|
|
 |
|
|
Hangin' With Archives
|
High School Musical 2 –DVD Premiere Chatsby Lynn B
We didn’t get a firm confirmation but gather that the setting of HSM 3 (a feature film) will be senior year and graduation. We wanted to know about the casts’ own high school and summer job experiences and future plans. First up, after we caught them munching some quick dinner in the hotel hallway from plates on their laps, were Monique and Olesya. Both ladies were looking ultra glam with upswept hairdos. Olesya looked very different without her character Kelsi’s signature glasses and zany hats. AGW: In HSM 2, your characters Kelsi and Taylor are working at a posh resort for the summer. What were your own summer job experiences? Good, horrible?
Olesya: I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life and a lot of them proceeded through the summer. I worked at Victoria’s Secret, Nordstroms. I worked as a certified nursing assistant for a year. I haven’t had an awful job I must say. But, I had a fun one where all during the summer I worked at an animal sanctuary. It was great to hang out with the dogs and walk them but then I’d have to scoop up all the poop for six hours so that was a little tense. AGW: Ewww, not the fun part. Monique, you are the oldest of the crew at 27. Are you okay still playing a teen? I mean you look like one. Monique: A lot of people played characters that were significantly older than them. I just look young and play a character that is younger than me. Everyone wants to look young and stay young. It gives me perspective. I don’t have to worry because I’m an adult so if I’m out somewhere, it’s because I’m allowed to be there. It’s a better place to be in than be 18 and have such a large amount of scrutiny. I’m like a big kid but I’m a college graduate and proud that I’ve been supporting myself since I was 17. Olesya: Yeah, I’m 21 and playing maybe 17, pushing it. All my auditions are for 16-year-olds but I love it. AGW: What was different about HSM 2 than 1 for you two? Olesya: For me, the second one was almost a celebration of all of us getting back together because the first one was so great. It became a huge success but we all went our separate ways. The tour came and Monique was part of that but it was great to work with everyone and put away all the publicity and be kids again and hang out and still have that family unit. Monique: I think the set was definitely different. The first film took place in a classroom, at school. This time you got to see the characters outside, in the middle of the Red Rocks. It was really beautiful. AGW: What’s up for the holidays? Olesya: Hang out with my family and eat some turkey. Monique: Going to Australia and also narrating ‘The Christmas Story’ at Walt Disney World. We’re all a part of the Disney World Christmas Parade. AGW: Great. We’ll check it out. We next cornered cutie Corbin Bleu (Chad) for a little chat…. AGW: How do you draw on high school teen angst for your character? Corbin: It wasn’t too long ago that I was going through it myself. I just got out of high school so it wasn’t too hard to draw up some memories. The easiest way to get into any character is to just take what you have [in the script] and go into it even deeper. I think the script had a little bit of an arc for Chad. I took it and ran with it. AGW: What summer jobs did you have growing up? Corbin: I can’t actually say I’ve had a summer job because I started acting when I was two and this has always been my thing. I’ve never experienced working at a mall or anything but I wish I could have. Maybe one of these days I’ll just go back and do it.
Corbin: I guess just the basketball. Most young boys come up to me and say ‘you know, because of you guys, I started basketball’. And I’m saying to myself ‘I don’t play basketball’ but I say ‘that’s awesome! I’m so happy’. AGW: You have to play baseball in HSM2. Corbin: I do, yet again, I don’t play. I’m not a sports guy. I can pick it up. My thing has always been dance. If I can extend the sports into a dance, I can sort of fake it like I know what I’m doing. I’ve always been horrible at sports. AGW: But you are into motocross? Corbin: [grinning], Oh, motocross is different. I’ve been pretty into that and progressing pretty fast they said for a person that had never been on the bikes before, never even worked a clutch or a gearshift at all so that was pretty exciting to me. AGW: Contrast being in movie 2 and 1. Corbin: The biggest contrast was two was just more of a comfort zone. We already knew each other and didn’t have to go through the whole process of getting chemistry between us. We just went into it and started working. It was great. AGW: Tell me about the chemistry between you and your love interest in three. Corbin: Well, it’s Monique of course. Chad and Taylor are like this [indicates really close]. What’s really sweet about their relationship is it’s not like this pure, true love that Troy and Gabriella’s is. Theirs, I love it, it’s almost like a love/hate relationship. Behind the scenes when we joke around in character with each other, we would go at it. She would make me carry her bag around.. as Troy, not as me, but she’s a sweetheart. AGW: Holiday plans? Corbin: Hopefully, I’ll be home for Christmas. AGW: What are you looking forward to most about HSM 3? Corbin: The fact that it’s a feature. It’s going to obviously be a bigger budget. Just bigger. I’m looking forward to seeing where we go with the choreography and what Kenny [Ortega] has in mind because Kenny’s mind is so fast. The things that he comes up with are just mind-boggling. AGW: Is there life after High School for the Wildcats? Corbin: Well, I don’t know if that is going to be in the third one or even after the trilogy. I think three is the charm. AGW: What do you wish someone would ask you that they never do? Corbin: Awesome question! When it comes to the media and people in chatrooms, I think people focus too much on little things like what my favorite color is. My thing has always been about progression.. in your work, in what you do. As a person in a position of influence, I think it’s most important to give back to charities and look at the big picture. You see all these mags and you are in such a wonderful position to make a difference and you’re sitting there talking about … what? There is a war going on and people are in the streets hungry. There are so many people that are hurting. Ask me about some stuff that we can do to help each other, not just little things. Cool, they are chasing us out but next time, we will! On to the dynamic and fun trio of Kaycee Stroh (Martha), Chris Warren (Zeke) and Ryne Sanborn (Jason). AGW: Kaycee, you are smokin’ hot tonite. Hey, who is your cute dress by? Kaycee: Thanks! Sue Wong and a Roto purse.
Ryne: Well Jason and I are both jocks so it’s the same there. I play hockey, a different sport, but I’m not quite as slow as him. He’s one of the slower ones, comic relief. I was a 4.0 student. Kaycee: Awesome! Me, on the other hand, I’m supposed to be a brainiac and let’s be real. I barely passed math. I was a good student but I was absolutely horrible at math. I think Martha was reading a math book in the first movie. In high school I was really different than Martha. I did cheers and dance and ensemble and drama. Chris: Well, I’m a jock as well but I play football not basketball and I don’t bake anything. I’m a lot different. Kaycee: But I will give it to him. He’s kinda funny like his character. Chris: But, Zeke doesn’t intend to be funny. It’s more about people laughing at him than with him. AGW: What was new or different for you in HSM 2 than in one? Kaycee: It was just a bigger movie and it was so much fun because we were out of the school. We had so much more to play off of with summer and the country club was beautiful. It’s really called Entrada in St. George [Utah]. It’s absolutely beautiful. You need to go. Ryne: A big difference for me was in two we did partner dancing which was way cool. In the first one we were all dancing but in a big group and you don’t usually play off of each other but in two you had someone to work with and had more fun with it because you had a partner. AGW: What do your fans most relate to with your characters? Ryne: Most of the stuff I get is ‘I’m the class clown too’. I love getting letters like that. Kaycee: I love my fans. They are always like ‘thank you so much for inspiring me that you can be a great dancer and singer and actress and not be a size two. Thank you so much for being a good example in Hollywood’. Little girls come up to me and their parents thank me all the time. Celine Dion thanked me last night! Chris: I get a lot, not so much with the baking but a lot of people have something that they do that they find embarrassing and don’t want to go out with. For me, it was acting because nobody did that when I was in school. I think a lot of people relate to that because there is something they like to do but don’t want to come out and say it. AGW: Holiday plans? Kaycee: I’m finally going home to Salt Lake City to be with my family. Utah is where I was born and raised. I haven’t been there since the second movie filmed. Go home and have a pajama party the night before and get up the next day and have Christmas breakfast together. Ryne: I’m a Utah local. I’m still there with my family. I have a hard time separating from my mom. I’m a mama’s boy but our family always gets together and goes out to the sand dunes and we ride 4-wheelers. There are fireworks and all kind of cool stuff. Chris: I think I’m going to Mexico or Jamaica with my parents and hang out. AGW: Sounds great! What do you want to tell people that you never get to? Chris: That I’m the perfect guy for Rhianna! [laughter] Ryne: I think, through high school, even in some of the movies I’ve done, I’ve portrayed more of a serious kind of person, more a typical jock but I’m really more of a sensitive kind of guy. I’ve read a lot of poetry and do music and things like that. Kaycee: I definitely wish they would ask me more about what I want to do in the future. I really want to have an album and be a serious artist in that way and I also want to do a lot of serious acting. I’m very grateful to Disney and love ‘High School Musical’ and am hoping that it will open many doors and be a launching pad. AGW: Do you have any fears in crossing over one day to more adult audiences? Ryne: I’m excited for whatever is coming. I love the fun HSM stuff but whatever comes my way, I’m ready to go into it. Kaycee: I’m not that worried. I think our audience will follow us and it will be fun when we do get to show people a serious side to our acting. Chris: I agree. This Disney stuff is awesome. We’re using it as a launching pad. Kaycee: Look how many great careers Disney got started.. Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Kurt Russell, Fergie. There are so many!!
Pictures copyright Lynn Barker, 2007 |
 
|
Angela
& Gina's Room |
Brigid
& Kayla's Room |
Christine
& Erika's Room |
Lauren
& Sarada's Room | Circle of Friends PenPal Club | Site Map |
|
Since 1996, your space on the web : written and edited by girls and teens from all over the world. Media Kit Feedback Newsletter Write FOR us Contact Us |
|
Copyright © 2006 A Girl's World Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
The
glitz, the glam, the stars all decked out in fancy clothes they probably
wouldn’t have gotten to wear in high school. We got to chat with
many of the stars of the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical”
1 and 2, at the famous Renaissance Hotel across from the El Capitan theater
on Hollywood Blvd. AGW zoned in on Corbin Bleu (Chad), Olesya Rulin (Kelsi),
Monique Coleman (Taylor), Kaycee Stroh (Martha), Chris Warren (Zeke) and
Ryne Sanborn (Jason) after they walked the red carpet in support of the
upcoming release of HSM 2 on DVD December 11th. The young actors made
their ways back to the hotel for some snacks and a break and we were waiting.
Monique:
I think the worst summer job I ever had was I went door to door working
for one of those environmental organizations to raise money. It was so
bad that I felt horrible. I just didn’t like asking people for anything.
So, at the end of the night, I ended up putting my own money in because
I was embarrassed because I didn’t get any money. So, I paid to
work that job. I quit the next day. 
AGW:
What do fans most like about your character? 
AGW:
Everybody, how did your high school lives differ from what you portray
in HSM?