Vanessa Hudgens Talks Bandslam - Video Interview

Vanessa Hudgens has decided to branch out to an edgier character type in her role as Sa5m (pronounced Sam, the "5" is silent) in the movie Bandslam which has only recently opened in theaters.

Gone is the squeaky clean image she portrayed as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical trilogy.

As Sa5m, Vanessa plays a moody, loner type, and her character is still stuck in high school. You cannot expect a more mature role for Vanessa because she is only 20-years-old herself, and her fan base are the tweens and teens who supported her so strongly in High School Musical 1,2, and 3.

In Bandslam, Sa5m falls for Will Burton (played by Gaelan Connell), who is a transfer student to Sa5m's high school and is also an outsider like Sa5m.

Sa5m must compete for Will's attention with Charlotte Banks (played by Aly Michalka), who gets Will to manage her rock group for an upcoming battle of the bands contest called Bandslam, naturally.

Vanessa recently gave an interview to Kam Williams, which we have partially included here:

KW: Hi Vanessa, thanks for taking some time out from your hectic schedule to give me an interview.

VH: Of course!

KW: I know you're in the middle of making a public appearance right now, and it sounds like you're being mobbed by fans as we speak. Are you okay?

VH: It's a little crazy, but it's all good.

KW: Great! Well, what interested you in playing Sa5m in Bandslam?

VH: Just the fact that she was different from the character I was stuck playing in High School Musical. Hearing "introverted" and "deadpan" in the same sentence was interesting, and that was what I was looking for.

KW: How was it working with Todd Graff as a director?

VH: He was great. It was nice having him as a director, because he used to be an actor as well. So, he was totally there for the actors which was really nice.

KW: And how did you get along with your co-stars Gaelan (Connell) and Aly (Michalka) and the rest of the cast?

VH: It was a blast! We had so much fun. Aly's an amazing girl. We went shopping, and South by Southwest (Music and Film Festival) was going on in Austin while we were shooting there. So we went to see Willie Nelson, and we saw a bunch of movies with the cast, too. It was just fun, a lot of fun!

KW: I knew that you played piano, but is there any truth to the rumor that you do your own guitar playing in Bandslam?

VH: Yes, I learned how just for this movie.

KW: Are you going to keep playing guitar?

VH: I guess that's kind of a given, but I haven't really picked one up again yet. I should, and wish I had, but I haven't.

KW: I understand you received classical voice training as a child.

VH: Yeah, my professional training was in opera.

KW: You sing, dance, play instruments and act. Which is your favorite?

VH: Umm.... Acting is the one that I've always pursued the most, though I do miss dancing like crazy.

KW: What type of message do you think Bandslam is trying deliver to its audience?

VH: To not be afraid to try new things. I think this movie really breaks it down to show how easy things can be if you really just give it a shot.

KW: How did it feel to be named to People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in the World List two years in a row, last year and again this year?

VH: [Giggles] It's nice... It's flattering... But it's weird in a sense, too. [Laughs] I don't really think about it every day.

KW: You're a beautiful mix of many different ethnicities. Is there any one with which you identify the closest? (Vanessa's father is Irish and Native American, while her mother is Filipino, Japanese and Latina. Thus the jet black hair.)

VH: I was pretty much raised American. Parts of my mom's Filipino culture I love, but I'm pretty much American.

KW: You also made Forbes Magazine's High Earners under 30 List. So you were named both the most beautiful and most successful while still in your teens.

VH: It's bizarre. It's a crazy thought. I think that if I really stopped to think about it too much, it would get a little overwhelming. But honestly, I don't dwell on it, so it never really sinks in. Therefore, I genuinely don't have a reaction to it. I hear about it, but I'm generally too busy going through the motions.

KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

VH: No, I think I've been asked every single question in the book over these past four years. [Chuckles]

KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?

VH: Everybody gets afraid.

KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?

VH: I'm extremely happy.

KW: The Teri Emerson question: when was the last time you had a good laugh?

VH: About five minutes ago.

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

VH: I'm reading Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.

KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What music are you listening to nowadays?

VH: The Kings of Leon.

KW: What would you say has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?

VH: There've been plenty of things. I think just being in the business there's so much to overcome. I'm still overcoming things now. For example, getting a different type of role after High School Musical was tough. I've really had to work hard to get the parts that I've gotten so far.

KW: Tell me a little about your two upcoming movies, Beastly and Sucker Punch.

VH: Sucker Punch is a fantasy-action and Beastly is a modern interpretation of Beauty and the Beast. It's a bit edgier. It's about a vain guy who gets turned into a creature by this witch played by Mary-Kate Olsen. He has to find true love, but it's sexy and edgy, and I'm really excited for people to see it because it has a great message.

KW: Speaking of vanity, when you look in the mirror, what do you see?

VH: I see a reflection of myself. [Chuckles]

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

VH: My favorite dish to cook? Honestly? Whole wheat toast with almond butter and jelly. [Laughs]

KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?

VH: By watching Bandslam on August 14th!

KW: Thanks again Vanessa, and best of luck with Bandslam and all your other projects.

VH: Thank you very much. You take care. Bye-bye.

Sucker Punch is an action movie that is due out in 2011, and Beastly is a teen romance flick scheduled to release in 2010. Beastly is based on The Beauty and the Beast. Guess which part Vanessa plays.

In the following video Vanessa Hudgens discusses her new movie Bandslam on Jimmy Kimmel Live:



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"They Told Me to Kill, to Rape Children" - Video

While the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, issued a landmark arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for ordering war crimes to be committed in Darfur, a CNN reporter, Nic Robertson, interviewed a former Sudanese soldier who was ordered to rape and kill children by his superior officers.

The use of rape as a weapon of war is common in the Darfur area of Sudan and inside the huge displacement camps serving as home to the several million Darfuri refugees, who have been uprooted by the war. In many camps rape victims are giving birth to as many as 20 babies per month--babies who are then subsequently abandoned by their mothers.

The soldier is called Adam, but that is not his real name. Adam was forcibly conscripted into the Sudanese army and trained to kill by shooting targets, after which his officers told him "we will be taken to a patrol and then soon after that we were asked to join other people to go and burn and kill people.”

It was then that he realized that he was being forced into a war against his will and against his own people. He was told that if he resisted his superior officers’ orders, he would be killed. "The order is that the soldiers at the front, and there are some people who are watching you from behind, if you try to escape or do anything you will get shot. The order is that we go to the village, burn it and kill the people," said Adam.

"I had no choice," he said "but I will say that I didn't kill anybody, but the raping of the small children, it was bad." The children, "they cry out," said Adam. "Two persons will capture her while she is crying and another raping her, then they leave her there."

Adam said that the soldiers raped girls as young as 12, and the officers ordered them to so because it will make people flee their villages--make them run away and never come back.

Adam tried to desert the army as soon as possible, but he was caught and subsequently tortured. The soldiers tied him down under a tree, and then the officers would set fire to tires above him. The burning rubber would drip onto his body burning his skin. He showed the scars left on his skin by the burning rubber.

Was he forced to rape children? "Yes I did, they were government orders," replied Adam.

"It didn't feel like raping, I was feeling very bad but as I was ordered, I had to do something. What I did was take off my trousers and lay myself on top of the girl but I didn't feel like raping, so I lay there for about 15 minutes."

"So you didn't actually penetrate the girls?" he was asked. No, he said, "because I had no feeling for it, my penis didn't actually wake up, so there was no actual penetration," Adam answered.

Adam said that he has trouble sleeping at night. But he is not alone. Aid workers in Darfur say that millions of women in Darfur also have trouble sleeping at night. But, more importantly, they also live in constant fear of rape day and night.

The following video is a CNN report about the interview of the soldier:



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Sarah Palin Talks Failed Election, Media and John McCain - Video

Sarah Palin talks to NBC's Matt Lauer in a frank interview about the failed election campaign, the media and John McCain.

Palin discusses the leaks from the McCain staff to the media describing her as a rogue and how difficult she was to work with.

She claims that any such leaks are totally inaccurate and completely fabricated.

She also claims that her Katie Couric interview did not destroy her confidence.

She was annoyed about the question Couric asked about what newspaper she read in Alaska. Palin said she reads the same papers that everyone else in the Lower 48 read.

She skirted around a question asking if she is comfortable with Barack Obama as her commander in chief.

She also skirted around a question asking if she would run for senator from Alaska. Her answer was that she feels that she would best serve the people of Alaska as governor.

When pressed about the senator question, she answered that life is unpredictable, which leaves the door open to run for senator.

Here is video one, in which Sarah Palin discusses the media:

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The second video discusses the failed election and John McCain:



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Monique Coleman Talks High School Musical 3 - Video

In a TV interview Monique Coleman talks about film making, romance and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Since HSM3 has not slowed down much at the box office, we thought we should see what one of the films' stars, one who is not interviewed quite as much as Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are, has to say about the film trilogy.

Monique, who turns 28 years old on November 13th, plays Taylor McKessie in the HSM trilogy. Taylor is the best friend of the brainy Gabriella Montez, who is played by Vanessa Hudgens.

Even though she is 28, Monique can easily pass for a high school senior, which is essential for her role since HSM takes place at East High School.

Monique boasts an extensive singing and dance background so she definitely fits right in with the rest of the HSM cast. Monique also insists that she is not dating Corbin Bleu, like so many of the tabloids claim.

But enough talk, let Monique tell it to you:



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Pick the HSM star you want to know more about:
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Vanessa Hudgens
Ashley Tisdale
Corbin Bleu