NEW YORK, NY (Newsweek) - Behind the spectacular success of Disney's basic-cable TV movie "High School Musical," there's also the story of a mold-shattering corporate strategy, reports Senior Writer Johnnie L. Roberts in the July 24 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, July 17). With nearly 40 million unique viewers, a top-selling soundtrack, six Emmy nominations and a sequel and other spin-offs in the works, "
High School Musical" ("HSM") is the latest and so far greatest product of Disney's star machine, which is actually a nifty reinvention of the Hollywood studio system of the 1940s, when powerful bosses locked up talent for years with onerous contracts and supervised every detail of their actors' lives. Disney mints child stars, carefully identifying and developing talented, but largely unknown actors. And because of Disney's meticulous attention to casting, its current stars are unlikely to morph into Britney "Oops I did it again" Spears, a onetime Mouseketeer. "They don't have to watch over me," says Ashley Tisdale, who plays Sharpay. "Disney knows who I am." She adds: "I'm not into the club scene. You won't see me go over the edgy edge. I will always be wholesome." And while there's nothing in any contract about not staying out late on the Sunset Strip, there does seem to be an unspoken understanding. "I don't want to be seen buying cigarettes and liquor," says
Zac Efron (Troy). "It wouldn't be a smart move to be out doing promiscuous things."
The synergistic spectacular that is "HSM" caps an equally spectacular rebound for Walt Disney Co. from the last tumultuous years of CEO Michael Eisner's reign. In a note to clients last week, Goldman Sachs research analyst Anthony Noto estimated that "HSM" soundtrack sales plus the box office for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" could add the equivalent of an extra three cents a share to Disney's 2007 earnings. Disney had been playing to rave reviews overall on Wall Street, with its stock price up about 20 percent this year. Then last week reports surfaced about a looming and deep retrenchment in the movie division, and later Disney's stock shed some of its hefty gains after one Wall Street analyst surmised that the company can't possibly repeat this year's brilliant performance in its next fiscal year.
The stage was set for "HSM" a decade ago with Disney's hiring of Anne Sweeney. A former top exec at rival Nickelodeon, Sweeney was charged with remaking the Disney Channel, then a pay-TV service in 18 million homes. Aided by other recruits from Nickelodeon, including the Disney Channel's current top boss, Rich Ross, Sweeney sped up the network's switch to basic cable (87 million U.S. homes now), expanded worldwide, targeted tweens and programmed "kid-driven, family-friendly shows." "Parents can come into the room and not be embarrassed" by what the kids are watching, says Sweeney, now boss of Disney's overall television business, including Disney Channel and ABC.
But Disney also realized it was missing out on a big piece of the pie that was a natural for its audience. By airing concerts, it was helping launch music acts with no Disney affiliation, including Backstreet Boys and LeAnn Rimes, into superstardom. "People said, 'My God, look at all those stars,'" recalls Disney Channel head Ross. Adds Gary Marsh, president of entertainment: "We decided to do music to serve our brands." Enter Borden, executive producer of "HSM." "I wanted to make a movie that we could watch over and over as a family," says the father of three. "The nature of the characters is right out of mythological storytelling. It is classical 'Romeo and Juliet,' searching for one's identity ... cliques in society and how you have to behave." But because of "HSM" 's simple storyline and music, the movie ended up luring 4- and 5-year-olds, too, he says, adding, "the energy of the movie is so clean, simple and good." (Read entire story at https://www.Newsweek.com. Click "Pressroom" for news releases.)
