A fresh-faced Vanessa Hudgens, who turns 21 on December 14, first made her debut on the acting scene when her family settled down in L.A. and she landed a TV commercial. The actress had been acting for years, actually since the age of 8, but it wasn't until her teen years, when she got cast in "High School Musical," that she became a household name.
Before "HSM," Vanessa was already adding roles to her filmography thanks to work in movies like "Thirteen" and "Thunderbirds," and in small roles in several sitcoms.
Click on the photo below to see how far Vanessa has come, and keep reading for more on her Hollywood history after the jump.
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Believe it or not, just because you're an actress with a musical background (or vice versa: a musician with an acting background), it doesn't always mean you can walk right onto a movie set without proving you're the right person for the job first. Both Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka had to audition for their roles in "Bandslam," even though they already had cred in musical-based movies ("High School Musical") and performing live in concert (Aly & AJ).
"We actually saw each other at the audition which was really funny," Aly recalls. "I went in first. I prepared a song to play on guitar, and then a song to play on piano. I sang an Amy Mann song, called 'How am I different' ... It was fun, it was a very kind of free audition. You just went in and did your thing, Todd [Graff, who helmed the movie] kind of directed, knew exactly what he wanted and had a vision." Read more...
Remember way back when (or, to be exact: early July) when we asked all of you to submit your best and juiciest questions on Your.MTV.com for Vanessa Hudgens? Well, the time has come for us to share her responses!
We have to applaud you, Crushers, for coming up with queries for the "Bandslam" beauty that spanned across all categories — namely fashion, music and YouTube. Even if you didn't get a chance to ask the former Wildcat your own question (or were too nervous to even try!) we recommend pressing play below because it's worth checking out how Vanessa fares when her fans attempt to pick her brain.
In case you've missed the rest of our "Bandslam" week here on Hollywood Crush (which concludes tomorrow with even more insider interviews with the new movie's hot stars), be sure to check out: Vanessa and Aly Michalka dishing on their new-found rocker cred thanks to their roles, and Gaelan Connell explaining how the flick is less "High School Musical" and more "Juno" meets "School of Rock." Oh! And speaking of Gaelan, he, by the way, got to lock lips with both Vanessa and Aly Michalka. You so need to hear who he voted as the better kisser.
The eve of the premiere of "Bandslam" (and the premiere of that new "New Moon" trailer we know you all can't wait to see!) is upon us, so what better way to prepare for the movie than by hearing straight from its leading man, Gaelan Connell, about what sets this movie apart from all the other (typically cliché?) high school ones out there.
Sure, the movie does star Vanessa Hudgens, but Gaelan says, "It's not at all 'High School Musical' or anything like that. It's kind of like 'Juno' meets 'School of Rock,' kind of twisted up, and I think it's because it's so relatable." While his other girl pal in the movie, Aly Michalka, personifies a popular girl type and Vanessa is kind of the "loner," that's pretty much where the stereotypes end. "You know, we don't have McLovin' on one side and you know, super hot Taylor Swift on the other side. (Pause) I probably shouldn't have said that! But anyway..." Read more...
Welcome to day three of our "Bandslam" week! What a lucky number three is for Gaelan Connell — that's the amount of beautiful woman he starred with in the flick (OK, well, one of them is Lisa Kudrow, who plays his mom, but still!). If that wasn't enough to make the 20-year-old newcomer jump at the chance to do the movie, we now know what was. The role also called for him to lock lips with both Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka. Oh, the things we do to make a living!
Don't go wondering which girl was better when it came to swapping spit, though, because Gaelan's lips are remaining sealed. "Well, I don't want to get completely beat up by both of those girls, so I don't think I have an answer to that," he told Hollywood Crush during the junket for the movie. Ever-the-parental-figure Lisa interrupted with: "Why you think both of them would?" He insisted yes. "Both of 'em would! Are you kidding me? They're probably listening right now." Read more...
Welcome to Day 2 of "Bandslam" week here at Hollywood Crush! Yesterday, we gabbed with stars Vanessa "Popper" Hudgens and Aly "Rocker" Michalka, and today we're sitting down with Gaelan Connell, who plays nerdy band manager Will Burton, and Lisa Kudrow, who plays his mom.
You're probably familiar with Lisa's extensive rock repertoire, she is of "Smelly Cat" fame after all, but did you know costar Gaelan is also a bona fide musician? The 20-year-old is the lead singer and guitar player for the band Exist, which has a song featured on the "Bandslam" soundtrack (he's a regular Robert Pattinson!). For Gaelan, playing a character on the other side of the mic was a bit strange, but he's hoping to get his hands on an instrument for the encore. "Yeah, [director Todd Graff] always says the sequel will be Will learning the instruments that he loves," Gaelan joked. Press play on the clip below to hear more from Gaelan and Lisa including the former "Friends" stars' mad "Rock Band" skills (which unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor).
Are you excited to see "Bandslam" this weekend?
"Bandslam" week is finally upon us! And you know what that means? No, not just another sneak peak at a second "New Moon" trailer (though there is a special something in regards to that appearing on Hollywood Crush first thing tomorrow — so get excited!), but also a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the battle of the bands movie and the stars behind it.
Today, we bring you the femmes of the flick, Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka, as they discuss what it was like to switch up their usual musical beats and take on the rock genre. Not that it was all the weird for Aly, who is one half of the group formerly known as Aly & AJ (they now go by 78Violet). "She's the rocker and I'm the popper," Vanessa insisted. Aly laughed and agreed: "My style of music with my sister definitely has pop in it, but it's definitely rock-based. ['Bandslam'] was different because I'm playing more cover songs than my own material than I've written myself, which I'm so used to doing with my sister, but it was a good change." Read more...
August means back to school for many American teens, but they won't be returning to the hallowed halls of academia alone. Former Wildcat Vanessa Hudgens is hitting the books, rocking out in her high school battle-of-the-bands flick "Bandslam" which opens next Friday (and includes an exclusive "New Moon" trailer).
In the flick, Vanessa plays loner Sa5m ("the five is silent") who befriends new kid in town, music buff Will Burton (Gaelan Connell). The pair, along with popular former cheerleader Charlotte Banks (Aly Michalka) cross clique lines to form a band to vie for the coveted recording contract prize. In the clip below, things get a little uncomfortable when Sa5m and Charlotte cross paths for the first (or 100th) time. Click through the rest of our sneak peeks to see Will in the shower (!!!), Sa5m taking center stage and more. And don't forget to check back with Hollywood Crush all next week because we'll be rolling out exclusive Bandslam content every day!
What do you think of "Bandslam"? Will you be seeing it next week?
We've given you plenty of reasons to see this summer's high school flick, "Bandslam," including two exclusive clips (watch them here and here )and the opportunity to ask your own question of star Vanessa Hudgens. So if this next reason isn't convincing enough, there might be something, well, wrong with you.
It's just been revealed that an exclusive trailer for "New Moon" will run in front of "Bandslam" during its opening weekend starting August 14. (Squeal!) Read more...
"Bandslam" finds an assortment of high school kids from different cliques coming together for one purpose...to rock the hell out for the annual Battle of the Bands contest. The film stars "High School Musical" cutie Vanessa Hudgens, and while she isn't in the clip below, pretty much everyone else in the flick is, including rising star and blonde bombshell Alyson Michalka.
Check out the group's first big rehearsal in the video below, and then click here to send your own "Bandslam" questions to Vanessa Hudgens, who you can peep in a different exclusive clip here. We'll be posing some of the best to her and posting her video responses right here on Hollywood Crush! "Bandslam" hits theaters August 14.
