Stick it to the Mouse, Corbin

So I was trawling the web the other day, and found this item on TMZ.com, about a fellow we know, and some bumps on the way to the sequel to High School Musical.

For those of you who don't know, HSM was Disney's huge movie last year. Soundtrack #1 in the nation in 2006, massive DVD sales, a traveling concert tour, and more. Well, the Disney folks aren't dumb: they're rushing to make a sequel. But turns out that some of the cast members from the first flick aren't so dumb either. Now that Disney has locked themselves into using these same actors (with promotional materials and a poll offering ordinary viewers a chance to help write the storyline), three of the young folk are in a rather strong negotiating position. So they're refusing to go to rehearsals -- holding out for a slice of the merchandising pie. It doesn't take much to see that could be quite a lot of pumpkin.

Well, one of the hold-outs is Corbin Bleu, a fellow we got to know just a little bit during our time in California. His sister, Hunter, was on Mia's soccer team, and we often sat on the sidelines with their whole family. We can personally verify that Corbin really is the sweet, pleasant guy he appears to be on screen. He comes from a terrific family, especially his folks David and Martha, two immensely gifted but down-to-earth, warm, funny people. By the way, if you think Corbin is good-looking, you should see his three gorgeous sisters.

Anyway, our family loves HSM, partly because there are no drugs, no gangs, no angst, and only the most innocent sort of romance. It's a reality-challenged Disney fantasy world and hooray for innocence and youthful energy.

Still, the Disney Corporation is not all sweetness and light, and we've seen reports about their hardball negotiations, especially with child actors. So it's nice to see that by holding out in these negotiations, Corbin is willing to do what teenagers do best: stick it to the man mouse.

Of course, this strategy will only work if all the holdouts cooperate. In the words of the hit song,

We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true.