Commence Shrieking: Zac Efron Is Back for ‘Senior Year’!

Efron’s Musical Career Continues: Zac Efron’s sweet delectable awesomeness will blast out of your TV and splatter all over the silver screen in Kenny Ortega’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the first of the franchise to score a theatrical release. (Vanessa Hudgens too, fellas, relax.) [Variety]

Hudgens Will Enunciate: Speaking of Hudgens, Tweenmerica’s Sweetheart also signs on to Todd Graff’s drama Will, about a group of high-school misfits who start a rock band. Hudgens will reportedly play “a 15-year-old former stutterer now speaking slowly and deliberately,� which should be hilarious for up to several minutes. [HR]

Theron Takes to The Road: Charlize Theron takes on the role of Viggo Mortensen’s wife, seen only in flashbacks, in John Hilcoat’s feature film of Cormac McCarthy’s hit postapocalyptic novel The Road. Though it’s a small role, it’s a potent one, and Hilcoat beautifully showcased Emily Watson in a similar role in 2005’s The Proposition. Be warned, though: This one scores high even on McCarthy’s Bleakometer. [Variety]

Barrymore, Mystery Star to Whip It: In an interview, novelist Shauna Cross discusses Drew Barrymore’s forthcoming feature adaptation of her novel Derby Girl, re-titled Whip It for the screen and possibly set to star, in Cross’s words, “an actress whose name rhymes with ‘Shmellan Shmage,’� which could theoretically refer to the young lead of the current hit comedy Shmuno, in which her character chooses not to get a shmashmortion. [Film School Rejects]

Missy, Flo Rida Step Up: Atlantic releases the soundtrack to the hilariously titled Step Up sequel Step Up 2 the Streets, featuring the Flo Rida hit “Low� as well as two new tracks from Missy Elliott titled “Ching-A-Ling� and “Shake Your Pom Pom,� both of which suggest that Elliott is in fine form. [Billboard]

Bates, Smith Stand Still: Kathy Bates and Jaden “Son of Will� Smith join Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly in 20th Century Fox’s remake of the sci-fi epic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Good to see little Jaden getting his Earth-saving smart-ass training early, so he can skip the embarrassing hip-hop and sitcom careers. [Bloody Disgusting]