The tween heartthrobs of "High School Musical" will dance and sing their way back to Utah to film the third installment of the blockbuster Disney franchise, it was confirmed Friday. Shooting begins April 21 and is expected to wrap June 13, according to documents filed with the Governor's Office of Economic Development board (GOED). While the first two films premiered on the Disney Channel television network, the new movie, scheduled for release sometime in the second half of 2008, will debut in movie theaters. "[The third] 'High School Musical' will be officially shooting in Utah," Lisa Roskelly, spokeswoman for Gov. John Huntsman Jr., said Friday. To help lure the production back to where it all began - at Salt Lake City's East High School - the GOED board Friday approved a maximum $2 million incentive for the production, the largest ever given to entice a filmmaker to Utah. Disney officials and Don Schain, the Salt Lake City-based producer of the first two films, declined to comment Friday. But East High School Principal Paul Sagers said he and Salt Lake City School District officials have been meeting with Disney executives about renting the East High building for filming. Shooting is scheduled for 41 days, longer than the first two movies. "At least verbally we all committed to doing that," he said. "They've basically asked to use the classrooms, the halls, the gyms . . . and the commons area [the lunch room]."
'HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3' SHOOTING DATE CONFIRMED
The tween heartthrobs of "High School Musical" will dance and sing their way back to Utah to film the third installment of the blockbuster Disney franchise, it was confirmed Friday. Shooting begins April 21 and is expected to wrap June 13, according to documents filed with the Governor's Office of Economic Development board (GOED). While the first two films premiered on the Disney Channel television network, the new movie, scheduled for release sometime in the second half of 2008, will debut in movie theaters. "[The third] 'High School Musical' will be officially shooting in Utah," Lisa Roskelly, spokeswoman for Gov. John Huntsman Jr., said Friday. To help lure the production back to where it all began - at Salt Lake City's East High School - the GOED board Friday approved a maximum $2 million incentive for the production, the largest ever given to entice a filmmaker to Utah. Disney officials and Don Schain, the Salt Lake City-based producer of the first two films, declined to comment Friday. But East High School Principal Paul Sagers said he and Salt Lake City School District officials have been meeting with Disney executives about renting the East High building for filming. Shooting is scheduled for 41 days, longer than the first two movies. "At least verbally we all committed to doing that," he said. "They've basically asked to use the classrooms, the halls, the gyms . . . and the commons area [the lunch room]."
