Vanessa Hudgens by Kevin Parry/WireImage.com
High School Musical starlet Vanessa Hudgens is being sued by her former lawyer, Brian Schall, who claims that out of the five percent of the $5 million she has earned since he came onboard in October 2005, he still has $150,000 due him. Per the AP, Hudgens' rep has yet to comment on the legal action.... Ken Osmond, aka Leave It to Beaver's Eddie Haskell, has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit seeking unpaid royalties form the Screen Actors Guild. Now a retired police officer, Osmond contends that the union has collected $8 million-plus in foreign residuals, but has yet to pass on the coinage to its members. SAG's general counsel tells the Reporter he has not seen the complaint, and thus has no comment.
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Jon Tenney, Kyra Sedgwick and JK Simmons by Andrew Eccles/TNT
Judging from the press cable networks were able to get this summer, you'd think the broadcast networks went out of business. TNT's The Closer set a ratings record for a scripted cable drama and helped launch a new hit in Saving Grace. Lifetime's Army Wives and FX's Damages scored strong numbers and good reviews for their networks. Even movie channel AMC was able to establish an appointment show with Mad Men. And, oh yeah, there was a little movie on the Disney Channel called High School Musical 2. But the ratings for this past summer are not out of line with what's gone on in past years. Every summer broadcast-network audiences drop off substantially from what they draw during the TV season, while cable sees a spike. But the influx of originals on cable should have been an added ratings boon this summer, right? Yes, the broadcast networks were off 13 percent from last summer among the advertiser-coveted audience of viewers ages 18 to 49 (exclude sports and the decline was 9 percent)...
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High School Musical 2 cover art courtesy Disney
Some HSM lovin' from Disney-ABC:"Disney’s High School Musical 2 soundtrack rewrites chart history yet again with four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart, scanning 165,000 units for the week ending Sept. 9. It is the first album to achieve this milestone since 2005 (50 Cent's The Massacre). The double-platinum soundtrack is already ranked the No. 6 best-selling album of 2007, scanning a total of 1,357,000 units since its release."The High School Musical 2 soundtrack has also maintained the No. 1 position on two other Billboard charts — Top Soundtrack Albums and Top Kid Audio — for the same four-week period. The CD has certified platinum in the U.S. and Canada and certified Gold in Ireland, the U.K., Argentina, Central America, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico and New Zealand."
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Vanessa Hudgens by Gary Gershoff/ WireImage.com
Speaking out for the first time since her nude and racy photos slipped into cybercirculation, Vanessa Hudgens offers impressionable High School Musical fans an earnest mea culpa (have Mom look it up in a Latin dictionary). "I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me," the 18-year-old starlet says in a statement released to TVGuide.com. "I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends."And the Mouse House's take on it all? "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment," Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague tells the AP. "We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."Related: HSM Starlet's Nude Pic Goes Public; Disney Mum on "Fired" Rumblings
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Vanessa Hudgens by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
This news certainly will make mild-mannered Mickey Mouse's ears perk up. Hours after a nude photo of someone resembling Vanessa Hudgens circulated the Internet, the 18-year-old High School Musical star came forth to admit that it is, in fact, her in the pic. In a statement to TMZ, a rep for Hudgens says, "This was a photo which was taken privately. It is a personal matter and it is unfortunate that this has become public." The Enquirer, which broke the story, claims Hudgens snapped some racy pics for HSM beau Zac Efron. Alas, they fell into nefarious hands (as nude pics of up-and-coming starlets tend to do). "Shooting into a mirror with her camera phone, she took photos of herself stripped except for a gold chain around her waist," writes the tabloid. "She also photographed herself in the tub, blowing kisses... and sensuously pulling down her bikini bottom."It's enough to make Corbin Bleu turn red. As for Disney, the company thus far is offering a firm "No comment" on talk that Hud...
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Jonas Brothers by Kevin Parry/WireImage.com
Production has begun in Toronto on the next big movie musical, Disney's Camp Rock, slated to debut in summer 2008 as part of the blockbuster Disney Channel Original Movie machine. Camp Rock stars popular Hollywood Records recording artists/Radio Disney faves the Jonas Brothers (aka Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas), who recently guest-starred in a record-breaking episode of Hannah Montana.Written by Julie Brown (Earth Girls Are Easy), Paul Brown, Regina Hicks, and Karen Gist (of Disney Channel's Jump In!), Camp Rock tells the story of Mitchie Lopez, a teenager who dreams of spending her summer enrolled at a prestigious camp for aspiring musicians. Alas, her family can't afford it, so she takes a job in the camp kitchen just to be close to the action. When she's overheard singing — but not seen — by teen pop star and camp guest Shane Gray (Joe Jonas), he is completely taken with her and sets out to find the girl behind the beautiful voice. Emmy winner and Academy Award nominee Mat...
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Question: I wanted to respond to your High School Musical 2 comments. Unlike Jena, I didn't mind the song-tastic start to the movie and, like you, I did mind the long songless middle. I felt that the middle was a whole lot of Teen Beat cover boy Zac Efron brooding and emoting, with not enough singing. It's when the movie finally takes an Efron break for the baseball diamond showdown between Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Chad (Corbin Bleu) that the movie actually gets its fun back. According to recent reports, the leads (Efron and his magazine-cover costar Vanessa Hudgens) are apparently going for more cash to return for HSM3. I know Efron and Hudgens sell magazines, but is their romance really (or does it have to be) what advances the movies? For me, HSM has always been about the peripherals, like hat-loving Ryan, food-cooking Zeke, piano-playing Kelsey and move-busting Martha. Considering the fact that youngsters will flock to Disney's mega-franchise no matter what, can't they make a third ...
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King of Queens courtesy Sony Pictures
The King of Queens: The Complete Series, a 26-disc collection featuring 207 episodes from nine seasons (but apparently no coffee-table book) streets Nov. 6, for $232.95.... Also debuting on that date: Monty Python's Life of Brian: The Immaculate Edition, touting an all-new documentary and a newly discovered first cast reading.... Battlestar Galactica: Razor — Unrated Extended Edition comes out Dec. 4.... Saturday Night Live's The Best of '06/'07 compilation is available today, but only at Starbucks. After all, sometimes only an espresso can keep you awake during those final 30 minutes.... Amazon is now taking pre-orders for Seinfeld Season 9 and The Complete Series, as well as High School Musical 2.... Reminder: Heroes Season 1 is now out. Order through TVGuide.com for an additional 5 percent discount.
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Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron by Michael Yarish/Fox
High School Musical 2 and Hannah Montana rocked Sunday's Teen Choice 2007 kudos-cast, scooping up three surfboards apiece. Among HSM2's wins were Choice Male Hottie (Zac Efron) and Breakout Female Music Artist (Vanessa Hudgens), while Miley Cyrus scored Choice Summer Artist and TV Actress honors.Among films, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 bagged four 'boards, including Choice Action Adventure and Villain (Bill Nighy), and Shia LaBeouf and Sophia Bush earned Breakout Male and Female kudos. On the purely superficial front, Jessica Alba was named Choice Female Hottie.
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High School Musical cast by Bob D'Amico/Disney Channe
Troy, Gabs, Sharpay and the gang are not getting the G-rated poop scared out of them in the next High School Musical installment. A Disney spokesperson confirms for TVGuide.com that plans to set the next entry — a theatrical release, and for which none of the major stars have yet inked deals — during Halloween and in some sort of haunted house have been dropped. Instead, HSM3 will be centered on the fast-growing "kids'" senior year.Who will Troy take to the prom?! Oops, sorry, got carried away for a second there.Related: High School Musical 2 on DVD — It's a Date!
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