Production on "High School Musical 3" is still a few months off, but
cast member Olesya Rulin knows she better get in shape quickly.
Indeed,
Rulin, who played the meek composer Kelsi Nielsen in the previous two
"High School Musical" movies, says she's going to take a month
physically preparing for the new film.
"'High School Musical 3' is going to kick my butt," said Rulin. "I got to get toned and be more aware of my body."
"High
School Musical 3" is set to begin production in the spring, with the
entire cast back for what's set to be the last chapter in the series.
The kids of East High will be back in school for their final year. The
film is expected to hit theaters in the fall.
Rulin and the
rest of the cast can be seen tonight starting at 6 when the Disney
Channel airs sing-along versions of "HSM" and "HSM2," which include the
lyrics to each song on the screen for the few fans who don't know every
word already.
Rulin said she has a feeling producer Kenny
Ortega is going to be even more intense with the dance routines in
"HSM3" compared to "HSM2," which had more dancing than the original.
"I'm
a ballerina, I don't do hip hop," Rulin said during a break from
snowboarding in Utah. "I have a sense we're going to be dancing more.
It's going to be a theatrical release. I just want to make sure my body
is strong. I have a fear of getting comfortable."
Comfortable
doesn't come easy for Rulin. She was born in the former USSR, and spent
her early childhood in a poor 12-house village. Her father emigrated to
the United States in the early '90s, leaving her mother, brother and
her behind. Two years later, the family moved to Texas and, then,
eventually to Utah.
She was cast in the first "HSM" right out
of high school. Even after "HSM" debuted, she continued working at a
Nordstrom's where, occasionally, she was spotted by fans of the movie.
And,
when the second film was being cast, she was in Paris, studying
economics. "I was superpoor, I was stealing Internet," she said,
laughing.
Then Ortega called for her to appear in the second film.
"Now, it's just been like a crazy thrill ride," she said.
Indeed, Rulin just finished working on "Major Movie Star" with Jessica Simpson and "Flying By" with Billy Ray Cyrus.
Thanks
to her work in the "HSM" films, Rulin moved to Los Angeles to act
full-time. Before, she'd considered it a side job. Now, she's using her
education in business and marketing to sell herself to producers and
viewers.
The biggest change, she said, has been worrying about her privacy.
"This
is a dream job," she said. "But I have to be careful to make sure I
don't have things on the Internet. And I can't just roll out of bed and
go to the grocery store in my pajamas."
Source: NY Daily News
Olesya Rulin signs her name on a tee before she heads off to run in the Youth Run 4 Haiti on Saturday afternoon (January 23) in Santa Monica, Calif.
