Hudgens To Star In New Film 'BEASTLY' Inspired By 'Beauty And The Beast'

Vanessa Hudgens has been cast in 'Beastly,' a modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast, according to Entertainment Tonight. Hudgens will, of course, be playing the 'Beauty' in the film. British actor Alex Pettyfer ("Wild Child," Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker") is reportedly in talks to star as the "Beast" in the film, which is currently scheduled to begin shooting this summer. The film is directed by Daniel Barnz and produced by Susan Cartsonis in association with CBS Films.

ET states that the movie is "Set in Manhattan, the movie tells the story of a handsome rich kid with a mean streak. When he ditches a date, a curse is placed upon him, turning him into everything he hates. The grotesque transformation leaves him with the seemingly impossible task of finding true love to break the ugly spell."

Vanessa Hudgens starred in Disney's wildly successful "High School Musical" trilogy. High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel on January 20, 2006, and became the highest rated original movie up until that time. It won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Children's Programming, and received two Emmy Awards (of its total 6 nominations), a DGA Award, an Imagen Award for Best Children's Program, and a Humanitas Prize nomination. The soundtrack received a Billboard Music Award for Soundtrack of the Year, and was nominated for an American Music Award in the Favorite Album (Pop/Rock) category. The film even earned an entry in the Guinness World Record Book as the first TV movie to deliver nine concurrent singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

High School Musical 2, the sequel to Disney's smash TV hit, premiered on the Disney Channel on August 17, 2007 and drew an estimated 17.2 million viewers on Friday night, making it the most-watched basic cable telecast ever and garnered the most tween viewership ever.

High School Musical 3, the first of the films to receive a big-screen treatment, opened on October 24th, 2008.