More set visits for “Seventeen Again”

Sorry for the lack of updates in the last days. There hasn’t been anything major but there have been a lot of small things – amongst others there have been more articles and some videos from set visits which happened in the same week as the one from ComingSoon.net. Some have a bit more ‘real’ info, some are rather thin so you’ll find those at the end.

2 articles and a video from MTV:

Zac Efron Sheds Teen Image, Plays It Cool For ‘Seventeen Again’

The ‘High School Musical’ star adopts Matthew Perry’s attitude to play 40-year-old transported to his teens.

By Shawn Adler, 6 February 2008

If you’re like millions of young fans of “Hairspray” or the “High School Musical” franchise, you probably think Zac Efron is just about the epitome of cool.

Wait’ll you get a load of his dad, the 20-year-old megastar joked with MTV News from the set of his newest film, “Seventeen Again” (formerly called just “Seventeen”), in which he plays a middle-age man suddenly transported back to his teenage years.

“Everything you do, you have to kind of view it from your dad’s perspective,” Efron said, revealing how he got in the head of an adult for the role. “I tried to do a few things that I learned from my dad — things that he thinks are cool but are really dorky.

“That seems to be working pretty well,” he laughed.

It’s seemingly all laughs these days for Efron, now that he’s beginning to shed his teenage image for more grown-up films.

Playing the young Mike O’Donnell — who gets his wish for a chance to go back to high school and redo his life — is the perfect way for Efron to transition from tween heartthrob to adult thesp in flicks like “Me and Orson Welles.” This is especially true given that the character offers him a shot at growing up without the side-effects of actually, you know, growing up, Efron teased.

“I could have gone out and just played a kid somewhere and had a blast. But now I’m playing a 40-year-old guy,” he said. “It’s kind of fun playing an adult.”

It’s a mantle he wears comfortably. Indeed, the day we visited with Efron we found him in a house only an adult could think of as fun, where hundreds of “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” toys stood behind glass, boxed for eternity to accumulate value. Think the collection in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Now think of the collection from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” times 10.

“This is my best friend’s house,” Efron explained, standing in front of a giant stormtrooper. “He was a nerd his whole life. His house is a big clue to that.”

In one scene, wearing a V-neck T-shirt and a red plaid shirt, Efron’s character haughtily navigates his way through a gathered crowd, dismissing an approaching girl, passing a beer to a friend and even proving that there’s a way to act cynical while twirling a light saber.

But, then, this isn’t surprising when you know that, before he was Zac Efron, Mike O’Donnell was Matthew Perry.

“Matthew has a very dry sense of humor,” Efron understated. “I guess if there was anything I had to work on, it was probably [emulating] that.”

Ironically, given that it’s practically his trademark, Efron admitted that the other thing he had to work particularly hard at for the movie was a dance sequence. “High School Musical” or no, turns out the kids just don’t move like they used to.

“It’s all ’80s dance moves, and it’s completely random,” Efron said, referring to a scene in which he dances with a bunch of cheerleaders. “The running man, a few moves from MC Hammer — what is it, ‘Can’t Touch This,’ right? Yeah, it’s pretty funny.”

But don’t be fooled by the dance number, the actor insisted. Zac Efron may star in the movie, but he has no desire ever to be “Seventeen Again.”

“What would I do if I could go back to high school?” Efron asked, grinning. “I never want to go back.”

And here is the short video:

Zac Efron Re-Takes The Dance Floor In ‘Seventeen Again’

Article by Heather Perry

Please, ladies. Don’t cry. Ever since we posted our latest Zac Efron “High School Musical” story, devoted fans of the hit TV flicks have been disconcerted over the news that the golden boy is hanging up his dancing shoes.

But wait! Adam Shankman, the producer/director/choreographer of “Hairspray,” has information of biblical proportions that should bring screaming 15-year-olds out of their broken-hearted depression. The king of musicals will shake his perfect little tush once more in the now-filming movie, “Seventeen Again.”

“We have some very funny scenes between him and Leslie Mann from ‘Knocked Up,’ which are off-the-charts funny,” Shankman gushed. “But there’s also this big thing with Zac dancing with a lot of cheerleaders that is very, very fun and funny.”

Add one part Zac Efron, with cheerleaders sprinkled liberally throughout, and you’ll likely get ecstatic Zac devotees swooning over the news that he’s not quite finished boogying down. As if that isn’t enough, another thing to watch for in “Seventeen” is Zac’s maturity being taken to another level.

“People are going to be so surprised how seriously great he is in this movie. I’m really proud,” beamed Shankman, producer of the film that also stars Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg and “Reno 911!” star Thomas Lennon. “This is about a man whose life has not gone the way he wants it to, so he wishes he was 17 again and he gets his wish. And then he’s realizing it’s nothing like he thought it would be. So it’s a reverse ‘Big.’ It has as many funny scenes in it as it does heartfelt scenes.”

“[Zac] has to carry this whole movie as a comedian,” he added. “But there are some very emotional scenes as well.”

Don’t get hung up on the mushy details though, because Shankman promises to deliver all you fanatical Zac addicts their fix.

“Let’s put it this way,” Shankman grinned. “I’m a dance historian, so you know the steps are going to be right on.”

Here is another interview from Hollywood.com:

On the Set of ‘Seventeen Again’ with Zac Efron and Michelle Trachtenberg

Stopping by the set of Seventeen Again, we thought we might get to see a little action. The plan was to shoot a beach party in Santa Monica with stars Zac Efron and Michelle Trachtenberg front and center, but the strong ocean breeze blew those plans right out of the water. Luckily, Hollywood.com did catch the costars for a quick chat inside Trachtenberg’s trailer, before the duo took off to film an alternate scene at an undisclosed location.

The pair stars in the new comedy, due in theaters in 2009, about a man (Matthew Perry) who hits rock bottom amid a failed marriage and career. Through a series of events he finds himself 17 again (played by Efron), with a chance to do it all over again. Unsure what to do, he enrolls at his old high school where he attends classes side by side with his rebellious daughter Maggie (Trachtenberg) and son Alex (Sterling Knight).

Hollywood.com: We just heard the beach bonfire scene had to be postponed because of the weather. So what other fun scenes have you been working on?
Michelle Trachtenberg: I felt really bad because the other night I had to slap Zac and that was really hard for me to do. There were like three takes and he was such a trooper. His face was burning red and I was like, “I’m sorry!” He was like, “Just do it. Come on!” He was so funny.
Zac Efron: The thing about slaps on camera is there are so many ways to do it wrong!

HW: You two got to play father and daughter in this film? That’s got to be weird.
MT: I call him dad. [I say things like], “”Good morning, dad.” [Laughs]

HW: Michelle, your character Maggie sounds like a total rebel.
MT: She’s pretty cool. You can’t see it right now but I usually have bright green extensions in or like black and blonde extensions in or burgundy ones. She’s a really fun girl … She’s sort of your typical 17-year-old girl, kind of rebelling against her parents. She’s being inspired by her boyfriend, who is a rebel with a tattoo and just sort of angry at her parents, doesn’t understand why they’re getting divorced and trying to go through her everyday life not caring.

HW: Zac, Matthew Perry plays an older version of your character. Is it true you studied him?
ZE: Yeah, a little bit. He’s got a few mannerisms, a lot of small things that I tried to incorporate … I try not to do too much of it. Only at very few select moments will you see it. I think people are different as they grow older. What I wanted to play a lot with this character is watching his youth come out again, when he comes back to being 17. I didn’t want to be the exact same person.

HW: Have the fans been trying to mob the set at all?
ZE: Sets aren’t the fun place you think they would be. It’s kind of a bunch of ominous, big hairy grips running around with big trucks. It also doesn’t look like a really fun place. There’s no giant “Hey, let’s have fun” signs.

HW: You guys are having fun right? Who is the biggest prankster on set?
MT: It’s me. I’m probably the worst …I make fun of everyone just for laughs.
ZE: That’s gonna be a great quote. I can just see that in print: “I make fun of everyone.”
MT: No. I honestly think that because I didn’t have the same high school experience I’ve sort of just been really odd about the fact that this entire cast really loves each other and we all give each other such fun stuff that we pick on each other.

HW: What were your not-so-normal high school years like?
MT: I think we wrapped Buffy when I was 17–and about a week later I was on my way to film Eurotrip. I definitely was not a party girl, nothing crazy. I sat home and read books and watched Law and Order marathons [laughs]. I still do that. It’s so lame!
ZE: I was a very regular 17-year-old. I don’t know any other way to put it. I wasn’t fighting crime or anything.
MT: You weren’t? I was. Vampires and stuff [laughs].

HW: Did you guys fit in? What kind of clothes did you wear?
ZE: I used to not even care. I’d literally wear pajamas to school.
MT: I wore a uniform to school and I would rebel so hard against the uniform. I’d wear like striped socks and platform shoes and tons and tons of necklaces.

HW: Would you guys go back if you could?
MT: I wouldn’t.
ZE: It seems, having just got out of there, I don’t know if I’m ready to go back. There’s already a few things that I know I’d do differently but that is, in no way, gonna make me go back and relive it.

HW: In a way you get to relive it one more time with the next High School Musical movie.
ZE: Oh, yeah. I have to do that all over again, High School Musical 3 – that I’m looking forward to. It’s great. We’re gonna start in a few months.

And there is also an entry from ‘Seventeen’ magazine from 1 February 2008:

17 Buzz

Seventeen was invited to visit the set of Zac Efron’s new movie, tentatively called 17 Again, last night, and we got to see the heartthrob in action. The scene was filmed at a house in Los Angeles — it was around 7 p.m. when we arrived, and Zac and his costar Michelle Trachtenberg (Ice Princess) were upstairs acting out a bedroom scene (scandalous!).

The plot is hilarious. Zac’s character, Mike, gives up a college scholarship to settle down with his high school girlfriend, Scarlet. They get married, have kids, and then as an adult, Mike (played by Matthew Perry of Friends fame) goes back to his high school and reflects on his failed marriage, career, and relationships with his teenage children. He makes a wish without realizing it, and all of a sudden, he’s 17 again. He enrolls in high school (the same one his kids go to) and tries to play it cool, but he’s bullied and made fun of. But in the end, he winds up forming a closer relationship with his kids, and we bet there’s a happy ending.

After shooting the same scene at different angles for an hour or two (fun fact: producer Jennifer Gibgot (Hairspray) said that most movie scenes take an average of three to four hours to shoot!), Zac ran downstairs and said hi. In a white V-neck T-shirt and red plaid button-up, we swooned when he smiled our way. We talked for a while and found out Zac has no preference when it comes to doing musicals or non-musicals. “Doing a movie is really just the same thing,” he said. “But I do bust a move in this one.” We’re sure it’s probably not as choreographed as his dances in HSM or Hairspray, but we can’t wait to see his dancing nonetheless!

“This is the first time I don’t relate to my character, though,” he said. “I mean, I can’t really relate to a 37-year-old man!” Although, in the scene in which he tries to tell his daughter that he’s really her dad, he does a pretty good job of imitating his older self, Matthew Perry. The producer even told us that Zac sometimes calls Matthew during scenes for line readings (what a serious actor!).

So, what else did we dig up at the set? Zac’s food of choice is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, although Michelle (who loves grilled cheese and Diet Coke) claims he steals the Nutella from her trailer.

The two of them seemed like they had a lot of fun on set together. “It’s really great working with Zac,” she said. “We have a lot in common.”

Production is almost over (Zac’s going to begin filming a new movie next week), and 17 Again will be in theaters sometime this summer. We can’t wait to see it!