More set visits from “Seventeen Again”

This week not only ComingSoon.net got to visit the “Seventeen Again” set but a whole bunch of other publications as well. Thursday was obviously teen magazine day with Seventeen, J-14, Twist, Tiger Beat, Teen Dream and Kathryn from Zefron.com. MSN also seemed to have somebody on there this week.

Articles from MSN, Tiger Beat and Kathryn have been posted. Most of them have only little tidbits about the movie. Here is a summary before I post the articles for reference:

• Filming was supposed to go another 5 days when Tiger Beat was there on Wednesday. If they film on the weekend, they could finish as early as Monday or more likely sometimes during the next week.
• There is a scene in a mansion full of all sorts of cool comic book toys and gadgets. In the scene, Michelle’s character is trying to kiss Zac, but she doesn’t realize that he is her dad in the body of a 17-year-old.
• There is a scene where Zac dances and he gets to wear 80′ clothes (I assume both happen in the flashback at the beginning of the movie)
• The renaming to “Seventeen Again” seems to be confirmed as well as the August release date.

MSN article:

Set Visit: Efron turns ‘Seventeen’ again

Feb. 1, 2008 – by Gregory Ellwood

While sitting among a gaggle of movie extras, I had to contain my laughter at some of the instructions given during my set visit to the shoot of “Seventeen.” Girls were told to have their lip gloss on them at all times. And the boys? They better have taken care of any pesky facial hair before or, as a casting coordinator warned, “You don’t want me to shave you in front of the director!”

Yikes! It seems some of these “teenagers” aren’t as young as they seem. But that’s the magic of Hollywood. For example, this night’s bonfire scene for the new comedy is meant to take place in the summer, not on a 50-degree night in January. Because of the chilly and windy weather, the shoot was scratched that night, but the stars took time to sit down and chat. And when one of them happens to be Zac Efron, even 15 minutes with this media sensation is worth a trek out to the beach.

Based on an idea by producers Jennifer Gibgot and Adam Shankman (Efron’s “Hairspray” director), “Seventeen” is an inverse of the classic Tom Hanks movie “Big.” Instead of a young boy turning into an adult, an older man turns into his younger self and, of course, learns something about himself and his family along the way. Matthew Perry plays the older version of Mike O’Donnell, and Efron takes over after Mike is bizarrely turned back into a teenager. Michelle Trachtenberg (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Ice Princess”) plays the rebellious daughter O’Donnell has to set straight (among other problems).

“I was a very regular 17-year-old,” the 20-year-old Efron notes. “I wasn’t fighting crime or anything.”

“I was — vampires,” Trachtenberg deadpans. “We wrapped ‘Buffy’ when I was 17 — a little different. I definitely was not a party girl, though. I sat home and read books and watched ‘Law & Order’ marathons.”

Efron admits hes tried to incorporate a few of Perry’s mannerisms for his part, but that’s it. He says, “I try not to do too much of it because people really do act different when they are younger. What I wanted to play a lot with this character is watching his youth come out of him when he turns 17. I didn’t want it to be the exact same thing.”

With the film only five days away from completing production, Efron has found solace on the set, which has thankfully shielded him from increasing paparazzi attention (although Gibgot says he seems to have a sixth sense of when they are around). But Efron also admits, “Sets are not really the fun places you’d think they would be. It’s kind of a bunch of ominous, big, hairy grips running around with big trucks.”

One thing Efron and Trachtenberg agree on is that neither is ready to return to their high school years. Of course, Efron will make an exception to finish his “Senior Year” this spring.

“‘High School Musical 3’? Oh, that I’m looking forward to. Absolutely,” Efron says. “We are going to start it in a few months and, other than that, I can’t really talk too much about it.”

Something tells me discovering those secrets is going to require yet another set visit.

“Seventeen” should hit theaters this August.

From Tiger Beat:

On the set with Zac…Part Two!!

Posted on February 1st, 2008 at 11:23 am by Blog Girl

Zac felt so bad that I didn’t get to watch him film Seventeen Again last Wednesday, so he invited me back to watch him and costar Michelle Trachtenberg film a hilarious scene last night. It was so cool! The movie is being shot in a mansion in a secret location in Hollywood and it was full of all sorts of cool comic book toys and gadgets. I felt like a director as I watched them film scenes on a monitor and it was so funny to watch Zac and Michelle crack up whenever he would play with his hair or accidentally run into something! The scene was so funny. In it, Michelle’s character is trying to kiss Zac, but she doesn’t realize that he is her dad in the body of a 17-year-old! Talk about confusing (and totally weird)! I can’t wait to find out what happens when the movie comes out this summer.

After filming, Zac showed me the lucky penny he always has with him when he films that he got from a Make-A-Wish friend. “That scene we just filmed went really well so I know it’s really lucky!” he said with a huge smile. Zac couldn’t chat for too long because he wanted to go get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before he had to get ready to film a big party scene. But he did have time to send some love to you Blog Girl readers. “Thanks for all your support,” Zac says.

On the set with Zac

Posted on January 31st, 2008 at 1:26 pm by Blog Girl

OMZ! Guess who I got to hang out with last night? ZAC EFRON! The cutie invited me to the Santa Monica Pier to watch him film scenes from his upcoming comedy Seventeen Again, which hits theaters sometime in August. Zac looked so cute in a blue beanie, white T-shirt and skinny jeans when he came up to me. It was super windy outside so they had to cancel filming for the day, but Zac was all smiles and still sat down with me to chat about the movie.

I don’t want to give too much away, but in the flick a guy named Mike O’Donnell (played by Friends star Matthew Perry) turns back into his 17 year-old self (played by Zac) and ends up going to high school with his own kids! Zac says filming has been a blast because he’s gotten to wear crazy outfits from the ’80s, and even got to dance in one scene! “I think people really change a lot as they get older and I wanted to show how this guy was able to get back in touch with his youth,” he told me.

So, would Zac want to be 17 again? “Being 20 and having just gotten over being 17 — I don’t know if I’m ready to go back,” he says with a laugh. “There are definitely some things I would do differently but that is in no way going to make me want to go back just yet!” He might go back sooner than he thinks because he’s getting ready to film High School Musical 3, where Troy and the Wildcats will be high school seniors. Although the script is top secret, Zac says he is “super excited” to work with everyone again.

***UPDATE: If you notice, the movie title is now Seventeen Again (instead of just Seventeen). I confirmed it with a representative for the movie.

Kathryn from Zefron.com has posted her set report here. It’s very sweet and shows what a nice guy Zac is but it doesn’t contain anything about the movie itself at all, so I’m only posting a link.