I look over to Tay and she is so excited. All of the cast was there now and I finally see Vanessa sitting in the bleachers with some of the cast, crew, and cast friends. My eyes are now trained on the two of them. Constantly looking back and forth checking everything between the two. For about another 30 minutes or so there is just a lot of commotion going on with crew people fixing lights and moving cameras make up people fixing faces prop people fixing some banners on the walls and such. Then one of the producers grabs a microphone and introduces himself and then introduces Kenny Ortega. Everyone is screaming, he has Manly his dog with him dressed in a little black sweater that has a red star on it, so cute. Kenny explains the HSM phenomenon to us all (which he really didn’t need to do) and then went on to explain that major motion picture HSM 3 would be bigger and better with bigger dance routines, even better music and we were going to be part of that. I have to tell you, the man knows how to schmooze. He thanked us all for wanting to a part of it and putting up with the rigorous filming schedule we would have all weekend. Everyone clapped and then he proceeded in introducing producers and such, finally getting to the cast. He introduced every one except for Zac and Vanessa and explained Sharpay would stop by to see everyone but she wasn’t in this scene of the movie. And she did come to the set later that day. They were each taking turns doing interviews throughout the day with Tanika from Extra. That blond boy from Disney Channel show “Movie Surfers” was there on Sunday interviewing as well.
Okay so Kenny finally introduces Zac and Vanessa together as “our Troy and Gabriella.” The roars were thunderous we about blew the top off the gymnasium. Zac was on Kenny’s right and Vanessa to the left. They each took a turn with microphone and thanked us for coming and being a part of their movie. Again we gave them more applause and they give us their bashful smiles and then to each other (awwwwww another moment) Up until this point the two of them were keeping their distance. A few times I noticed Zac trying to locate her in the gym but not being obvious about it. And she would do the same. Both of them never really making eye contact with each other. He was practicing his b-ball moves which is really choreographed dance moves with the other guys and she milling about the cast bleachers talking to friends. Kenny takes the microphone and starts to explain the filming for the weekend. And like the production assistant explains that we are doing the opening scene of the movie. When the scene starts everyone is there to see the EH vs. WH for the state championship game so the EH cheerleaders are doing a dance/cheer routine to get ready for the entrance of the EH players when they come running from the doors. So they are set up in two diagonal lines with space in between so the EH players can run through them. And we the fans have to act all crazy as they come out. They play cool music and the cheerleaders do a dance routine. You know the drill if you’ve seen a game. So we got that part of filming under our belt.
Next part Kenny explained would be a very important scene in the whole movie and the game. It was a scene between Troy and Gabriella. This scene pretty much took up the rest of the weekend. Kenny wanted it right. To set up the scene, it’s late in the game, EH is losing. WH is playing dirty basketball, fouling a lot. The guys are whipped. Troy is banged up. His fingers are jammed on his shooting hand, his leg has a supportive brace on and he’s tired and frustrated His dad is frustrated and he feels like he is letting everyone down. He’s about to give up hope on winning this game. He is also upset because he thinks Vanessa isn’t there.
Okay that being said. I find out that Monique, Olesya, and Vanessa are located in the bleachers behind me. They are sitting together up near the top of the bleachers with Vanessa directly behind me and the other two girls on each side of her. How they slipped by me I do not know. Probably during one of my many trips to the bathroom. Anyhoo, they were back there and the only way I found this out was when Kenny yelled up to them and asked if they were ready. I about died.
Then Kenny explained to us that, in this scene Troy would be passed the ball, remember they are fighting to come back and win. We all had to be up on our feet chanting and yelling like crazy to boost our team to get them going, so we were all yelling and the sound track is blasting on speakers all over the gym and the players are moving the ball around the court choreographed to the beat of the music and Troy gets passed the ball, I think by Corbin.
But he is aggressively fouled out of bounds and knocked on his butt but by a WH player. This play takes place at the other end of the gym near his own teams chairs so still on my side of the gym. So he is at opposite ends of the bleacher section from where Vanessa is sitting. Kenny states that when the music instantly stops we will then only hear the sound of a heart beating over the speakers, it’s Zac’s heart beat. He then wants us all to be quiet and he wants us to s-l-o-w-l-e-y sit back down in our seats. Corbin runs over to help Troy up and ask if he was ok, you don’t hear anyone’s voice at this point just the exchange between them all you can hear is Troy’s heart beat. he is slow getting up, but nods his head to Corbin that he is ok. He then slowly turns to look at his Dad who is also asking the same question. Same voiceless exchange. He puts his thumb up and nods yes to Dad. He is disillusioned because he thinks Vanessa is not at the game, he’s sweaty and tired and slowly lifts his head to look up in the stands. At that point the sound track starts to play music its got a pretty fast beat and we are told by Kenny at the start of the music the fans starting at the end of the bleacher nearest to Zac, we will start flipping our cards in a “wave” motion in time with the music. (it’s fast flipping let me tell ya) When we do our wave of the cards the bleachers reveal a full red back ground with white paw prints that look like the paw prints are walking across the bleachers with the red background that’s why extras including Tay were sitting in the aisle steps, they didn’t want aisle steps to break up the red background. And as we are flipping the cards and the white paw prints are walking across the bleachers they lead up to where Vanessa is sitting. I know, try to imagine it, but when you see, it’s really cool. So Zac’s line of vision is following the cards and the paw prints across the bleachers and when the last paw print is turned up, which is right by Vanessa she stands up and she is revealed so that he can see her. At this point the fast music stops and the lights go way down, almost dark and a spot light is shined on Vanessa and Zac its like they are the only two in the whole world at that point and they can only see and hear each other. The camera is on her and she yells “Troy” but it’s long and drawn out like Trooooy and it is more like she is singing his name. I wish I could give you the tune but I know nothing about music. And then the camera goes back to him and he answers her as he places his arm across his chest and his hand is in a fist over his heart. There is pain in his face as he sings these words back to her, it‘s a slow beat:
‘I can hardly breathe’ (there is emphasis on “hardly” being a two syllable word like har-dly. the words ”I” and “breathe” are drawn out)
And she responds:
‘Just know that I believe’ ( with emphasis on the first syllable “be” and the second syllable “lieve” drawn out and its sung softly)
He sings:
‘You give me the strength I need.’ (emphasis on the words “give me” and again the word “need” is sung long)
And then she sings:
‘Then come on!’ (that’s sung quickly and louder than her last verse)
And then he gets a big smile on his face and sings:
‘Yah, come on, get up, let’s get going’ ( I’m not too sure about this last verse but “get up” is sung louder than the rest)
And he does this little jump up thing and turns his body to jump back into the game. The gym lights blast on and the fast music starts playing again and we the crowd do our flip of the cards to reveal the other side of the card so now the bleachers are all white with the saying “Go Wildcats” in red and then all of us jump up and start screaming as he runs back into the game with renewed strength.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:04 pm
thats so cute of them looking for each other
May 21st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
love it.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
It’s so bad but I really want to know all of those spoilers, lol!
May 21st, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I love that we are getting a behind the scenes look at the movie. I love how Zac and Vanessa do subtle things like look for each other
Looking forward to the next post.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I’ve said it before Kim, and I’ll repeat my gratitude again~~~. Thank you soooo MUCH for sharing the experience. Because of you….there’s that spark that’s making me somewhat excited to see it. ^^ Thanks~~
May 21st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
i really want the spoilers you have no idea plz and is there anyway i can contact kim? thanks
May 21st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I love and I am thankful for all the scoop and all but isn’t it a tab bit unfair that the moderators or whoever ZA edited this gets to see the spoilers but the readers can’t?
May 21st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Too Those with Concerns,
Take a moment to step out of your shoes and think of both Kim and the ZA administrator’s position.
This story was shared with us days ago. We did not immediately blog and/or share, in order to discuss with Kim and amongst ourselves how to handle this delicate (read: legality) nature, given that this film is still in production.
The ZA blog with NOT contribute to leaking information regarding High School Musical 3 plot or scenarios. Incessant persistence will not prevail.
We are going to continue on this path. Further questions, complaints, pleas, and negativity toward the ZA admin team will be ignored.
If maturity fails to ensue, any and all previously mentioned sections to come will cease, and the comments section will be closed. The choice is up to you guys. Don’t let greed ruin this for everyone.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Hey guys,
We did not edit her post that much because we wanted our readers to feel the excitement she felt (which we also felt when we read them). We took out the spoilers because she signed a contract, and we respect that and we thank her that she gave us that trust. We figured that by just omitting the spoilers, you the readers and fans of HSM will get more excited for the movie and will be more pump to watch it. We did not meant this to be something that all of you would agonize over. We’re sadden that some of you feel that we are doing this for a different reason, when since the beginning…we started this fan encounter page a long time ago as something that we can gush over.
As a reader of fan encounters, I like to be able to experience how the fan felt when they met Zac and Vanessa. So, we were happy that Kim took the time to actually tell us everything. Unfortunately, Kim and her daughter DID sign a contract. We would love to leave her experience the way she wrote it, but we can’t. Please just wait until HSM3 is available in theaters and we will post the whole beautiful tale here. For now, just enjoy what she has freely given us.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:21 am
thanks i love hsm and zanessa good job
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
I was there too and I think too much is being said even without the spoilers–Kim should have provided a less detailed post as it reveals too much. Sorry, Kim, but I disagree with what you are doing.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:18 am
I think you’ve done a great job creating the atmosphere and I thank you for not giving away any secrets that would spoil it for the majority. Patience is a virtue of which I admit I have very little lol! but I think I can wait until October. Thanks Kim for sharing your experience.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Don’t get me wrong, even without the spoilers, you can feel the excitement just by reading Kim’s account. And I am thankful that she shared it with us. But just like you guys said, Kim and her daughter signed a contract, one that they already violated since the mod who edited this already read said spoilers. I think that some of the fans desire to read the spoilers isn’t because of lack of maturity, its human nature. In a way, you tease the readers and seeing all the “Edited for spoilers” is piqueing our interests so its only natural that we want more, more, more. Its easier to say “Patience is a virtue” when you’ve already seen what the others haven’t.
I think it would have been better if you didn’t tell us that you knew the spoilers in the first place, that the story was just purely about the experience with no hints of movie details. That way, we’ll still get that excitement of what it feels like being an extra and this whole spoilers issue wouldn’t come about.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:38 am
Plz take remove THE ZA ANGELS WRITE OFF from the left side of the page, it’s very irritating to try and read your articles and having not being able to move it or you’ll need to move the article up so to get it out of the way. Thank You. Just LOVE all your hard work and outstanding presentation for this site I visit every day and it just makes my day; your crew are so updated and don’t skip a beat. Just praying that Zac and Vanessa at least grow with each other a few more years it’ll be mighty sad should they part after the movie is finished.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:48 am
Kim, thanks for sharing this with us. I think you did a great job explaining without revealing too much info about the movie. We just want an idea of what is was like and if you saw any cute Zanessa moments. I think that is all any of us really need to know. Thanks again for your thoughts and your time. I’m sure you had a blast; I know I would.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Wow, so many of you are bitching and moaning. If you don’t like how things have been done and want to whine about how unfair this and that is then STOP READING! And what’s funny is you come back to bitch again! Do us all a favor and SHUT UP!
If the ones doingthe complaining ruin this for everyone else who can just say thank you and be gratfeul, I’ll be pissed. Seriously, if you dont like how things areworded, then go visit another site. the only ones wanting more are the ones who need to GROW UP.
Thank you Kim for sharing. and unlike everyone else crying, i don’t care if there are alerts of spoilers.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I respect you for removing the spoilers. Very professional of you.
And I think it is extremely tacky of anyone to demand that you e-mail the entire story to her/him.
Tacky and immature.
Keep up the good work.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Kim, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! I really enjoyed reading about your HSM3 weekend! I appreciate you taking the time to let all of us HSM and Zac & Vanessa fans experience the filming through your eyes! Thank you also for keeping a look out on the interactions between our favorite couple! Thanks again, and now I’m anxiously waiting for PART 3!
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Reply to ‘Meg’
The ZA admin and Kim have done a great job with this post. I would be surprised to hear how you think Kim has ‘revealed too much’ as we all know there will be a game shot as part of HSM3. We all know this consists of cheerleaders, bball players and exited crowd scenes, as well as the usual dancing and singing.
Your saying you were an extra too yeh? Well for you not to be controdicting yourself must mean you haven’t told ANYONE, not even parents, BFF’s etc ANYTHING about the whole weekend.
A film Daily Background Artist’s agreement usually states, amonst many other things; the DBA agrees not to divulge or disclose any information regarding or relating to the films plot, characters, costume props set etc.
ZA admin have omitted ANYTHING which relates to this. The encounter is purely made up of Kim & her daughters views and observations of life on the set.
I know many things about agreement and contracts for films as I currently work as an assistant in costume department, an extras contract is actually only a small part of mine, as I am on set full time I have a stricter contract, I can litrally say what film I am / have worked on and comment on the personal aspect of it, ie ‘so and so is a really nice actor to work with’ until the film comes out. I worked on MAOW with Zac, and yeh he’s a nice guy!!
Maybe your just miffed that Kim told ZA before you ?! If you don’t like what your reading, simply dont read it!
Sorry for everyone who is being mature about this it just I feel this comment needed clearing up !!
Well done ZA and Kim – can’t wait tll part 3! xx
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
so when is part 3 coming?
May 25th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
BTW thanks Lauren I really appreciate your comment. Meg I’m sorry you feel this way. As far as giving away too much, everyone knows this is a HSM movie. A movie about high school. Even people who have never seen the first two movies common sense would prevail with anyone who had any brains it probably would have a game in it which includes cheerleaders, and it’s a musical (hmmm….. probably will contain dancing and singing) besides the fact that there is prom a scene (which Disney put out there and is widely known.) Honestly that is the only thing I’ve talked about is the fact that there is a game.