By now, it’s a familiar tune; that is, the former struggling Disney masses yearning to break free. So it’s no surprise that the High School Musical lead stars are having a heck of a time doing so. It certainly doesn’t help that Zac Efron and Vanessa “Publicity Boobs” Hudgens dated for years, thereby solifidying their own reputations as 24-hour Disney beards standbys. For his part, Efron has been making some halfway decent efforts to establish himself outside the franchise even if “halfway decent” just isn’t enough when charisma and talent fail completely. Still, I have to respect that he hasn’t been badmouthing the movies that brought him to the public’s awareness in the first place. Also, he loves to read the blogs, unlike his ex-girlfriend, who has completely gone the way of the whining, unappreciative species.

Perhaps Hudgens is merely frustrated that her movie career isn’t taking off. Neither Sucker Punch nor Beastly fared well at the box office, and I don’t know a single person who even briefly considered watching Bandslam. One day soon, she’ll get naked for what she considers to be an amazing movie. Still, we’ve seen it already, and girlfriend needs to bring something else to the table, and fast. For some unknown reason (Sucker Punch has been out for weeks already), Hudgens has done a new interview with latimes.com. in which she talks about being such a “very present person” that leaves all of the big choices “up to fate.” And the clichés don’t stop there:

On Her Tween Fanbase: “Teenagers come up to me and are obnoxious about the whole thing, like, ‘Oh my God, you’re that girl! You’re that girl from the Disney Channel.’ And I’m like, ‘I was that girl,’” she said, twirling a strand of her hair.

On Zac Efron: Another moniker she’s eager to drop? “Zac Efron’s girlfriend.” Or, make that ex-girlfriend: In December, she and her former “Musical” costar broke up after a years-long, much-publicized relationship. “It was interesting,” she said of being half of such a high-profile couple. “But we got to a point where it was just like, we just can’t pay attention, because one week we’d be married and then the next week we’d be broken up and the next week I would have a baby. It was just the most obscene things.”

On Her Nude Photos: “It’s just silly because I’m a very present person, and that’s the thing that has been so in the past.” she said, burying her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie sweatshirt: “The fact that somebody keeps bringing up the past is just selfish. I mean, it sucks. I already released a statement the first time it happened. It’s just unfortunate that it keeps reminding people about the past and not the present.”

On Empowerment: Despite the release of the embarrassingly racy photos, Hudgens said she felt comfortable donning risqué costumes in “Sucker Punch” because she found the movie’s underlying message empowering. “I was in the best shape of my life, so why not? The woman’s body is a beautiful thing. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t, like, be our best in our costumes.”

On Her New Age Philosophy: “It has honestly changed me, almost,” the actress said, pulling a cap down over her eyes that was bedazzled with rhinestones spelling out the word “Faith.”

On Being A Woman In Hollywood: “You really have to stay strong, because times get tough. Especially in this business. It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” she said. “There’s so many amazing actresses who got taken advantage of. Someone like Natalie Wood, one of my idols — who knows what happened to her? She was on a boat that was mysteriously in the water, and now she’s dead. A lot of women get walked all over on by not standing up for themselves, and that’s just not what I’m about. I’m figuring myself out now as a young adult more than I ever have. It’s like my eyes are opening and I’m awakening to controlling my future.”

[From latimes.com]

LMAO. I just love how she calls people “selfish” for repeatedly bringing up the fact that she predictably drops a new batch of nude photos every time she has a movie coming out. How about how her co-stars feel about the fact that Vanessa’s boobs overshadow an entire film’s production to the point where people don’t even want to see her boobs fully dressed onscreen? Oh right, I forgot that those pictures aren’t her fault because they’re the work of those two ex-friends who obsessively leak them. I’m steadily affirming my own opinion of late that anyone who takes nude photos on a cell phone must, to a certain varying degree, want them to be leaked. Especially if that person just happens to be a young, attention-seeking starlet with little to no acting ability.

Photos courtesy of LAT & WENN.

Yesterday we got an e-mail from someone claiming that there was a big conspiracy by some ex friends of Vanessa Hudgens to systematically leak nude photos of her prior to every movie she had coming out. This has happened over three years, where every time Vanessa has a film she needs to promote we just happen to see nude photos of her online. It’s dumb and predictable, but what’s more ridiculous is this long e-mail trying to finger two of Vanessa’s ex friends for it. They sent this to us too, and Kaiser and I looked it over and made the decision not to publish it because it sounded like complete bullsh*t. The Superficial has posted it though, so we may as well add our two cents. This sounds like an excuse Vanessa cooked up. When people make up lies, there’s a tendency to oversell, and this is a definite oversell. I’m not going to include the whole e-mail here – you can read it at The Superficial, but here’s a segment.

In 2006, Kayslee and Alexa were close friends of Vanessa, but they later drifted apart due to Vanessa’s work commitments (The High School Musical movies). Vanessa was especially fond of Alexa, even inviting her to star in her debut music video, to make up for the fact that she had been too busy to spend time with her.

Later that year, Alexa suggested that Vanessa take some racy pictures to keep her boyfriend interested. Vanessa agreed and privately took some naked photos of herself. Kayslee then took photos of Vanessa and Alexa kissing. Alexa and Kayslee took no nude photos of themselves.

Vanessa took more nude photos that year and the next, but she was careful and deleted the pictures from her mobile phone. Vanessa uploaded her pictures to her email account and sent them to her boyfriend, like Alexa had suggested. On one of these occasions, she did this while she was at Alexa’s house. Alexa downloaded the pictures onto her computer when Vanessa accidentally left her email account logged in.

Since September 2007, Alexa and her friend Kayslee have been leaking Vanessa’s pictures every time she has movie coming out. I believe this is because of them being jealous of her successful movie career.

[Received via e-mail, entire version on The Superficial]

I used the social media search tool Spokeo to run the e-mail address this was sent from and it turned up no accounts associated with this address. There was also a Flickr account mentioned in this e-mail to show that one of the girls named here was friends with Hudgens or something. The Flickr account did exist, but there’s no google cache of it and it doesn’t prove anything.

So according to that e-mail, Vanessa wasn’t the one who decided to take those sexy pictures, it was her friend’s idea and her friend’s fault and there’s this big conspiracy to leak the photos to get her publicity before every movie. These girls are just “jealous” of her career, which is such an incredibly predictable cliche excuse.

Then there’s also this drama going on with the story of some ring of hackers allegedly targeting celebrities. (At first TMZ reported it was just women, then their story changed.) TMZ now claims that a bunch of celebrities, sports stars and politicians were victims and the FBI is looking into it. The FBI could be looking into Vanessa’s case, but what does that prove other than the fact that someone contacted them on her behalf? I used to think TMZ was pretty solid when it came to sources, but they regularly run stories from celebrities, like Lohan and Gibson, and act like they’re true without questioning them at all. This story stinks to high heaven.

If this elaborate hacker ring story is true, why haven’t we seen any photos other than Vanessa’s? Granted maybe she had the best ones, but why haven’t we seen any leaked e-mails then? It just seems like yet another smokescreen her people are using to try and deflect from the conclusion that she’s doing this herself. It’s far fetched and doesn’t add up, just like that dumb e-mail. Read what TMZ wrote:

The hackers who are now being investigated by the FBI for allegedly pilfering nude photos and videos of 50 Hollywood celebrities have also been targeting sports stars and D.C.’s most powerful.

Sources connected to the hackers tell TMZ … the cyber-crooks currently have 100 active email addresses of celebrities, politicians and sports stars. We do not know the identity of the sports stars or politicians, but they are all high-profile.

TMZ broke the story … the hackers have snagged nude photos and videos from female stars including Vanessa Hudgens, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, Ali Larter and Demi Lovato. There are no male celebs on the list.

The FBI knows the identity of the ringleader, law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

As for Vanessa Hudgens, our sources say the hackers may have obtained the pictures and videos through a friend who betrayed the actress.

[From TMZ]

So, according to this story there was a ring of hackers and they targeted a bunch of celebrities but Vanessa’s photos are the only ones that got out. Vanessa’s friends knew these hackers and just gave them her photos where the other celebrities whose e-mails and photos we haven’t seen were hacked by the same people. (And even assuming that the “friend’s” e-mail account storing Vanessa’s photos was hacked, how the hell would they know which random e-mail to break into?) Does that make any sense at all? TMZ adds the air of legitimacy to it with the story that the FBI is investigating, but maybe that’s just for Vanessa’s case and the rest of this story is a trumped up excuse.

Photos are from 3/17/11. Credit: Fame

Vanessa Hudgens got some more (possibly desired) attention at the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday night. Dane Cook, feeling it absolutely essential to live up to his reputation as the worst “comedian” of all time, made the world’s lamest, most elementary doi-inducing joke. It was pathetic and meant to poke fun at Hudgens’ second and most recent rash of nekkid photos. Fox cut it out of the broadcast, and now everyone is all atwitter about it.

Those who watched the Teen Choice Awards Monday night still missed one of the show’s most talked about moments.

Dane Cook’s on-stage joke about Vanessa Hudgens’s nude photos was cut from the televised broadcast.

On Sunday, when stars gathered to tape the pre-recorded awards ceremony that aired one day later, the comedian called out the former High School Musical star’s name.

“Girl, you gots to keep your clothes! Phones are for phone calls, girl,” he said, referencing her most recent topless pictures to be leaked online. (Photos of her posing nude in lingerie also surfaced in late 2007, forcing Hudgens to apologize and say she was “embarrassed over the situation.”)

The camera — which panned on her smiling face when he first mentioned the 20-year-old star — zoomed in on her less-than-pleased reaction.

Fox, the network that aired the Teen Choice Awards, cut the clip from Monday’s show.

After the show on Sunday, Cook told Access Hollywood that the joke was a late addition to his bit.

“That’s the best part about being a comic when you go, ‘Maybe I can say the thing that everybody is kind of feeling and nobody [is saying].’ The elephant in the room moment. So, I’ll take it, I’ll take the hit. It’s okay.”

[From Us Magazine]

Wait where was the joke? I read US’s article twice and I can’t find it. Ooooh. There. There it is. That is some gentle comedy. While it was (theoretically) embarrassing to Hudgens, I swear to God the real reason Fox took it out was that it was way more embarrassing to Cook, and highlighted his loser status. I’m pretty sure he’s a self-anointed comedian. I don’t know anyone who’s ever called him that without using “air quotes.” I once heard someone laugh at him, but then she explained it’s because he said it in that “this is funny” tone, and it was her knee-jerk reaction. She was obviously mortified and apologized profusely for the offense.

It seems likely Vanessa released those photos herself, seeing as how her star got so much brighter after the first round of boobie-baring shots, and she’s got a movie being released next week. But that doesn’t mean she actually wants to be embarrassed in front of a couple million people. Really though, I think the thing to be most ashamed of here is being associated with Dane Cook in anyway. Boobies can be fun. Dane Cook cannot.

Here’s Vanessa at the Teen Choice Awards. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Vanessa Hudgens is involved in another mini-scandal over nude photos. Some topless cell phone pictures of the 20 year-old High School Musical star came out earlier this week. These are previously unseen pictures of Vanessa, whose rise to fame was significantly boosted by the leak of frontal nude shots in September, 2007. (Link is safe for work.) We received a legal notice from Hudgen’s attorney in May, 2008 to remove those nude photos so we won’t be publishing the latest ones here. They’re available online, and are on the Huffington Post and Egotastic. WWTDD and The Superficial also posted the photos, and were asked to remove them by Hudgen’s lawyers, who claimed she was underage and only 17 at the time they were taken.

According to E! Online’s Marc Malkin, Vanessa supposedly figured out back when her first set of pictures leaked that it was a stupid idea to take easily identifiable nude pictures of herself. We heard back then that Hudgens was quite fond of sexy self portraits and had even e-mailed some to Drake Bell of Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh.”

Didn’t Vanessa Hudgens learn her lesson about taking naked photos of herself with a camera phone?
With another batch of racy pics of the 20-year-old High School Musical star hitting the web today, Ms. Hudgens finds herself facing Nudie Controversy 2.0

While her camp is staying mum, sources confirm to me that it’s definitely Hudgens in the pics.
However, I’m also told they’re nothing new…

The pics were apparently taken before her first naked photo controversy erupted nearly two years ago. “She learned her lesson,” a source said. “She hasn’t done anything like that since the first ones came out. These new ones are actually old.”

Either way, Hudgens isn’t planning on issuing a statement the way she did the last time around.

“I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me,” she said back in September 2007. “I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos.”

But what about tomorrow night when she’ll face an army of press in Los Angeles at the red carpet premiere of her new movie, Bandslam? I’m told she’s still planning to attend.

“She’s not going to answer any questions about them there either,” the source said. “She said what she had to say about taking nude photos.”

[From E! Online]

It seems like more than just a coincidence that these picture came out while Vanessa is promoting her new film, Bandslam, out August 18. She was on Jimmy Kimmel last night and giggled through the interview. Kimmel did not bring up the nude photos at all and Vanessa didn’t say anything that was particularly notable. (You can watch her interview below.) I like Vanessa and don’t find her particularly annoying for a young scarlet. She came across as friendly and cute on Kimmel. I get the feeling that she’s the one who made sure these photos came out at just the right time. After all, the last set of nude pictures were quite a boost to her career.

Vanessa Hudgens on Jimmy Kimmel, 8/5/09

Vanessa Hudgens is shown outside the MTV studios in two different outfits – one kind of bizarre – on 8/4/09. Credit: Fame Pictures

All the audience sees is the end product, but at any awards shows there is a lot of preparation that goes on behind the curtains. Other than the obvious sets, music, movie clips, and scheduling, producers of the show also have to deal with seating charts for all the stars in the audience. Unfortunately for them, Hollywood has the emotional stability of a high school clique, and figuring out where celebrities are going to watch the awards can be difficult. According to the NY Times, the original seating chart for last night’s MTV Movie Awards was not going to work and they had to sit down and redo the entire thing.

Paris Hilton couldn’t be put anywhere near The Hills cast due to her recent comments; Audrina was also banned from the The Hills seating area because no one on the show likes her, and instead sat with Chris Pine; Whitney Port had to be moved away from Kristen Stewart after insulting her role in Twilight; and Nickelodeon stars Miranda Cosgrove and Keke Palmer had to be kept away from Disney stars like Miley Cyrus because Nickelodeon reps said the Disney stars were too “tainted.”

[A] source who overheard conversations among the event’s producers says MTV had a wild time trying to seat its celebrity guests in the audience.

“A producer looked at the original seating chart and realized the whole thing had to be reworked because so many people in the house hated one another,” laughs our spy. Among the conflicts:

Whitney Port had to be moved away from “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart after producers realized Port once called the movie “really bad” and found Stewart’s role “one-dimensional.”

Port and fellow stars of “The Hills” and “The City” — Lauren Conrad, Stephanie Pratt, Heidi Montag and Brody Jenner — also had to be kept away from Audrina Patridge because, our source claims, a producer was overheard saying that “everyone on the show hated her.” (Patridge will instead sit near “Star Trek” star Chris Pine.) Similarly, Paris Hilton had to be moved away from “The Hills” cast after recently calling the show “so lame and fake” and “cheesy.”

Producers also had to scramble to keep Disney’s talents — namely Miley Cyrus and couple Zac Ephron and Vanessa Hudgens — away from Nickelodeon stars Miranda Cosgrove (“iCarly”) and Keke Palmer (“True, Jackson”) because Nickelodeon’s reps felt that “all the Disney kids are tainted.” (Semi-nude photos of Cyrus appeared in Vanity Fair, while Hudgens came under fire after fully nude photos of her circulated online in 2007.)

“Basically,” laughs our spy, “it sounded like all hell had broken loose trying to fit all these people into one room.” An MTV spokeswoman declined to comment.

[from NY Times]

This is almost as bad as seating for a wedding. Who gets to sit next to crazy Aunt Agnes? And where does Uncle Charlie’s latest fling of the week sit? They probably had to do changes up to the last minute, just before the red carpet opened. But a lot of the complaints seemed minor to me. So Whitney called Kristen Stewart’s acting “one-dimensional.” This is news to no one. Considering that Twilight was the big winner of the night, it also seems no one cares.

If it were up to me, I would purposefully put the feuding stars near each other. We might get some entertaining stories out of it: “Kristen Stewart and Whitney Port have a smackdown”; “Paris and Heidi get into catfight, Spencer screams like a little girl”; “Miley and Vanessa Hudgens teach iCarly star how to use photo feature on her iPhone.”

Photos of feuding stars and starlets VMAs thanks to WENN.com .

The tabloids are contradicting themselves this week over Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens’ relationship. Both The National Enquirer and Star have the same basic premise: Zac is eager to shed his vanilla Disney image, and he’s seeking various remedies to try to – how do the kids say it? – “sack up”. The Enquirer has Zac’s remedy as trying to talk Vanessa into shedding her vanilla image (amongst other things) with Zac, so they can go on to movie stardom together. Zac wants Vanessa to do some nudity in films and magazines so she won’t seem so goody-goody. The Enquirer has Zac sounding kind of like a pimp (and not in a good way, but in an icky “ho better recognize” way):

Zac Efron is encouraging girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens to take it ALL off!

[Zac] supports Vanessa’s effort to shed her goody-goody image – and her clothes – in a “tasteful” spread for a men’s magazine or a more mature film role, say sources.

[Friends] says she is seriously considering baring it all.

“Zac is making the leap to A-list actor, and he wants Vanessa to go along with him,” said the friend.

“[Zac] told a pal, if she has to bare more of her body in the process [of doing an edgy film], then she shouldn’t be afraid of doing that.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, June 1 2009]

Is Vanessa really that dumb? That she could talked into doing nudity just because Zac “Not Sacked Up Yet” Efron tells her to? Perhaps a better question would be – just how bad is Zac’s advice? In the grand scheme of things, it’s probably not that bad. The thing is, Vanessa has already partially shed her good girl image, and substantially raised her profile, with nude photos that were “leaked.” She could probably do it again to some extent with an “artsy” photo spread in a magazine.

And now for Star’s take. They have Zac on the cusp of dumping Vanessa because he thinks it will be better for his image and his career. There’s no changing Vanessa, in this version, so Zac is just taking his stuff and leaving:

[After] three years together, Zac Efron is thinking seriously of moving on from girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens – because he thinks that being tied down to his Disney costar at just 21 is holding back his career!

“Zac’s been told that to go from a teen idol to a major movie star, he has to distance himself from his HSM image,” a source tells Star. “One big thing that means is no more Vanessa. When people see them together, they think of their characters.”

It’s not surprising for Zac – who said he’ll never marry – would choose his career over his romance with Vanessa, 20, since he’s tried to put the breaks on their juggernaut of a relationship before.

“Last year when they were both house-hunting, Vanessa insisted that they share a home, but he refused,” says the source. “It also isn’t good for Vanessa that Zac’s mom, Starla, thinks he’s too young to get so serious with her.”

“He’s reconsidering his public image. No more musicals is another step – that’s why he dropped out of the Footloose remake,” says the source.

This summer, “they’ll be spending even more time apart,” says the source. In July, Zac begins shooting the drama The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, which will likely film in New England. And he feels that’s the right time to make a clean break – though it won’t be easy, the source adds. “Zac does still love Vanessa. He’s agonizing about this!”

[From Star magazine, print edition, June 1 2009]

I sort of believe both reports. Zac and Vanessa have the sexual chemistry of wet noodles, so it doesn’t seem like they would stay together for any other reason other than “Disney told us to”. And I totally believe Zac is hellbent on becoming the next great movie star or whatever. The kid probably wants to be the next Tom Cruise. Will Vanessa really hamper his chances? Not if she becomes the next big starlet, and poses shirtless and pantless on Maxim. Then, all of a sudden, Vanessa will be Zac’s biggest asset, right?

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron are shown outside Beso restaurant on 3/28/09 and at the premiere of Watchmen on 3/2/09. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

Just like every other young starlet, Vanessa Hudgens wants to convince us that she won’t take her clothes off – unless it’s for “an amazing movie.” Meaning: the right paycheck. She says that right now she wouldn’t be comfortable getting naked in front of the camera, but some time in the future she’d consider it. This coming from the girl who is known outside the Disney set for her nude photo scandal and the fact that she is dating Zac Efron.

Bye-bye, High School Musical! Hello…nudity?!

Fresh off the heels of boyfriend Zac Efron’s risqué photo shoot in Interview magazine, Vanessa Hudgens says she’d consider getting all un-High School Musical on us, too.

How so?

“I will show nudity in a film when the time is right,” Hudgens, 20, told us at this weekend’s Diesel Only the Brave cologne launch party in West Hollywood. “Right now, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it, but like I said, when the time’s right, if it’s an amazing movie that I’m really passionate about and that’s what it calls for, then we’ll see.”…

Hudgens will be busy with work soon enough when she shoots not one but two flicks starting this summer: Beastly is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, while Sucker Punch! is the story of girl who is sent to a mental institution by her wicked stepfather.

[from E! Online]

Why is it that every starlet won’t admit that she really does want the attention that a nude movie scene would get her? It’s like Disney stars talking about their virginity – all that it does is make people think about sex even more. This reminds me of Megan Fox recently saying she wants better movie roles. Stop talking about it and instead work on your acting.

If she wants to find a movie role that will be serious enough for nudity, she should probably stay clear of films like her next two projects, one of which is a modern version of Beauty and the Beast, and the other about a girl sent to a mental asylum by her “wicked stepfather.” Just sayin’.

Vanessa Hudgens is shown at a Diesel event on 5/9/09. Credit: WENN.com

Vanessa Hudgens is pretty innocuous. The worst thing that’s ever happened to her was that unfortunate incident in which weird, oddly-posed naked photos of her came to public light. After that, she’s pretty much been striving for Disney homogeny. But Vanessa, like her boyfriend Zac Efron, is trying to break free from the wholesome Disney image. She’s doing it with a surprisingly funny interview in Self.

First, Vanessa claims to be “in love” with Angelina Jolie. Vanessa says, “Everything she does, I adore.” That’s sweet. Much like Reese Witherspoon and Miley Cyrus, Vanessa is using Angelina’s name as an all-access pass to de-saccharine her image and let Hollywood producers know that she’s available for more hardcore roles. Or Vanessa could just be a Brangelunatic, whatever makes sense.

The funny part of the interview comes when Vanessa starts talking about her legs and feet. I don’t want to destroy the beauty of Vanessa’s imagery, so I’ll let her words speak for themselves:

Brad Pitt better watch out – a hot celebrity has a thing for his baby mama!

“I’m in love with Angelina Jolie,” Vanessa Hudgens tells the May issue of Self. “Everything she does, I adore.”

Celeb crushes aside, Vanessa is moving on from her dancing and singing days in High School Musical, and is looking forward to her next movie challenges.

“I’d like to do an action film where I could kick someone’s ass,” she reveals. ” I want to be strong and empowered. I want to shock everybody.”

She even has a secret weapon to help her take on the role of a butt-kickin’ tough girl – her “really strong legs”!

“I inherited them from my dad, who has tree stumps for legs, basically. I’ve got big calves that look good. When I wear heels, it looks like I’ve worked out my legs a lot, which is why I love them,” she says, adding, “I also have a big, big big toe. I call it my goat toe. I can climb anything.”

From OK! Magazine

Alright, “goat toe” is cracking me up. I’ve never heard anyone describe their feet/toes with goat imagery, but it totally works. Powerful, literary, hilarious… Vanessa’s memoir will be called My Left Goat Toe. The cherry on the goat toe sundae is the last sentence though: “I can climb anything.” I seriously cannot stop laughing… I just have this image of Vanessa and her goat toes, climbing whatever she sees. Vanessa, please do more interviews!

Vanessa Hudgens is shown at the premiere of 17 Again last night in LA. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

Zac Efron was dining out with a girl in London – and it wasn’t Vanessa Hudgens. The girl in question is Bonnie Wright, a red-headed actress best known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films. Star Magazine is trying to make into a big deal, like Zac and Bonnie were squirreled away in some seedy motel. As far as I can see, they went to a pub after Zac’s 17 Again London premiere. Star doesn’t report if they were in a group, but I’d bet they were. Still, does Vanessa Hudgens have something to worry about?

Hours after the U.K. premiere of 17 Again, Zac Efron hung out in a British pub with a local actress — while girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens moped alone back in L.A.!

The teen heartthrob hit his movie’s March 26 London premiere solo, but he wasn’t planning to spend the whole night alone.

Zac, 21, extended a special premiere invite to Bonnie Wright, 18, a sassy redhead who stars as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films.

Hours after the two walked the red carpet separately, they met up for a midnight rendezvous on the back streets of London and ended up at a low-key bar for a long, quiet date!

“It was clear they weren’t going to be coming out anytime soon,” an eyewitness tells Star. Does this spell the end for the couple known as Zanessa?

[From Star Magazine]

“Zanessa” is such a boring nickname. So what will Bonnie and Zac’s nickname be? Zonnie? Bac? Zannie? Wonderful. It’s surprising that Zac and Vanessa have lasted this long, in my opinion. They’re both so young, and the constant stream of “are they getting married?” stuff just annoys me. So is Zac stepping out on Vanessa? Is Zanessa over? Shoot me if I really start caring.

Here are Zac and Vanessa at the Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday. Images thanks to WENN .

I think it’s a horrifying moment for any parent when their child starts having sex. Unless you’re Zac Efron’s mother, who likes to bring up his sex life on Christmas Day.

The photos that surfaced last year of Efron and his girlfriend, “HSM” cutie Vanessa Hudgens, in what appeared to be a sex shop, were just one of the things that raised his mom Starla’s eyebrows.

“It was Hallows Eve like, two years ago. It was just a costume store,” Zac clarified to the April issue of ELLE magazine of the location of the snaps. “In the back they have an adult section for adult costumes. And this nice older woman asked for a photo.”

But like most of the public, when Efron’s mother saw the photos, she too wondered what her son was doing in the store.

“My mom is like, ‘Zac, what did you buy in a sex shop?’ I was like ‘Mom, calm down, it’s not a sex shop.’ She wouldn’t have any of it. She’s like, ‘I knew you were being sexual!’” he admitted. “But she understood. My stocking was full of condoms this Christmas. She buys me the economy box.”

Access Hollywood

I have three issues with this. First, when your son’s girlfriend has nude pictures of her circulating the Internet, and they live together, they’re probably having sex. In fact, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that most 21-year-old guys have more than a passing interest in sex, and that if they can get it, they will.

Second, an ‘economy box’ of condoms better mean that she’s buying them in bulk, not the cheap Chinese imports, because when it comes to condoms quality is very important – breakages lead to babies.

Finally, even if they were going to look for costumes, if that shop sold adult toys there is no way you would be able to walk past without having a closer look.

Zac has made his career from being a teen star, obviously in High School Musical but his other roles have been similar. Currently he stars in 17 Again, he’ll be in a remake of Footloose soon, and he was in Hairspray. Could Zac be sharing this information because he’s getting ready to break away from his wholesome Disney image? Or is it because it’s true that he and Vanessa Hudgens are engaged and because of this they’re comfortable admitting they ‘do it’ now?

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are shown at the premiere of Watchmen on 3/2/09. Credit: WENN.com