Disney revives ‘High School Musical’ with open casting call

The Disney Channel is reviving “High School Musical.”

The channel said Tuesday it’s starting a nationwide casting search for the latest sequel in the hit TV movie franchise.

“High School Musical 4″ will introduce new East High Wildcats and their cross-town rivals, the West High Knights, the channel said.

The cast of the original 2006 movie included Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu. The sequel comes amid network TV’s fixation on musicals, with projects ranging from NBC’s “The Sound of Music” to Fox’s “Grease,” which starred Hudgens.

The Disney Channel said details about upcoming open casting calls will be available online soon at www.disneychannel.com/opencall .

An air date for “High School Musical 4″ was not announced

Kym Johnson Gets Wedding Proposal By Way Of Swan

Dancing with the Stars partners Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson attended the 2016 Oscar’s after-party as an engaged couple. Herjavec proposed to Johnson on February 27 with the help of a swan!

Just a day after their engagement, HollywoodLife.com caught up with the happy couple at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar’s party and Herjavec revealed his elaborate wedding proposal.

“We went to the house and I had rose petals going up to the pool. In the pool was a big swan and on the swan was a box,” Herjavec recently told HollywoodLife.com. “She pulled the swan in, opened the box, and I said, ‘Actually that’s not for you. That’s for me.’ And I opened the box and the ring was inside. And I said, ‘Will you marry me?'”

The 39-year-old Johnson could not help but gush over the romantic proposal and said that she feels like she is “still on cloud nine.”  “I can't quite believe it,” she shared to Inside Edition as she and her fiancé headed to the Elton’s Oscar’s Party.

Oscar shines on 'Spotlight'

 "Spotlight" is basking in the golden glow of Oscar.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" may have won more honors at the 88th Academy Awards, leading all films with six. "The Revenant" won some major prizes, including the first Oscar for actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

But when the last award of the evening was read, it was the little film about Boston Globe investigative reporters digging into a sex abuse scandal involving Catholic priests that was left standing.


"This film gave a voice to survivors," producer Michael Sugar said. "And this film amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican."

It was one of just two awards "Spotlight" took home. The film also won for Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer's original screenplay.

But until that moment, it looked like "Revenant," about a vengeful trapper in the 1820s, was going to go all the way. 

Anomalisa: Inside the studio behind this year's unlikeliest Oscar contender

Filming a sex scene is usually a nervy affair on set. Most of the crew will be shut out, the heating turned up, and bath robes are always close to hand.

The stars of "Anomalisa" received no such treatment -- and theirs lasted a grueling four months.

Eleven inches high and made from silicon, Michael Stone and Lisa Hesselman are the center of what might just be this year's unlikeliest contender for Academy Awards glory. Nominated for Best Animated Feature, "Anomalisa" enters the fray as winner of The Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival -- remarkable considering it was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign.

Or perhaps not, considering the wattage behind the stop-motion film's cast and crew. Written by Charlie Kaufman ("Synecdoche, New York", "Being John Malkovich") and co-directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson ("Frankenhole"), it enlisted David Thewlis and the Oscar-nominated Jennifer Jason Leigh on voice acting duties.

However, arguably the real heroes of this surprise hit are its animators: the tinkerers, the teasers, the artists who after a ten-hour day would walk away with two and a half seconds of useable footage. An animated feature with a distinctly adult tilt, they had to negotiate boobs, bums and detachable penises, whilst remaining true to Kaufman's tender and touching vision.

CNN Style sat down with animation supervisor Dan Driscoll to discover how they created this year's most heartfelt film.

Zayn Malik puckers up with Gigi Hadid in this adorable polaroid pic

Zayn Malik is sharing more and more about his romance with model-of-the-moment Gigi Hadid.

After initially being coy about their relationship, he posted this PDA-filled picture-in-picture of him getting cosy with his GF on Instagram.

In the black and white pic the former One Direction band member smooches a smiling Gigi.

It’s not the first time that Zayn has shared PDA with Gigi.

The model is the star of Pillowtalk, Zayn’s first solo music video, and the pair shared plenty of seductive moments for the camera but the couple kept their relationship quiet until Zayn confirmed it in a radio interview a week later.

Gigi has already shared this adorable snap of her man cuddling this capi.

Obama noticeably absent from Antonin Scalia’s funeral

President Obama drew sharp criticism Sunday for failing to attend the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

“The president’s absence at Justice Scalia’s funeral is a slight to the Italian-American community,” fumed Neil Mattera, president of the New York-based Columbus Alliance.

Bronx-born actor Chazz Palminteri agreed.

“Historic firsts are important,” he fumed. “Justice Scalia was the first Italian-American on the Supreme Court. It would have been nice if the President of the United States would have recognized its importance to the community.”

Obama stayed home Saturday as mourners paid their respects at Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He dispatched Vice President Biden instead to honor Scalia, who served on the court for 30 years until his sudden death last weekend while on a hunting trip in Texas.

“Italian-Americans take paying respects at funerals very seriously,” said Philip Foglia, vice president of the Italian-American Museum. “Justice Scalia was a milestone for the community. The president’s absence was disappointing and ill advised.”

Scalia was born in Trenton, NJ, and attended grade school in Queens and high school in Manhattan before becoming the leading conservative voice on the high court.

“Only President Obama could turn a funeral into a partisan event,” said Adele Malpass, Manhattan’s GOP chairwoman. “He has once again missed an opportunity to bridge a partisan divide and chooses to divide people instead of bringing people together even when it comes to the funeral of a statesman.”
Pallbearers carry the casket of late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia down the steps of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.Photo: Getty Images

Manhattan resident Betty Ann Hogan added: “He was a Supreme Court justice. I’m sure if the situation were reversed and Obama died and Justice Scalia were alive that he would have gone to his funeral. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Obama and the First Lady paid their respects Friday at the Supreme Court, where Scalia’s body lied in repose.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Biden went because the vice president has a longstanding relationship with Scalia’s family and his “security footprint is a little lighter.”

Kanye West Begs Mark Zuckerberg For Help After Revealing $53 Million Debt

Oh Yeezy! Kanye West jumped on Twitter in the late hours of Sunday, February 14, to beg Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbeg to bail him out of his $53 million debt.


As Us Weekly reported previously, "The Life of Pablo" hitmaker had revealed the extent of his personal debut during a Twitter rant the day before, asking fans to pray that he can overcome his financial crisis.

By Sunday, the controversial rapper, who's been making headlines this past week thanks to his NSFW Taylor Swift lyrics, was back online, but this time he'd figured out a solution to his debt issues -- and Zuckerberg, it, seemed, was the answer.

“Mark Zuckerberg I know it’s your bday but can you please call me by 2mrw..." the 38-year-old dad-of-two tweeted. “You love hip hop, you love my art... I am your favorite artist but you watch me barely breathe and still play my album in your house...”