Or something to that effect. I came across an article at Get the Big Picture about the state of Disney's cash cows child stars. Actually, it's more of a prediction on where Zac Efron's career is headed.
This weekend Efron's new comedy, 17 Again (which by many accounts isn't terrible) goes head to head with Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana movie. 17 Again isn't a Disney film, and unlike his supporting turn in Hairspray, Efron is the star of the film, and it doesn't involve singing and dancing. I think this is the first time in a while, that one of Disney's stars has gotten a chance to be the lead in a film that Disney hasn't produced. If I remember correctly, the last kid to do that successfully was Shia LaBeouf, and by a much lesser extent Ryan Gosling. So, this is Efron's chance to branch out, and Colin Boyd from Get the Big Picture thinks:
Efron's in a different position than most, in that he could be famous without Disney's help because he's talented and possesses whatever that thing is that makes people stars. I don't expect 17 Again to blow the doors off its opening weekend, but I do think it will wear the crown on Monday morning...Might be $17 [million], might go up to $22. But could it do that without Zac Efron? Not a chance. As for Hannah, she'll have a sophmore slump, but we saw that coming as the Saturday and Sunday figures rolled in last week.
This Miley vs. Zac matchup has me wondering about Efron's fate. On one hand it looks like Efron will probably have a great deal of success, because of a company that's brilliant at cranking out stars. But it seems that Efron no longer needs that company to be successful, which makes his transition to adult actor intersting. Where does the kid go from here? Does he slowly evolve into a so-called serious actor (which can be more of a risk, as far as box office is concerned) or does he stick to very safe movies, that are likely to be successful? After dropping out of the remake of Footloose, we'll obviously have to see what happens. 17 Again looks like the first step to a career that was much more predictable half a year ago.
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Disney really does need Zac more, however it seems like he is budding into much more of a star then Disney could have ever made him.
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