Round up
Journalist Neil Strauss released his new book "Everyone Loves You When You're Dead" this week, in which he details the best of his interviews including Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Ozzy Obourne, Tom Cruise, Zac Efron, Prince and Britney Spears.
Maria got the book and was nice enough to type Zac's part up for us -- thanks for that! It is from his 2007 interview with Rolling Stone.
At the time of this interview, Zac Efron ruled the world -- or at least the prepubescent world, thanks to his heartthrob role in Disney’s High School Musical. Yet he was surprisingly unaffected. “I have never done interviews like this before,” he confessed when we met at a North Hollywood diner. “I’m still so new to this.”
The nineteen-year-old actor was living by himself in a small, cluttered apartment nearby and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Although this seems like a recipe for disaster -- a teen star living on his own just a few miles from dozens of Hollywood clubs -- Efron showed no signs of following in the footsteps of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. But that didn’t mean he was an angel, either, as I learned the following day over a golf game at a small local course.
ZAC EFRON: There’s people, by the way, all over the golf course, on the edges, probably taking pictures of us right now.
STRAUSS: Paparazzi?
EFRON: I think so. They were following me from my house. I just drove straight down Riverside, so I don’t think I lost them. Normally I make a few laps, but I thought I was late.
STRAUSS: Thanks for making the sacrifice.
EFRON: They find you anyway, because they work in teams.
STRAUSS: Some people say that the secret to avoiding scandal is not to be hypocritical. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to lose.
EFRON: Which puts me in a funny place at night.
STRAUSS: So how have you managed to avoid being scandalized then?
EFRON: You know, I’m nineteen. It’s not my aspiration to be the next rock star. I’m not going to be partying on tour buses with Poison. I’m the same age as some other people who are dealing with scandals and stuff, but it’s easy to have fun at our age. I just don’t think you have to do it at three a.m. in the Viper Room. What’s the point?
STRAUSS: See, you’ve just proven that you never go there, because the Viper Room closes at two a.m.
EFRON: Literally, I’ve never been. Actually, you know what’s funny is: I have no been in a Hollywood club. I don’t even have a fake ID. But I’ve got friends out here and we do what kids our age are doing. We just don’t need people taking photos of us and spreading it everywhere.
STRAUSS: Other people need the validation of the public, and they don’t care whether it comes from appreciation of their creative work or a photo in a gossip magazine.
EFRON: Exactly. A lot of problems you see people having in this business ins that it becomes about their personal lives and not about their work. I never want to contribute to those magazines. Matthew McConaughey has single-handedly funded the tabloid magazines for the past two year now. Single-handedly. IF he would put on a shirt and just get away from the beach, maybe there would be a few less paparazzi around.
STRAUSS: If you think about it, McConaughey’s parents had a volatile relationship and Paris Hilton’s parents were never really around for her. Perhaps because you come from a stable family that you know will always be there for you, you don’t need the outside validation as much.
EFRON: That’s huge. Some people don’t have that. And when you’ve got a dad and a mom and a little brother who are constantly poking fun at your imperfections and laughing with you and joking with you and doing things that a family should do, it’s impossible to get a big head. There’s nothing better than being able to go home and escape and literally not speak of Los Angeles for two days.
STRAUSS: One day you’re going to have to research a role about a guy who’s a party animals, and then have to --
EFRON: And then I would party. That would be a chance for me to break the rules. When that moment comes, and I’m playing the high school kid at a party, believe me, I’m going to know what to do -- (emphatically) believe me, I’ll know what to do. (Looks up at the sun.) I’m probably getting too much sun right now. It starts to look fake. I don’t like to be super tan. (Moves into the shade.)
STRAUSS: Who are some of the actors you admire?
EFRON: Tom Cruise is huge. He’s worked with everyone. And they praise Tom Cruise because of his work ethic, because he, you know, gives 110 percent everywhere he goes. He’s constantly growing as an actor, and every project that he does he’s learning new things. “Mission: Impossible” and all those movies that he does, a lot of the stunts are really done by him.
STRAUSS: That’s true. I did an article on him and he took me to motorcycle wheelie school because he was practicing to jump a trailer for “Mission: Impossible.”
EFRON: Are you serious?
Robot Chicken: Star Wars III on DVD/Blu-Ray on July 12, 2011
Adultswim announced the DVD/Blu-Ray release for RCSW3 today. I've seen no specific info if Zac is featured on the extras so far but we might hear more about that closer to the release date. This are the extras coming with the DVD/Blu-Ray:
* Sunday in the Boardroom with George
* Chicken Nuggets (sketch by sketch video commentary
* Behind-the-Scenes
* Voice Recording Featurette
* Skywalker Ranch Premiere Trip
* Star Wars Celebration V Robot Chicken Panel
* Writer's Room Featurette
* Deleted Animatics With Video Intros
* Audio Commentaries
Additionally, the Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III Blu-ray Disc will contain two exclusive features including Time Lapses of Animation and a Seth Green Animation reference.
Today, the participation of Taylor Swift in The Lorax as Ted's girlfriend Audrey made the rounds in the trades. We already knew about it early February but we did get a first pic of Taylor's character and an updated logline & character descriptions in the press release:
The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is the third feature created by Illumination and Universal and will be released March 2, 2012.
Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic young boy who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Audrey, the girl of Ted's dreams. Rob Riggle will play financial king O'Hare, and beloved actress Betty White has signed on to portray Ted's wise Grammy Norma.