High School Musical 3

Active: 2008

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 SENIOR YEAR

High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third installment in Disney\'s High School Musical film franchise. Its theatrical release in the United States began on October 24, 2008. Kenny Ortega returns as director and choreographer, as do all six primary actors.

This latest sequel follows high school seniors Troy and Gabriella, who are faced with the ultimate prospect of being separated from one another as they go off in different directions after graduating from East High. Joined by the rest of their Wildcat friends, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes, and fears about the future.

In its first 3 days, High School Musical 3: Senior Year grossed $42 million in North America and an additional $40 million overseas, breaking the record for the largest opening weekend for a musical film.

On November 7, 2008, High School Musical 3: Senior Year: The Sing-Along Edition with lyrics highlighted on the screen was released in select theaters.

PLOT

It\'s the end of the Wildcats\' championship basketball game against the West High Knights, where team captain Troy (Zac Efron) immediately rallies their spirits (Now or Never). With the teams\' spirit raised, they win. Later, at Troy\'s after-match party at his house, Troy and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are seen thinking about their future and wishing that their last few months at East High would not end (Right Here, Right Now). Meanwhile, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) meets Tiara Gold (Jemma McKenzie-Brown), a British exchange student whom she hires to be her personal assistant.

Drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) notices that since there were so few sign-ups for the spring musical, Sharpay could do a one-woman show. This alarms Kelsi (Olesya Rulin), who is writing the show, so she signs up almost everyone in the class for it instead. This results in Ms. Darbus announcing they will create a play about their final months at East High. In addition she reveals that Sharpay, Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), Kelsi, and Troy have all been considered for a scholarship at Julliard, but only one of them is to be chosen. Sharpay becomes desperate to win the scholarship, and knowing that Kelsi will give the best songs to Troy and Gabriella in the musical, she gets Ryan to try to persuade Kelsi to give them a song (I Want It All).

The next day, Gabriella and Troy meet on the rooftop and she teaches him how to waltz (Can I Have This Dance). Chad (Corbin Bleu) then asks Taylor (Monique Coleman) to go to prom with him. She initially refuses due to his lack of enthusiasm, but later agrees when Chad proves he can put in some effort and asks again in front of half the school. The group rehearse for the musical, a scene about their prom (A Night to Remember) Meanwhile, Ryan walks in on Kelsi composing Just Wanna Be with You in the music room, and performs it with her, and then he asks her to prom halfway through. While Troy and Chad reminisce about their past (The Boys Are Back), Sharpay and Tiara discover that Gabriella has a chance to go to college early. Sharpay later convinces Troy that he is the only thing keeping Gabriella from her dream. Troy talks to Gabriella about this over pizza, and after sharing an awkward goodnight, Gabriella (Walk Away) leaves for college the next day.

Troy\'s dad, Jack (Bart Johnson), talks to him about his academic future. Troy becomes angry, confused, and runs away, storming around East High confused (Scream) until he finally screams at the top of his lungs in the theatre. Ms. Darbus is in the theatre and reveals that she sent in his application for Julliard, as she knew how comfortable he was on stage and how much he liked it. Troy takes no offense and thinks about the advice given to him. Troy later gets a call from Gabriella saying she won\'t return to Albuquerque as she is too used to being away. On the night of prom, Troy visits Gabriella at Stanford, and the two waltz again (Can I Have This Dance (Reprise)). Troy then convinces Gabriella to return as everyone isn\'t the same without her.

Back at East High, Jimmie (Matt Prokop) receives a text from Troy to tell him to cover for him onstage because he is going to be late. The Julliard representatives are there, and watch as the show seems to go well, (\"Senior Year Spring Musical\"). During the first number Chad, Jason (Ryne Sanborn), Zeke (Chris Warren Jr.), and Martha (Kaycee Stroh) debut (Now or Never (Reprise)), Jimmie then performs with Sharpay, receiving his own standing ovation. Troy and Gabriella appear during the second half of the show and sing their duet together (Just Wanna Be with You (Reprise)). Tiara then betrays Sharpay and tells her how she is going to take over next year in the drama department. Sharpay finally learns how it feels to be humiliated, but does not wish to go down. While Tiara performs, Sharpay immediately crashes her performance and shows her up (A Night to Remember (Reprise)).

Ms. Darbus reveals that both Kelsi and Ryan have won the Julliard scholarship (We\'re All in This Together (Graduation Mix)). Taylor will go to Yale University Sharpay will go to University of Albuquerque and will assist Ms. Darbus in running the drama department in the fall. Troy decides to go to the University of California, Berkeley, where he can play basketball, study drama and be close to Gabriella. After learning about Troy\'s decision, Chad runs offstage and into the school gym. There he and Troy work things out and learn that their college\'s basketball teams will play each other the upcoming fall.

At the graduation ceremony, Troy gives the class speech. Throwing their caps in the air, the graduates form a giant wildcat before breaking out into song and dance (High School Musical). The six friends walk down the field where a curtain closes off the graduation ceremony and turns into a stage.

PRODUCTION

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, \"...to help lure the production back to where it all began ? at Salt Lake City\'s East High School ? the GOED board Friday approved a maximum $2 million incentive for the production, the largest ever given to entice a filmmaker to Utah.\"

Filming began on May 3, 2008. The 41 days scheduled for shooting was a longer period than for the first two films.

Stan Carrizosa, the winner of ABC\'s summer reality show, High School Musical: Get in the Picture appears in a music video that is shown over the end credits of the theatrical release of the film. The show\'s other 11 finalists were featured in the music video as well.

DEVELOPMENT

Zac Efron was quoted in People Magazine as saying, \"I can tell you that if the script is good and if we all agree on a final script, then there\'s nothing that is going to hold us back from doing it. We have fun making these movies and that\'s very rare in this business.\" Rumors persisted of ongoing salary disputes between Disney and the lead performers, particularly Efron. According to Rachel Abramowitz, as reported online by the Chicago Tribune, \"an eclectic cross-section of Hollywood insiders think Efron should get a cool $5 million for High School Musical 3, the theatrical version of the franchise, which Disney hoped to make before the Writers Guild strike and Screen Actors Guild strike shut down Hollywood for several months. Efron declined to comment for the article, and although contract negotiations still are ongoing, sources say Efron is being offered a salary closer to $3 million, not $5 million, for the follow-up, which focuses on senior year at East High. Whatever the price, he\'s still perceived as a steal.\"

Ortega stated that pre-production would most likely start in January 2008. Filming began May 3, 2008, at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He stated that the script had been submitted before the Writers strike started and that they were developing music. He added that filming will happen in Salt Lake City, Utah (as the first two films), hinted that the plot will be something of the nature of the Wildcat\'s final year in High School and stated, \"it looks like we\'ve rounded up the cast.\"

Before filming began, the HSM3 board and cast held a press conference at East High School announcing the start of filming. The movie will be released in theaters (in the United States) on October 24, 2008, though several countries like Great Britain will get to see the movie at least one week earlier. The film has a $13.3 million dollar budget and a 40-day shooting period. This film is said to be the final installment with the current cast.

CRITICAL REACTION

As of October 24, 2008, High School Musical 3 has a fresh rating of 67% at Rotten Tomatoes and has been generally well-received. The Telegraph praises the changes brought about by the higher budget of a theatrical release: \"High School Musical 3 uses its bigger budget to inject colour, scale, and visual depth. The opening basketball game alone is dizzying as the camera swoops high and wide, before a winning point makes the crowd erupt\".

Stephen Farber, for Reuters UK, says the movie \"will please fan base but won\'t win converts\", as the story \"never really does kick in\" and that \"the picture quickly grows tedious\", while MSNBC\'s Alonso Duralde describes it as \"a stitched-together Frankenstein monster of an entertainment, featuring major components that were already trotted out the first two times.\" Peter Johnson describes the movie as so bland that it \"makes cellophane taste like chicken jalfrezi\", and says that \"the sheer squeaky-cleanness of everything is creepy, and when the characters are called upon to dance, they do so with robotic efficiency, and sing in that decaffeinated high vibrato, like 21st-century Hollywood castrati.\"

Entertainment Weekly is positive towards the movie, praising the stars\' energy: \"the beauty of Efron\'s performance is that he\'s a vibrant athletic hoofer who leaps and clowns with the heartthrob vigor of a young Gene Kelly, yet he\'s also achingly sincere. His fast-break alertness makes him the most empathetic of teen idols; he\'s like a David Cassidy who knows how to act, and who can swoon without getting too moist about it. Apart from Efron, the breakout star is Ashley Tisdale, whose Sharpay makes narcissism a goofy, bedazzled pleasure.\"

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram stated that the latest installment was \"critic-proof\" and \"everything fans could hope for and more.\" They go on to say that \"the kids finally look like true performers rather than Disney Channel mainstays desperately trying to remain relevant, and they deserve the lucrative careers that lie ahead\" and gave the film a rating of four out of five stars.

CAST

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

Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie

Olesya Rulin as Kelsi Nielsen

Ryne Sanborn as Jason Cross

Chris Warren Jr. as Zeke Baylor

Kaycee Stroh as Martha Cox

Matt Prokop as Jimmie Zara

Jemma McKenzie-Brown as Tiara Gold

Justin Martin as Donny Dion

Alyson Reed as Ms. Darbus

Bart Johnson as Coach Jack Bolton

Leslie Wing Pomeroy as Lucille Bolton

Socorro Herrera as Mrs. Montez

David Reivers as Mr. Danforth

Robert Curtis Brown as Mr. Evans

Jessica Tuck as Mrs. Evans