to do what I love. It’s amazing! I grew up acting, singing and dancing, and I get to work with my best friends. This is the dream job, and I really love my character. She’s this strong, positive young woman, who is always fighting for the right things, so she’s a fun character to play. I’m a happy person, so it’s always easy to put a smile on your face.

MediaBlvd> Are you proud to be representing Latinas in these High School Musical films?

Vanessa>  That’s actually one thing that drew me to the project. It wasn’t the stereotypical leading lady. The fact that Gabriella Montez is Hispanic was something that I found really interesting, and I’m very proud to be a part of it. I feel like there’s not that many people who can represent for a different ethnicity and I’m really proud. Whenever I get the chance to go to Mexico, I try my hardest to speak Spanish to connect with everybody. It really is an honor.

MediaBlvd> Monique, after doing Dancing with the Stars, how did you feel when you found out there would be ballroom dancing in High School Musical 3?

Monique> I was excited about that. Dancing with the Stars was a very interesting experience for me, that I feel like I grew a lot from and learned a lot about myself. One of the things I learned about myself is that I’m not actually a competitive person. I only compete with myself, so that kind of platform really isn’t suited for my personality. I was very excited that we were going to be doing the waltzing because, for one, I wasn’t going to be judged, but also because I think we have this idea of high school and the prom that usually involves pounding music and really short skirts. For the prom in our musical, to have a waltz is very classy. Truly, it’s a throwback to old movie musicals, and it brings a class and integrity to a younger generation because whatever you expose kids to is what they’re going to absorb. If you expose kids to only techno music, or whatever, then that’s what they’re going to think is the standard. But, if you expose them to something that is very difficult, that requires trust and requires you to be intimately close to someone without it being sexual, then I think we are really sending out an awesome message.

MediaBlvd> Vanessa, can you talk about the ballroom dancing you did with Zac? Is that something either of you had done before, or was it something you had to learn?

Vanessa> Oh, no, we definitely had to learn it. It was the most difficult dance that I’ve had to do, throughout the three movies, just because it’s so different. I’ve taken tap, jazz and hip-hop, but nothing could have prepared me for doing the waltz. The lifts and the turns we did were a lot.  When Kenny told me about it, I thought he was kidding because it’s just so far-fetched, but I’m really proud of it. It’s a throwback, and it’s just so classic and so classy. It’s so sweet and romantic that it actually turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the movie. I’m really proud that it came out so well.                                 

Olesya Rulin at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

Vanessa> That’s so hard to say. We’ve done three movies. It’s been three years of our lives, and we’ve had the most amazing time. We’ve done so much together, and we’ve been through so much, that picking one memory is almost impossible. One really great thing for me was “We’re All in This Together” because it was where our magic really came into the picture. We became this family, and it was a moment that was really special and really magical. I remember that me and Monique were crying, and it was a really great moment.

Monique> It’s been such an incredible ride and we’ve gotten to do things that other actors don’t ever get to do in their careers, from doing concert tours to going all over the world. We’ve been exposed to so many more things. Every single day, there’s something exciting to remember, whether it be working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, or having someone that you really admire, like Chandra Wilson of Grey’s Anatomy, whom I love, know who I am.                       

MediaBlvd> How did your real-life senior year compare to what’s in this film?

Ashley> For me, my real-life senior year was completely opposite of Sharpay’s. She’s thinking about a Julliard scholarship, her entire senior year, because it’s a step towards Broadway for her, whereas I was already acting in my high school. I had to make a big decision. Education is very important in my family. My sister went to Cal State Northridge. So, I’d asked my dad, “Can I please take a year off, before I go to college, because I really want to focus on my acting?”  In order to do that, he said, “Well, you have to take as many acting classes as you can. I don’t want you sitting around waiting for an audition.” So, I took as many acting classes as I could. I went to Groundlings for improv. But, I actually missed the structure of school because I went to regular school my whole life. That was just a choice I made because I knew I wanted to be an actress. If I went to college, it would have been for writing, but I get to co-write my music on my album, so I get to use that too.

Olesya> During my senior year, I was working a full-time job and I had five AP classes. I just worked and went to school, and did a lot of community service. I graduated with my associates from high school, and I was just really busy and really focused on college and trying to get my full-ride.

Vanessa> I was actually home-schooled, so I never really went to high school. That’s just another reason why High School Musical means so much to me. I got to go to my prom, for the first time, in the movie, but it was a lot better. I got to have the prom that every girl wishes they had. And, I got to wear a cap and gown, for the very first time, and graduate with people whom I love dearly. The cast have become some of my closest friends, so it’s been a lot of fun.

Monique> I went to a private school and, when I graduated, we did not wear a cap and gown. We wore white dresses and had a rose. It was somewhat similar to the graduation in this film, except that I wasn’t nearly as emotional. I was 17 and I couldn’t get out of high school fast enough, or get on with my life fast enough, and I couldn’t get far enough away from South Carolina fast enough, at that time. I’m sure I had different motivations than my character does, but I definitely was a leader, and I was ambitious.

MediaBlvd> What was it like to shoot your final scene?

Ashley> It was totally emotional. Monique usually cries first.

Monique> But, this time I did not. Ashley started crying first.

Ashley> We all started crying, and then huddling. It was emotional.

Monique> I was a dirty mess! I ruined my costume. I had to go back to the trailer and clean my face up. But, I didn’t start it that time.

Ashley> On the last day, Kenny had said this amazing speech, and that’s what got us all going.  The hair and make-up people even started crying. They couldn’t get hair and make-up back on us. It was an emotional fest. Even Lucas Grabeel, who is such an amazing person, and who doesn’t normally show his feelings, teared up. That was really big because, for the last three years, he’s been the man. He doesn’t do that. But, he showed some tears and it was definitely emotional.

MediaBlvd> What did Kenny say that was so emotional?

ZAC EFRON, CORBIN BLEU & DIRECTOR KENNY ORTEGA

Zac Efron at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

A gifted young talent who has achieved a remarkable level of success as an actor and recording artist, Corbin Bleu has done numerous film and television roles and is currently working on his second solo album. Also adding producer to his resume, the native New Yorker will star in Free Style, slated for an early 2009 release.

Director/choreographer/executive producer Kenny Ortega has amassed a body of work that is loved by millions worldwide. Having worked with the biggest names in music, including Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Elton John and Bette Midler, his choreography is also seen in such hit films as Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire.                                                                            

MediaBlvd Magazine> In this film, Troy and Chad are trying to find out what they want to do and who they want to be. When you were younger, did you know what you wanted to do when you were older?

Zac Efron> I had no idea I wanted to be an actor. I went through high school, just like all the other guys. I didn’t really have any plans for my future. This was my extra-curricular activity and my hobby. Various doors opened, so I went through them, and I ended up where I am today.

Corbin Bleu> When you’re a kid, you have grand ideas to become a lot of different things, but it changes. I wanted to be a marine biologist. I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. Eventually, it came down to two directions, either a pediatrician or an actor. Now, I can at least play a doctor on TV. I grew up in it, and always knew wanted the arts to my life. I just had to decide whether it would be a full-on career or not. The time came that I had to make the decision, and I actually decided just to go with what I love doing.

MediaBlvd> Kenny, could you compare this film with the previous two films? Was this on a grander scale, since you were making it for the big screen? 

Kenny Ortega> We did our best to do each film full-out. Zac says that we didn’t leave anything on the dance floor, but a pile of sweat. We never came into these movies thinking we were just making a little movie for television. We raised the bar on ourselves, we challenged ourselves every day and we set out to do something special, that would have some lasting power. High School Musical 3 was special for me. I went after High School Musical 1 because I was hoping that if I did a good job there, maybe it would reveal the curtain on me again. It could be another shot to do a full-length feature motion picture. Little did I ever imagine that High School Musical 3 would actually be that full-length motion picture. Moving into High School Musical 3 was a real dream fulfilled. It was just great fun imagining it, designing with it and playing with these guys, but we really set this film up the same way. We did have a little bit more money, but we had a lot more lighting and a lot more detail to pay attention to. And, we had a little bit longer schedule, so we could think a little bigger. Of course, we wanted our film to be recognizable. We wanted our audience to immediately recognize where they were and who they were with. We wanted to go for a bigger design, but not lose ourself, in the process.

MediaBlvd> Zac and Corbin, did you get any more input into the story and your characters, this time around?

Corbin> Even with the first film, Kenny was always very open to ideas from the whole cast, and he was always accepting our input. I know that everybody had a hand in their characters. What was great about this third one was that we had a longer rehearsal time of five weeks because we had more to workshop. We all got to sit down and really discuss characters, and the relationships with each character, so you see the background of all these different personalities throughout the whole movie. Of course, when you have an entire ensemble onstage, and there’s a certain scene in the foreground and a different one in the background, there are bodies moving all over the place, and you want to be able to see kids intermingling, just like in a real high school. We really got a chance to expand on that and get more in-depth with that on this film.

Corbin Bleu at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

MediaBlvd> Kenny, between High School Musical and Dirty Dancing, do you feel like you’ve created the ultimate romantic fantasy for women?

Kenny> I’ve been very fortunate. First of all, I can’t do anything without the idea. The idea is the most important thing. And then, I’m always looking for a special individual, when I’m casting. Over the years, I’ve discovered, as a choreographer as well when I’m auditioning dancers, that technique is important and experience is important, but I want to know that I’ve got dimension and excitement, and that the individuals that I’m going to put forward can handle responsibility, have ideas, are creative partners and bring something to the plate. With Patrick Swayze and with Zac Efron, from the moment that they walked in the door, I felt that there was a real life going on, and an interesting individual. They didn’t just want to act, but had a life. Because they were colorful as an individual, they were going to have a lot to draw on. Zac was one of the brightest actors I’ve ever had the chance to work with, at 20 years old, and he keeps me on my toes. It’s about actors that bring something with them, other than the craft.

MediaBlvd> These musicals have been such a phenomenon. How do you plan to transition to more adult roles now?

Corbin> It’s all about range. As artists, we’re never satisfied. You’ve got to always continue to stretch yourself. I’m focusing on getting some more in-depth roles. It would be nice to truly challenge myself, and stretch a little bit more. I’m also interested in just expanding into other art forms as well. I’m in the studio, working on my second album. And, I’m also producing. I produced a film with my father, called Free Style, which is about motor-cross, and will be out in theaters in January.

Zac> Before High School Musical 3, I filmed a movie called 17 Again, playing a 37-year-old guy in a 17-year-old’s body. That was interesting. And then, right after that, I filmed a movie, called Me And Orson Welles, that is more of a drama, set in 1937, about the Mercury theatre troupe, putting on a production of Julius Caesar. So, that’s two very different roles.

MediaBlvd> Zac, will you be doing Footloose?

Zac> Footloose is coming together, actually. We’re trying to figure out the right way

to do it, but yeah, it seems like it could happen.

MediaBlvd> Now that all of the main cast has graduated, any thoughts on making College Musical?

Kenny> There are plans to make another movie, yes. There are plans to make other movies. We’re in discussion with Disney about how we proceed. I personally don’t think it will be College Musical.

MediaBlvd> Aside from shooting the movie, what is your favorite memory of being in Salt Lake City, Utah?

Director/choreographer/executive producer Kenny Ortega at the "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" premiere held at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. on October 16, 2008.

Zac> We got court side seats.

Corbin> We did get court side seats. I sported the Lakers jersey in the Jazz arena. They invited us on the stage and I got booed.

Zac> We walked on the court and he was wearing a Kobe jersey. The Utah arena is known for being the loudest in the States. Corbin held up his hand and it was kind of awesome, but he got booed off the court.

Corbin> What was great is that I actually got a chance to work with Magic Johnson, and he was like, “Man thank you so much for sporting the jersey.” I was representing the Lakers proud.

MediaBlvd> Were you trying to savor every moment during filming, knowing this would be the last High School Musical with all of you together?

Zac> When we were filming High School Musical, we took every opportunity to revel in the scenes and dances because we knew this would be the last time we were all together, in this capacity. We were soaking it up.

MediaBlvd> What will you miss most?

Zac> I don’t know if you can put it all into one specific memory. I think it’s just the environment. It’s been a very safe, creative place for us to work, in the last three years. It’s going to be pretty hard to leave that behind.

MediaBlvd> What was it like to shoot the last scene? What was going through your mind?

Corbin> The final scene in the movie was actually the final scene we shot, which is very rare. You constantly shoot out of order. The final scene of the film, being the curtain closing on these characters and on their lives at high school, was very similar to what we went through. It was art mimics life. We were all up on stage, reminiscing about these past three years, on the same stage where we shot “Breaking Free.” This was the same stage where we experienced so many creative break-throughs with each other, and built friendships. It was a very emotional time.Kenny> They were all crying. It was this stage that so many wonderful things happened on for us, and where it all started for us. And, suddenly, the curtain was literally closing on them, and it was overwhelming. The entire cast, one at a time, started to crumble, and we had to stop shooting, so the van could come pick them up and send them back to the make-up trailer. It took some time to get everybody back.

Zac> Corbin was crying. We were standing on the stage watching the curtain close, where everything began for us. We had done so many musical numbers there. It’s where it all started, and it was symbolic of our journey. We’d come a long way as Wildcats, but even more as individuals.

Corbin> To maintain our manhood, we didn’t cry in front of everybody on the stage. We waited until we got back to the make-up trailer and then let loose. Just the six of us were there and, of course, we just broke down. The girls’ make-up was running.

MediaBlvd> Zac, you had a scary fan encounter recently. How are you handling all of the fame?

Zac> There was no scary fan encounter. I didn’t get touched. I don’t know exactly what happened. I walked and got into a car. I had all my relatives calling me, asking “What happened?” It was blown out of proportion.

MediaBlvd> In general, how do you deal with the stardom?

Zac> I’m having a good time.

MediaBlvd> What’s the biggest thing you’ve taken away from this experience? 

Corbin> Wow, that is one of the most difficult questions just because it’s so broad. This has been three years of our lives. If you were to ask anybody to chose one specific moment in the last three years of their life, it would be difficult, especially with everything we’ve been through. We’ve traveled the world and experienced all different types of cultures. We’ve met millions of people. It’s impossible to lump it into one specific moment. I don’t know if I can chose a specific moment from this, but I think, at the end of my life, I will be able to say that one of the best times of my life was when I was involved with High School Musical.

Zac> I’ve taken away great friends and good movies. I’m very proud of everything we’ve accomplished.

MediaBlvd> Did anyone take souvenirs home from the set?

Zac> I actually asked to keep one of Troy’s suits from the movie, and they were all, “No, we’re really sorry, but we might have re-shoots, so we have to keep them.” I was like, “Alright, that’s cool.” And then, we walked into the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and my suit was on a mannequin. I’m sure it’s still sitting there.