On The Set: 'High School Musical 2'

The countdown has begun to probably the most anticipated TV movie ever, "High School Musical Two."

I'd say most anticipated TV movie sequel ever but I don't think there has ever been a sequel filmed to a TV movie. In March, I spent three days on the set with the entire cast and got a glimpse into life on the set. Over the next week, I’ll share my HSM2 diary:

It's day one of my visit to the set of one of the most anticipated sequels of the summer, "High School Musical 2." Sure this is a movie that's become a phenomenon among the tweeny bopper set but I'm not ashamed to say I fell for its corny song and dance routine when I watched it too.

The sequel picks up as the high schoolers head off for summer vacation and get jobs at the local country club where Sharpay is a member. The serene setting of Southwest Utah stands in for Albuquerque, NM where East Valley High is said to be located.

I traveled to St. George, Utah where the cast has been since early February. Nestled amongst soaring red rocks sits the Entrada Country Club at Snow Canyon where filming is taking place. Today they are filming a big baseball number on the grounds but my day is all about hanging with Ashley Tisdale who plays the rich kid, Sharpay Evans and Zac Efron, the school's resident heartthrob.

I arrive to the set around Noon and just as we pull up to the Clubhouse, where I'm scheduled to interview Tisdale, who should come cruising up in a golf cart but Ashley and Efron. It's a rare day off from filming and both are enjoying a little fun time. Ashley's sporting a green and white bikini and Zac's got his board shorts on. They hit the lounge chairs while we scouted a nice poolside location for an interview.

Thirty minutes later we are all set up for Ashley and I to chat and she throws a turquoise tank over her bikini top and strolls over. No hair person. No makeup person. No star attitude. I'm shooting a mini DV camera for our website. She turns the screen to see what she looks like and we are off and running. I've made a solemn promise to keep the details of the movie a secret so I can't be leaking out too many plot points other than to say that Sharpay will be stirring up trouble for her classmates again. With so much hype and anticipation it's understandable why the cast and crew are guarding the info so tightly. What I can tell you is this is a tight knit group who have remained friends throughout. When not filming they spend their time hanging out in each other’s rooms. Ashley gets coy when I ask if any real life summer romances have emerged. I'm hit with a sing songy "maybe". Later I find out there is definitely a whole lot of love around this set. More on that in a second.

After I pull a big sister and warn Ashley about making sure she wears lots of SPF in the sun, Ashley and I travel over to check out the pink golf cart Sharpay will be cruising around in for the film. She takes me for a spin and fortunately I get to keep all my limbs! Then it's off to the wardrobe trailer for a sneak peek at Sharpay's sequel wardrobe. Think lots and lots of rhinestones. Sharpay is a bikini top fanatic so expect lots of bikini tops under dresses and shirts. I see a trend for the summer starting already. A quick hug goodbye and another warning about sunscreen and my time with Ashley is up. We head off to scarf down some food before it's time to hang out with Zac. Just as we pile back into the van, I catch a glimpse of why I got that coy "maybe" on romance. Ashley calls over one of the dancers, dressed in a baseball uniform for the big dance scene, the two interlock hands and head to the craft services truck. My crew guy reveals this is a dancer from the tour and he has spotted them kissing, so he believes its her boyfriend. Ashley has done such a great job staying out of the tabloids. So, I'm clueless.

We set up for our Zac interview. He is patiently waiting for us, enjoying a little time on the driving range. From a distance, I see him giving some golfing tips to his co-star Vanessa Hudgens. It looks like a scene out of a movie. His arms around her showing her how to swing. As he leaves, he gives her a peck on the lips. Another romance on the set? (About two months later paparazzi photos of them kissing on a Hawaii vacation reveal they are in fact a couple).

Zac sits down and just like Ashley comes with no entourage of "people", though his grandparents are in town and his aunt. Those are the good kind of "people". We chat for a while about the new film where I'm happy to learn he will be singing all his own songs in this film and on the soundtrack. Yes, he can sing but for some reason they decided to dub in someone else's singing voice in the original film. He admits that his singing voice is very different from the dubbed one but hopes his fans will like it. He's singing his own tunes in the soon to be released feature film, "Hairspray" so audiences will get a listen to his vocals before HSM2 premieres. I'm sure they will be thrilled. Just as we were finishing up, a bird decides to relieve himself on my jeans. Isn't this supposed to bring good luck?

Next up, we all pile into golf carts and head out to the course where Zac is going to show me his skills he picked up for this movie. We travel on a path that leads to greens surrounded by incredible black rock, I'm told came from volcanic eruptions eons and eons ago. It's incredibly beautiful and indescribable. Zac hits a few balls as we all watch. He's surprisingly good for only just learning. The publicist bets him twenty bucks he can't make it onto the greens (about 250 yards and over the black rocks). He gets three tries and misses. The publicist offers double or nothing and he goes at it again. This time he hits two on the greens and earns a cool forty bucks. I jokingly offer to let him pay me the money not to run the footage of him missing. He doesn't accept. We head up to the putting green and after two failed tries at making the hole, I tell Zac "Well at least you can sing and act!"

Before he heads off, I ask his grandparents how proud they are that Zac has become such a big star. They reply with a grandparent's PC polite answer, "We're proud of all five of our grandchildren." That my friends is how someone like Zac is able to keep it real. Bravo grandparents.

Check back for more on Monday of day two from my three-day visit to the set!