No surprise there: Disney working on a Camp Rock sequel
What should come as no surprise to anybody: Disney is now hard at work to the sequel of its High School Musical trilogy follow-up, Camp Rock. The Disney Channel is hoping to broadcast the sequel in spring or summer of 2009.
The first Camp Rock debuted to 8.9 million viewers on Friday night, the second highest viewership ever for the network (but still far below the 17.2 million they got for High School Musical 2).The movie stars the Jonas Brothers (Joe, Kevin and Nick), who had a following before the movie was released. With that in mind, shouldn’t the ratings have been even higher? Maybe it’s just that they’re no Zac Efron.
With the High School Musical phenomenon moving to theaters, Disney does have to do something to pick up the slack. Admittedly, I am not the target demographic for this genre, but it was once described to me as “this generation’s Grease”, which seemed pretty accurate. Although, to my knowledge, Grease didn’t spawn these sort of copycat milk-it-till-it’s-dead follow-ups.
Jessica Simpson Does NYC, Grease
Jessica Simpson Does NYC, Grease
If you’re reading this from the Big Apple, get your shoes on and head over to Macy’s Herald Square at 34th and Broadway. You just may get a glimpse of Jessica Simpson.
The former “Newlyweds” star was spotted yesterday headed through LAX, complete with Louis Vuitton gear and her dog Daisy, on her way to NYC.
The “With You” singer is doing an appearance at the famous department store and a few lucky attendees will get a chance to meet her. Jess will be on the 4th floor in the Juniors footwear department.
The catch? You had to be one of the first 250 customers yesterday to drop $50 on Jessica Simpson merchandise to get a pass to meet her today at 11am. But you can still gawk with the best of them, even if you don’t have a pass.
Along with her merchandising gig, Jess is looking more and more into acting. And there are reports that she’ll be starring in a remake of “Grease.”
Michelle Pfeiffer spilled the beans that Simpson may be reprising Olivia Newton-John’s role of Sandy. She recently told press, “It’s a great idea and I hear they would like to get Jessica Simpson for the role of Sandy. She would be good.”
Taylor Hicks headed for Broadway
With Clay Aiken having wrapped up his run as Sir Robin in Spamalot, the Idol quotient on Broadway was down. Fortunately for theatergoers, it’s Taylor Hicks to the rescue. Kind of. He’s a bit of a step down from Clay Aiken, isn’t he? I mean, Clay’s new album debuted at number four, and Taylor was dropped from his label.
Whichever way you see it, Hicks will be joining the cast of Grease to take on the role of Teen Angel. Should you be in the area, you can head over to the Brooks Atkinson Theater and hear his version of “Beauty School Dropout.” An interesting TV side-note, this production of Grease stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm. You may remember them as being the winners of the ill-fated NBC show, You’re The One That I Want.
Paris Hilton Disguises Self For Blunt Concert
Paris Hilton Disguises Self For Blunt Concert
Sporting a brunette wig in hopes of going undetected, Paris Hilton was spotted attending a James Blunt gig in Toronto, Canada on Monday night.
Situated in the VIP area of the C Lounge venue, Paris’ disguise didn’t do all that much good - as she was noticed almost immediately.
The sighting will inevitably lead to chatter of a rekindling romance between Hilton and Blunt, as the duo had been romantically connected in the past and “were even rumored to have performed a duet of the Grease hit ‘Summer Nights’ while at a birthday party together.”
Also in attendance at the show, hanging with the hotel heiress, was 19-year-old Spy Kids star Alexa Vega.