Heartthrob Zac Efron tops box office

"High School Musical" heartthrob Zac Efron graduated to the big leagues at the North American box office on Sunday as his new comedy crushed a weighty thriller starring Russell Crowe.

"17 Again," in which Efron plays a dispirited 37-year-old family man who gets to relive his glory days at high school, earned a better-than-expected $24.1 million, distributor Warner Bros. said.

Crowe's "State of Play" opened at No. 2 with $14.1 million, but managed to exceed the modest expectations of its distributor, Universal Pictures.

Last weekend's champion, "Hannah Montana: The Movie," fell to No. 4 with $12.7 million, taking the 10-day haul for Walt Disney Co's Miley Cyrus vehicle to $56.1 million.

Just ahead of it, the family cartoon "Monsters vs. Aliens" held steady at No. 3 with $12.9 million. After four weekends, the DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc production has earned $162.7 million, making it the biggest movie of the year so far.

Also new was "Crank: High Voltage," a sequel starring British actor Jason Statham. It opened at No. 6 with $6.5 million. Pundits had expected the thriller to do better than "State of Play."

While "17 Again" is the latest in a long line of body-switch comedies including such hits as "Big" and "Freaky Friday," its producers had their cake and ate it too by poking fun at the genre.

"I don't think we tried to play the earnest version," said producer Jennifer Gibgot, who originated the project after working with Efron in "Hairspray."

Critics were generally kind to the picture, which also stars "Friends" veteran Matthew Perry as the adult version of Efron, and Leslie Mann as his wife.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said it had been hoping for an opening in the low $20 million range, and was heartened by preliminary data showing that the PG-13 movie was playing to a wider audience than the 9-to-12-year-old tweens who made Efron a star in the "High School Musical" franchise.

EFRON AS LEADING MAN

Gibgot said her goal was to show that Efron, 21, could be a leading man. She envisaged future roles for him in smart thrillers or the sort of movies that made Michael J. Fox a star, like the "Back to the Future" series.

"State of Play," on the other hand, was dogged by the same challenges that have befallen other adult-oriented thrillers, such as "Michael Clayton" and "Duplicity." Older audiences generally don't flock to the cinemas on opening weekends, and may wait for the DVD.

"Adult films don't rock the box office," said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution at Universal, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal.

But she said "State of Play" was off to a solid start, and she hoped it would hold up well over the next few weekends.

The $60 million movie, based on a BBC miniseries, stars Crowe as a grizzled reporter who investigates a political conspiracy. The cast is rounded out by fellow Oscar-winner Helen Mirren as his editor and Ben Affleck as a politician. Critics were effusive in their praise.

"Crank: High Voltage," which did not screen in advance for critics, was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. A spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The first film, "Crank," opened to $10.5 million in 2006 and ended up with $28 million.

Overall sales rose for the fourth consecutive year, when compared to the year-ago weekend, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers. Year-to-date sales are up 17 percent at $2.9 billion, placing the industry on a firm footing ahead of the summer movie-going period. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" kicks off the lucrative season on May 1.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE53I1M620090419

Zac Efron Wants To 'Grow Up' With '17 Again' -- But Not Too Much

Zac Efron wants to make sure that as he grows an actor and a person, his fans can grow with him. That's why as he takes a break from the world of musicals, he thought that his new film, "17 Again," was the right fit for him to make the transition from teen star to adult actor.

"We filmed it over a year ago, and it was very much a transitional movie, and that was the headspace that I was in," he told MTV News. "I wanted to bring along all the fans, so it's a familiar stomping ground. It's not a completely new world to be in. It's very similar."

Despite his desire to grow up, he isn't planning anything too adult. "I still make very family-friendly films," he said. "I'm not involved with the next 'Trainspotting' sequel or anything like that."

With "17 Again" hitting theaters, Efron recently passed on the opportunity to star in the "Footloose" remake. "It's just a ton of timing. Right now, I'm looking for a new challenge," he said. "I'm very excited about the future and trying new things and the unknown. Not that I'm done with musicals in any way, but I feel like I've made somewhat of a mark there, and I'd like to try new things before going back to my safe place."

Instead, he opted to make "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," directed by Burr Steers, who also helmed "17 Again." "I'm not doing anything to drastically try and change up my image," he added about his future roles. "But I do need to keep things interesting for myself. And grow up."

Despite his time off from musicals, rumor has it that Efron will go back to his "safe place" for the reported "Hairspray" sequel. One rumored plot point has Efron's character taking acid and talking to pimples — which appeals to the young actor.

"I think I've heard a rough outline, and it sounds hilarious. It sounds like it's going to be awesome," he said. "That could be a deep conversation. I've had so many deep conversations with my own zits. They are some of the smartest people I know."

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1609436/story.jhtml

Is Zac Efron A Jedi Master After His '17 Again' Light-Saber Fight?

With the release of Zac Efron's "17 Again" on April 17, it's "High School Musical" alumni week. MTV News is going to catch you up on what the future holds for all your favorite East High Wildcats!

Starring in "17 Again" gave Zac Efron the chance to return to his teen years and begin his Jedi training. Efron and co-star Thomas Lennon took a small part in the film's script, in which the two guys have a light-saber fight, and made it all their own.

"It was actually brief. It was very small," Efron told MTV News of the original scene. "They called it the 'memorabilia fight.' There's tons of different props from different sci-fi movies, and at one point, as soon as we picked up these light sabers, they're like as close as you can get to real light sabers, we decided to have a real fight and Tom went for it."

Efron gives "Reno 911!" star Lennon a lot of the credit for the ad-libbed scene: "He would add all these moves, and he got pretty acrobatic. Tom was loving it."

The only thing harder than the physical side of the light-saber fight was trying not to mimic the "Star Wars" sound effects.

"It's hard not to," Efron said. "You have to refrain. But I have to say, by the end, after doing it for a couple weeks of rehearsal, I feel pretty close to a Jedi master. I'm trying to be like Luke Skywalker."

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1609343/story.jhtml

Zac Efron: "I Get Sick of Seeing My Own Face Around"

High School Musical fans probably wouldn't mind looking at Zac Efron the rest of their lives.

But the actor, 21, says he tires of seeing his mug plastered everywhere.

"I didn't want to be famous," he tells USA Weekend. "I get sick of seeing my own face around."

See what Zac Efron looked like in 2004

"I used to get so frustrated," he goes on. "For a while, I felt like I was completely lost in celebrity-land. I didn't know how to handle it. Now I know that I have to plot where I'm going, when I'm going there and where the back entrance is. It's like I'm playing a giant game of tag."

Efron -- who just dropped out of the upcoming Footloose remake -- says his career is now at "a transition point."

Check out sexy shots of Zac Efron and other stars at the beach

"My taste is changing. I'm growing up," says the star, who hopes his new comedy 17 Again (out Apr. 17) will help him "shift into adult material."

See what Zac Efron looked like at Us' Hot Hollywood bash last year

"I'm definitely not the best actor in the world at this point," he says. "But hopefully, with time and effort and smart decisions, that will change."

Acting wasn't something he always wanted to do, he admits.

As a kid, "I played sports on weekends -- baseball, basketball -- and when I sucked at those, I started playing golf and ping-pong in the garage," he says.

Look back at fun pics from High School Musical 3

"After I lost interest, I started singing," he adds. "I was always singing to the point where my parents would shout, 'Shut up, Zac! Enough already!'"

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/zac-efron-i-get-sick-of-seeing-my-own-face-2009104

Efron a likable hero in hit-and-miss comedy

"17 Again" has a pretty original take on the "do-over" comedy -- you know, where someone, invariably a male, gets to go back in his life to do over a key moment or event that continues to bug him. The twist here is that Mike O'Donnell doesn't really go back in time: He is simply 17 again, the point at which, he figures, his life went south. So he winds up in high school with his own daughter and son, and his estranged wife can't understand her weird feelings for this guy who reminds her so much of her ex when he was young.

The film, written by Jason Filardi ("Bringing Down the House") and directed by Burr Steers ("Igby Goes Down"), works better than you might imagine at times but stumbles awkwardly other times. The unevenness in the writing is matched by directorial overkill in certain comic sequences.

Warner Bros. has achieved high awareness for this Zac Efron teen comedy from its New Line unit. When it opens April 17, it could top the weekend box office.

The film begins when Mike (Efron) really is 17, back in 1989, when he's a high school basketball star with a bright future and hopes for a scholarship. Just before the game where a college scout has shown up, his girlfriend Scarlet tells him she's pregnant. So he throws away everything to marry Scarlet.

Why the filmmakers believe college basketball and parenthood are mutually exclusive is unclear -- are they aware how many student-athletes have families? -- but anyway, it's 20 years later and Mike, played by Matthew Perry, is a walking train wreck. His kids hate him, his wife (Leslie Mann) is divorcing him and his job disappears. Only his best friend, former school nerd-turned-software tycoon Ned (Thomas Lennon), can tolerate his company.

Along comes, as happens in do-over movies, a mystical figure, invariably in a white beard, who grants the downfallen hero his request -- in this instance, to be 17 again. The nice twist to Mike becoming a "fake teen" is that this situation doesn't so much give him a chance to reshape his life as it does enable him to help his daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) and son (Sterling Knight). He can dispense advice and guidance from the perspective of an adult but in the guise of a schoolmate.

Sequences involving a school bully -- who, the father discovers, is terrorizing his son and dating his daughter -- and his wife, now 20 years his senior, click pretty well. But the film gets into tonal problems when Steers and Filardi go for the kind of exaggeration often deemed necessary in teen comedies. Lennon's extreme geek would be funny, quite funny in fact, in the right film, but here his performance jars. There is also too much sentimentality thrown in, as if the filmmakers don't trust their young audience to get the message.

Efron does a fine job in letting the older man seep through his boyish exterior. As the siblings, Knight and Trachtenberg each have moments when they shine, especially when the daughter starts to think her father is hot, not realizing, of course, that he is her father. Mann, as always, is very funny and gets to put an edge of vulnerability into her performance.

Production values are so-so at best, with an unusually loud music soundtrack obliterating much of the dialogue. In this high school, no one ever goes to class, the kids are too old, and Efron is too short for a basketball star, but otherwise, "17 Again" is the epitome of realism.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE53915F20090410

Zac Efron Signs On For New (Non-Musical) Film

Just days after dropping out of the "Footloose" remake to pursue non-musical films, Zac Efron has been cast in "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," Variety reports. The film will be directed by Burr Steers, who worked with Efron on his upcoming release "17 Again," but has also directed more serious fare like "Igby Goes Down."

According to Variety, the film, based on the book by Ben Sherwood, is about "a caretaker at a cemetery who manages to have weekly meetings with a younger brother whose accidental death he feels was his fault."

Although negotiations for Efron are still under way, production is expected to start in July with Steers already finishing up the script. Variety goes on to report that Paramount is currently meeting with actors to replace Efron in "Footloose."

On Monday, Paramount released a statement that addressed Efron dropping out of the film. "Footloose is a project we've longed to see re-booted for a new generation. While Zac is no longer attached, we remain excited and committed to the collective brain trust of [director] Kenny Ortega, [producers] Neil Meron and Craig Zaden, who will reinvigorate the franchise," a Paramount Pictures rep told Usmagazine.com. "Their fresh take on the film will undoubtedly be filled with the same kind of breakout performances that we've come to expect from them."

In addition to the upcoming flick "17 Again," Efron also has the more serious "Me and Orson Welles" set for release sometime this year. The actor has expressed a desire to take on more mature roles. "As far back as I can remember, I couldn't understand or relate to a lot of kids," he recently told Elle magazine.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1607696/story.jhtml

'High School Musical' star Zac Efron bows out of planned 'Footloose' remake

Zac Efron just cut "Footloose."

The "High School Musical" star and teen heartthrob has decided not to partake in Paramount's new reincarnation of the 1980s hit, reports The Wrap.

Efron, who starred in 2007's box office hit "Hairspray," said he is not interested in taking on yet another musical at this point in his career.

A conveniently timed rewrite in the script provided the loophole Efron needed to escape the contract.

"People had been working on this project since last July," a member of the production team said. "We were all shocked."

The young star recently performed alongside girlfriend Vanessa Hudgeons and Hugh Jackman in a song and dance number at the Academy Awards.

But now that his "High School" days are behind him, it's possible that he's looking to take on more serious roles as an actor.

Kenny Ortega, who also directed the "High School Musical" trilogy, was set to direct the remake of the Kevin Bacon classic, which was intended for a 2010 release.

Though Disney is also working on another "High School Musical," Efron will not likely be part of it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/03/23/2009-03-23_high_school_musical_star_zac_efron_bows_.html

Zac Efron Says Mom Gifted Him a Christmas Stocking "Full of Condoms"

Zac Efron's mom thinks her little boy is growing up.

In the April issue of Elle, the "High School Musical" star reveals that Mama Efron became concerned after seeing pictures of Zac posing with girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens in an ... adult emporium. ("It was just a costume store," Zac maintains, "this nice older woman asked for a photo.") Seeing that her boy was swiftly becoming a photo-in-a-hybrid-sex-shoppe kind of man, she decided to stuff his Christmas stocking with - what else? - condoms.

We'll let Zac take the story from here:

"My mom is like, Zac, what did you buy in a sex shop? I was like Mom, calm down, its not a sex shop. She wouldn't have any of it. She's like, I knew you were being sexual!" he admitted. "But she understood. My stocking was full of condoms this Christmas. She buys me the economy box."

Smart, frugal, and so, so incredibly awkward.

http://wonderwall.msn.com/#wallState=2__/movies/Safety-First-1511245.story%3F%26rnd%3D1236528936837

A New 'Quest' For Efron?

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Zac Efron could play Jonny Quest in a new live-action version of the cartoon classic according to IESB.net.

Never mind that in the cartoon Quest is twelve-year-old boy, it looks like Warner Brothers is going to age the role a bit to fit Efron.

Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is reportedly the leading contender for role of Jonny's guardian Race Bannon. Although if they make Jonny 17 or 18 years old, its not clear exactly what his relationship with Jonny will be.