Disney Developing a New Musical Series

Remember when "Glee" was Fox's response to the success of High School Musical? Well Disney is retaliating and trying to one-up "Glee" with a new single-camera comedy series about a pool of students who are trying to rebuild their school's theater program.

The series, called Madison High, will feature original songs rather than covers. A pilot is being written by Lester Lewis ("The Office", "JONAS L.A.") and preliminary casting is already underway.

It's certainly an interesting concept, but can a show like this really succeed on Disney Channel? A kids network cannot accurately portray high school and wouldn't even be able to touch upon series issues like anti-gay bullying like "Glee" does.

We aren't too optimistic about this idea, but we wouldn't be surprised if it succeeds big time and we have another slew of Mileys and Jonases running around!

Camp Rock 2 Updates

Meaghan Jette Martin told Twist in the video below that she will begin filming Camp Rock: The Final Jam in Canada soon. The film, which will focus on Camp Rock's rival camp, Camp star (drama!), is expected to premiere on Disney Channel next summer.

Say, does anybody else see a similarity in plots between Camp Rock 2 and High School Musical 4, which will focus on a rivarly between East and West High?... Just saying! The HSM4 plot was revealed before Camp Rock 2, by the way.

Ugh. More Copy Cats.

Prepare yourself for "Private School Musical", a half-hour weekly series coming to MTV this fall, parodying High School Musical.

Sounds awful.

Disney Kicks Nickelodeon's Butt

Nickelodeon aired their High School Musical copy cat, Spectacular!, on Monday night, against Disney Channel's Dadnapped. We didn't watch either, but 4.6 million people chose Dadnapped and only 3.3 million chose Spectacular! Disney beat Nick by 39%! As it should be! Shame on Nickelodeon for copying High School Musical!

Which one did you chose to watch?

Spectacular! Star Victoria Justice Tries to Convince Us The Nickelodeon Movie is Not a HSM Rip-Off

The Nickelodeon rip-off of High School Musical premieres tonight, and one of the films stars, Victoria Justice, is speaking out against the comparisons to High School Musical.

Her weak argument states: "Honestly, they weren't the first ones to do musicals. Tons of musicals have been before that.

She failed to note that in the video clip they showed before the interview, Victoria's character is just like Sharpay (only a cheap rip-off) and her Ryan-esque sidekick is a whipped boyfriend instead of a whipped twin brother.

And the plots have some obvious similarities too. Spectacular! involves a group of kids dueling another musical duo. Sounds exactly like the first High School Musical in the Troy and Gabriella vs. Ryan and Sharpay ordeal!

Well, here's the whole interview if you care to watch.

High School Musical Copycat in the Works

A blatant copycat of High School Musical is in the works. Fox has ordered thirteen episodes of a musical television series called "Glee". The characters include a diva-in-training (hmm... sound like Sharpay to you?), a geek (possibly Gabriella?), and a jock who tries to keep cool while singing (Troy perhaps?). Each episode will feature at least three musical numbers.

This is NOT cool! Come up with some original ideas!

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Monique Coleman is a Traitor!

Monique Coleman attended the premiere of MTV's The American Mall, which is a total rip-off of High School Musical. How dare she!

The American Mall Trailer

The executive producers of High School Musical are cashing in on their success and bringing the recent teen love of musicals to MTV. The American Mall is an MTV movie about... well a musical mall. It looks incredibly dumb - you can tell they're trying to make it look like High School Musical, but edgier! Well, here's the trailer.

Miley for Degree Girl

Miley Cyrus is now campaigning for Degree Girl. She is such an Ashley Tisdale copycat! She'll probably record songs from the 70s now. Look at that job-stealing brat pushing her new album.

The Numbers Are In!

Last night's premiere of Camp Rock on Disney Channel pulled in 8.9 million viewers. While the numbers are impressive for a cable movie, it was disappointing for Disney who were apparently anticipating a number somewhere in the teens.

Still, Camp Rock beats out Jump In!, The Cheetah Girls 2, and High School Musical, putting it as the second most-watched Disney Channel Original Movie ever. The first? That would be High School Musical 2, which pulled in 17.2 million viewers last August.

We wonder what kind of numbers it will pull in tonight on ABC and tomorrow night on ABC Family...

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Well...

We just finished watching Camp Rock.

And, well, it was good. But certainly nothing like High School Musical.

The first half of the movie was a little dry. Unpopular Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) finally succeeds in getting her parents to send her to Camp Rock, a high-priced summer camp where kids with musical abilities go. But there's one catch. In order to afford the camp's fees, Mitchie must work in the camp's kitchen alongside her mother. However, to fit in with Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin), daughter of a Grammy-winning singer, and the other kids at the camp, Mitchie lies and says she is the daughter of the president of Hot Tunes China. These lies come at the expense of Caitlyn Gellar (Alyson Stoner), who was Mitchie's truest friend at Camp Rock from the start.

Mitchie also forms a bond with Shane Grey (Joe Jonas), a spoiled "bad boy" rock star from the band Connect Three who was sent to the camp to retain a basic attitude. What Shane doesn't know is that that a magical voice he overheard belongs to Mitchie.

The movie does not become good until Tess becomes enraged with jealousy that Mitchie is befriending somebody famous. In retaliation, Tess outs Mitchie as being a kitchen worker and frames her from stealing a charm bracelet, which causes Mitchie to get suspended from camp activities, including the final competition.

The plot shares similarities with two stories our readers should be familiar with: Cinderella and High School Musical. Mitchie's job as a kitchen worker and the oppression of Tess make her a modern-day Cinderella. However, her fear of audiences, innocent disposition, and strong character allow her to easily be a Gabriella Montez clone. Tess, being wealthy and snobby, is clearly the Sharpay and evil stepsister of Camp Rock. And Shane's desperate search to find the girl with the beautiful voice is almost identical to Prince Charming's search for the girl who fits the glass slipper.

The script of Camp Rock isn't as well written as the ones for the High School Musical films. The songs were catchy, but too robotic. They hardly help Camp Rock qualify as a musical.

Also, the cast is short on talent. Though Demi Lovato has a charming singing voice, her acting could use some work. The Jonas Brothers, too, may be great singers. Joe and Nick are decent actors, but Kevin is not. Jasmine Richards is the only other cast member to exhibit memorable singing, and she easily outshines the heavily-computerized and robotic voice of Meaghan Jette Martin.

There is no doubt that this movie will have a large audience (the numbers will be in tomorrow), but Camp Rock is nothing more than a summer movie. High School Musical will always survive in its fans' hearts, but will Camp Rock? Who knows, but its sequel is already due out next year.

High School Musical IS Better!!!

Camp Rock may be called 'the next High School Musical', but the reviews for the Disney Channel Original Movie are not kind.

People Magazine compares the film to High School Musical, saying that Camp Rock does not have the same magic and silliness as High School Musical. They even take a jab at Joe Jonas' acting abilities.

This review by USA Today, however, has to be the most painful. Demi Levato and Jonas are described as "...second-rate road-tour versions of HSM's far more appealing Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens."

We couldn't be happier! There is no way that we are going to let Camp Rock be better than High School Musical!

HSM Didn't Get This Treatment!

Disney is going all-out with premiere of Camp Rock. It disgusts us that High School Musical has yet to receive similar treatment. This article explains it all:

DISNEY-ABC TELEVISION GROUP TO SHOWCASE AN UNPRECEDENTED

WORLDWIDE ROLLOUT FOR DISNEY'S "CAMP ROCK,"

A MUSIC AND DANCE-FILLED DISNEY CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE,

ACROSS CABLE, BROADCAST AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS,

BEGINNING FRIDAY, JUNE 20 (8:00 P.M., ET/PT)

-- SVOD Preview Begins June 17 --

-- "Camp Rock" Soundtrack and DVD Debuts Also Set --

BURBANK, April 1, 2008 . . . In an unprecedented, far-reaching cross-platform rollout, the Disney-ABC Television Group today announced that Disney's "Camp Rock," a celebratory, song and dance-filled Disney Channel Original Movie for kids and families, will premiere on Disney Channel, the ABC Television Network (as part of the “Wonderful World of Disney” franchise), ABC Family, Radio Disney and Disney.com in Disney XD, FRIDAY, JUNE 20 through Monday, June 23 in the U.S. It will also premiere on Family Channel Canada and on Quebec's VRAK.TV (dubbed in French) on Friday, June 20 and on Disney Channels around the world beginning in August.

The "Camp Rock" soundtrack will release Tuesday, June 17 from Walt Disney Records and the DVD, with exclusive bonus features, will release around the world beginning Tuesday, August 19 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

(Editors please note: photos are available on Disneychannelmedianet.com; abcmedianet.com; and abcfamilymedianet.com)

In making the announcement, Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group said: "Our ability to harness the strength of the entire Television Group and work with other lines of business to help launch a potential new franchise for the Company is what differentiates us among our peers. This will be evident to everyone beginning Friday, June 20, when the world will be treated to an unprecedented rollout of song and dance with our new Disney Channel Original Movie, 'Camp Rock.’"

Starring Platinum-certified Hollywood Records recording artists and Top 40 and Radio Disney hit-makers Jonas Brothers (Joe, Kevin and Nick) and singer/songwriter/actress Demi Lovato (of Disney Channel's "As the Bell Rings"), "Camp Rock" is the story of a talented yet unsure teen who yearns to share her songs with the world, and of a tempestuous young superstar who's lost his passion for music and is sent packing by his band mates. Together, at a camp for aspiring young music artists, they learn to believe in themselves and to value the freedom to be who they really want to be.

Also starring are Alyson Stoner ("Cheaper by the Dozen"), Meaghan Jette Martin, Anna Maria Perez de Taglé (of Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana"), Jasmine Richards ("Naturally Sadie"), Maria Canals-Barrera (of Disney Channel's "Wizard of Waverly Place"), Daniel Fathers, Roshon Fegan, Jordan Francis and screenwriter/actress Julie Brown.

Rich Ross, president, Disney Channels Worldwide, said: "We're thrilled to give 'Camp Rock' the launch it deserves and to showcase the great talents of Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas and our series crossover stars Demi Lovato, Alyson Stoner and Maria Canals-Barrera."

The global premiere schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, June 17 – "Camp Rock" on-demand preview begins on Disney Channel on Demand, a video-on-demand service available to Cablevision iO Digital Cable, Time Warner and Verizon FiOS TV customers.
• Friday, June 20 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) – "Camp Rock" premiere on Disney Channel U.S. with an audio simulcast on Radio Disney and a video simulcast on Sprint and MobiTV devices. Movie also premieres on Family Channel in Canada.
• Saturday, June 21 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) – Premiere on the ABC Television Network
• Sunday, June 22 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) – Premiere on ABC Family
• Monday, June 23 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) – Premiere on Disney.com in DXD
• Saturday, June 28 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) – "Camp Rock" Rock-a-Long programming event on Disney Channel (song lyrics visible on screen and via DisneyChannel.com)
• July -- Premiere on Disney Channels Latin America (dates to be announced)
• Tuesday, August 19 – Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases "Camp Rock" on DVD, with exclusive bonus features, in the U.S. and Latin America. It releases around the world beginning in November.
• August – Premiere on Disney Channel Japan (dates to be announced)
• September – Premiere on Disney Channels India, Southeast Asia, Korea, Taiwan, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand (dates to be announced)
• October -- Premiere on Disney Channels Scandinavia.

The movie was written by Regina Hicks ("Girlfriends") and Karin Gist (Disney Channel's "Jump In!") and Julie Brown ("Medusa Dare to be Truthful") and Paul Brown. The director is Matthew Diamond ("Great Performances: Dance in America") and the cinematographer is Dean Cundey ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Jurassic Park"). Emmy Award winner Alan Sacks ("Welcome Back, Kotter," "The Color of Friendship") is the executive producer. Kevin Lafferty ("Twitches," "Twitches Too," "Jump In!") is the producer.

A Little More Info on Nick's HSM Rip-Off

We've uncovered a bit more information about Spectacular!, Nickelodeon's recently-announced High School Musical copy cat.

Robert Iscove (”She’s All That”) is directing the film, which stars a cast of relative unknowns (all pictured left), including Tammin Sursok, Nolan Funk, Victoria Justice (Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101″) and Simon Curtis. Shooting begins April 21.

“Spectacular!” which has been kept below the radar, centers on a preppy high school student (Sursok) who is part of the school’s Spectacular! choir. The group is in sad shape, with its most talented members either having graduated or been stolen away by a rival squad. The teen sees salvation in a cocky rocker (Funk), who reluctantly joins “Spectacular!” to win a money prize that would finance his rock ‘n’ roll dreams. But the rocker doesn’t factor in falling for the preppy girl.

Nick stresses that “Spectacular!” is not a classic musical. The songs in the movie will be performance-based rather than featuring characters suddenly breaking out into song like in Disney’s “High School Musical.”

Nickelodeon's HSM Rip-Off

Wow. Nickelodeon is totally copying High School Musical. Nickelodeon will begin filming Spectacular April 21st (THE SAME DAY AS HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR!!!). Here's the plot:

Spectacular centers on a preppy high school girl who is part of the school's Spectacular choir. The group is in sad shape, with its most talented members either having graduated or been stolen away by a rival squad. The preppy sees salvation in a cocky rock guy who reluctantly joins the choir to win a money prize that would finance his rock 'n' roll dreams. But the rocker doesn't factor in falling for the preppy girl.

Another High School Musical!

Before you get too excited, this isn't about High School Musical 4. Disney has reportedly hired Steve Antin to draft a musical set in high school that will be aimed for a Disney audience.

Not only is Disney milking the High School Musical franchise for everything its got, but they're creating a whole new franchise that is almost the EXACT same!

Now, some people believe that this project, which other than the information we just gave you, is kept under tight wraps, is actually High School Musical 4. We doubt it because it's a new writer when writer of the first three movies, Peter Barsocchini, already stated he was writing a fourth.

We'll keep you updated.