High on Vanessa & Zac

My 10-year-old inaanak, Krystal Sevilla, a grade-schooler at St. Mary’s in Quezon City, is a big fan of Vanessa Hudgens, the campus sweetheart of Zac Efron (also Krystal’s dreamboat) in the hit Disney Channel teen show High School Musical (HSM). When she learned that I was going to interview Vanessa and Zac, along with the whole East High gang (Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Olesya Rulin, Matt Prokop and Justin Martin), she was ecstatic. “Say ‘Hi!’ to Vanessa for me,” Krystal reminded me, sounding as if Vanessa, who plays Gabriella Montez, was her next-door playmate. (Zac plays Troy Bolton.)

That’s just what I did when I came face-to-face with Vanessa and company at a function room of the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills last Tuesday for the junket for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the movie version (produced by Walt Disney Pictures) which is opening on Friday, Oct. 24, across the USA and in the Philippines. Smiling while autographing an HSM promo photo,Vanessa said, “Oh, say ‘Hi!’ to her for me,” sounding as if Krystal was her chika-mate.

It’s understandable why Filipino kids have a sanguine closeness to Vanessa. Yes, Vanessa is half-Filipina and she looks it, from her midnight-black hair to her light-brown complexion.

HSM3 is a happy movie not only Krystal’s friends but also those kids-at-heart can relate to. The East High seniors are busy with the basketball tournament, and the forthcoming junior/senior prom and graduation. During the press preview at the El Capitan Theater on Sunset Boulevard, my journalist friend Raoul Tidalgo and I were misty-eyed, nostalgic about our own high school days ages (ouch!) ago. The dance sequences, especially the graduation ball and the hardcourt exhibition, were dazzling. The movie is bursting with boundless energy and youthful exuberance, still set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, like the HSM TV series but shot mostly at the real East High in Salt Lake City.

Reminiscent of such teen-targetted musicals as West Side Story and Grease, the movie was directed by Kenny Ortega, the same guy behind, among other shows, the sold-out Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert tour and the choreographer of  such A-list names as Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Bette Midler and The Pointer Sisters.

Going out of El Capitan, Raoul and I found ourselves singing the theme song of the Gil Portes movie High School Scandal, sung by Sharon Cuneta: High school life, oh my high school life ay walang kasing-saya; high school days, oh my high school days are exciting talaga…!

Here are excerpts of my Conversation which will surely raise even higher HSM fans already high on Vanessa and Zac:

 You grew up practically in High School Musical. What’s the best lesson that you learned on the set which you didn’t learn in school?

Vanessa: Actually, I was home-schooled so I experienced many of the typical high school experiences through HSM. I’ve never been to a prom, so through this movie I got to experience my prom. I never went to my graduation, but through this movie I got to wear a cap and gown. I’ve grown up so much with my character. I was 16 when I got into HSM and I was really shy. I was afraid of the world. I’ve learned so much about myself.

Zac: We learned so much every day. You know, making movies is a very complicated process and I was most excited to learn about the filmmaking side of things. HSM is very educational. The HSM stars have been traveling around the United States and Europe, and we even went to Hong Kong for promo, and we learned so much about different cultures and that was very exciting.

Vanessa, you were sweet 16 when you got in. How was your audition like?

Vanessa: Yes, as I’ve said, I was 16 when I went in. For the audition, I did a scene all by myself. They asked me to sing a song and I sang Angels by Robbie Williams. For the second audition, I sang the same song. They told me, ‘Good. But do you know anything else?’ I sang a song by Kelly Clarkson.

Do you have favorite songs from the TV shows and the movie?

Vanessa: Breaking Free from the first TV show, Gotta Go My Own Way from the second and Just Wanna Be With You from the movie version.

How different is the movie from the first two TV shows?

Vanessa: The TV shows led up to this movie. This is our last year in school and we are dealing with adult issues like getting into college and leaving friends, family and relationships behind — you know, the same experience most everybody has gone through and will go through at a certain point in their lives. Because this time we were doing it for the cinemas, we had to up our dancing and our songs. We all have grown up as actors.

Could you tell us about your Filipino heritage?

Vanessa: I’m half-Filipino. My mother is Filipina. She comes from Cebu and Manila. Her maiden surname is Cojuangco.

Oh, did you know that the Cojuangcos are a prominent, rich and influential family in the Philippines? One of them, Tonyboy Cojuangco, owns a TV station and used to own a telephone company (PLDT).

Vanessa: Really? Is that so?

Have you been to the Philippines?

Vanessa: No; not yet. But I hope to go there someday with my family.

Were you brought up the Filipino way or the American way?

Vanessa: A little bit of both. I have rice with every meal.

How much of the Filipino custom and tradition do you know?

Vanessa: Not much. I’ve learned a few things here and there. The most that I got from Filipino culture is through food.

Zac, I understand that like Vanessa, you have your own Philippine connection, right?

Zac: My dad has been to the Philippines several times — for fun. He’s an engineer. We have several Filipino friends. My dad told me that Filipinos are a very musical people. One day, I will go to the Philippines — for fun.

Any memorable high-school experience in real life?

Zac: There’s a lot. I remember that one time, I was at lunch eating watermelon and that’s when I asked my date to the prom. That was memorable. Did she say yes? Yes, she did!

Young people look up to you as role models. Does it put pressure on you? Who are your own role models?

Zac: I think that I feel pressured to be myself. It seems that it’s easy to be changed in this business. I feel great that I established my life and my goals long before I got into HSM. So I’m comfortable with myself and my life now. My role models? Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Will Smith.

Vanessa: Hmmmm. I grew up watching a lot of Natalie Wood movies. But my role models are my parents. They have given up a lot to help me get to where I am now and to realize my dreams.

What kind of family did you come from, conservative or liberal?

Vanessa: A little bit of both. I think I grew up quite American.

How would you compare yourself to Gabriella Montez, your HSM character?

Vanessa: I’m a lot like her. She was the new girl in East High. I didn’t think I was like her at the time but as I grew up I started to see what I really was. I was very shy and timid. Gabriella Montez and I both grew up together; I was comfortable under her skin. We became both go-getters. We fight for what we think is right. In this movie, you see her kind of being torn by her heart and her head — making tough decisions, trying to figure out what to do after high school.

Zac, do you also love basketball and music so much like Troy Bolton, your character?

Zac: Yes, I do — very much! I went through a lot of similar things that Troy is going through in high school. He has to choose between academics or performing. I established the character when I was pretty young so there’s so much of Troy Bolton in me.

You started in the business early (Vanessa at eight and Zac at 12). How was it growing up in the public eye? Did you have a “normal” childhood?

Zac: I didn’t start in the business at 12 although I started performing in theater at that age. I didn’t start earning money until I was about 16. But things didn’t really take off until I was about 18. So I led a very normal childhood, with acting as my hobby. I didn’t really grow up in the public eye.

What do you do away from work?

Zac: A lot of things. I hang out with friends, with family.

Vanessa: I’m 19 and I do things that any 19-year-old would normally do. I like working out, hanging out with girlfriends, shopping, laughing at home, doing the grocery and filling up my car with gas.  

By the way, are you really going steady?

Zac (Blushing a bit): Hmmmm.

Vanessa (Taking a minute to answer): That’s a very personal question.

Is it true, Zac, that, according to the gossip mill, now that Vanessa has bought a house worth $3 million you are moving in?

Zac (As if put on the spot): No, I’m not.

What are the upside and the downside of stardom?

Zac: I think the upside is that we are doing what we want to do in a creative environment. Being an actor is fun. The environment is constantly changing so you never stop learning. The downside? The loss of a little bit of privacy.

How do you deal with the downside? Do you go out in a disguise?

Zac: No, I don’t do anything crazy like that. It hasn’t got to that point yet. I simply find enough time for myself and try to keep my private life to myself. I don’t talk about it and simply refuse to answer personal questions.

Vanessa: Well, behind closed doors I still have a life, you know. I just don’t talk about things that are private and which I don’t want people to know.

What do you think is the movie’s best message?

Zac: I think it’s that in high school things are happening too quickly; there’s a lot of pressure to make choices that you don’t necessarily feel ready to make. The best lesson? Decide for yourself and don’t listen to everyone else’s opinion.

Vanessa: There are so many choices and make sure that you make the right one.

What advice can you give seniors who are graduating and, like the characters in the movie, don’t know what direction to take?

Zac: I think it’s important to always try new things. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think outside the box in terms of my hobbies when I was growing up. I tried every sport at least once and then I found performing as the one thing that I love doing the most.

Vanessa: Follow your heart.

After HSM, what?

Zac: Truthfully? I don’t really know yet. Hopefully, more roles. Oh yes, I have two movies showing soon, Me and Orson Welles  and 17 Again.

Vanessa: I released my second album, called Identify, last July; and I have a new movie coming soon, Bandslam (with Lisa Kudrow, Gaelan Connell and Aly Michalka).

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