Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Expect a new, "definitely more grown-up" sound from Vanessa Hudgens when the "High School Musical" princess's second album gets released next year. That's the word from Vanessa, who tells us she's seven songs into the record, which she expects to have out after she finishes filming the third "High School Musical" movie in the spring.

"It's really fun, R&B, soulful," she says, but adds, "I'm still waiting to work with the big producers."

The 19-year-old beauty is also "trying to work out another movie before we start 'High School Musical 3' as well, but trying to figure out everyone's schedule — it's very complicated."

Hudgens and Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, director Kenny Ortega and the rest of the "HSM" stars, sans Lucas Grabeel, were on hand for the DVD sing-along premiere of their "High School Musical 2" the other night at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The extended edition DVD, including music videos and karaoke features, gets its release Dec. 11.

Hudgens, who gained notoriety when her nude photos were leaked on the Internet last summer — which led her to make a public apology — told us at the event that she isn't letting current Internet chatter get to her. She smiled and shook her head over speculation that her romance with leading man Zac Efron is merely a publicity ploy, saying, "I just brush it off. People can say what they want to say. I know what's real and I know what's fake, and that's all that matters."

GETTING 'UGLY': "It's been a really wonderful season so far, though the strike has thrown a bit of a wrench in everything," notes "Ugly Betty" star Ana Ortiz, who tells us the show will be wrapping up production Dec. 6 due to the writers' strike. "We'll do 13 episodes and then go dark."

While the cast is disappointed not to be able to continue their popular show for the time being, Ortiz says they support the writers. "It's a really difficult situation, but everybody understands what the writers have to do. Hopefully, they'll fight the good fight and come out with some fairness. … The greed of these producers and heads of studios is pretty overwhelming," she opines. "It's just really difficult for all of us to think about the crew and their families.

We're worried about them with Christmas coming. Those are the people who are going to get hit hard."

Ortiz says that one good thing about the time off is that she'll get to spend some time in her native New York. "I'm a member of a theater company in New York City, so it will be nice to keep working in some way or another. Getting some new stuff up and running will be fun. Plus, I'll get to see my mom. You've definitely got to look at the horizon."

Not to mention the fact that she'll get to enjoy married life with new hubby Noah Lebenzon. "It's amazing (being married). I highly recommend it."

GRATEFUL: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" actress Tamara Tunie lets us know she's very moved by the help she's had on her first directorial film project, "See You in September." Tunie, who plays Dr. Melinda Warner on the long-running series, shot her movie during her last series hiatus. She notes, "Everybody on the show is so proud of me. It's just really great to have that kind of support from my cast and crew." In fact, she tells us that several members of her TV family helped make her directorial debut a reality. "Three of our 'Law & Order' crew members worked on my film — one of them being Tom Weston, who's our camera operator. He's got a resume for feature films and television that's a mile long, so it was a real honor to have him on the movie. He would look at me after some particularly great shot and give me the thumbs up. It was just fantastic."

A STAR IS BORN: "August Rush" music supervisor Anastasia Brown predicts that with the film's opening this week, a star will be born. "We found this little girl named Jamia Simone Nash, who sings like an angel," says Brown, who's also a judge on "Nashville Star." "After this movie comes out, her life is forever going to be changed."

In the film, child music prodigy August Rush (Freddie Highmore) is drawn to the music he hears in a church in Harlem. "We had to find a choir, so we scoured New York for a really authentic, inspirational and not famous choir, and we found Impact, a choir in Harlem that gives back to the community and counsels people through music. We created the song 'Raise It Up' with two of the songwriters from the choir, and it's one of the most amazing songs in the film. It's gospel but not preachy, and Jamia is the lead. She's so stunning and beautiful and soulful, and her natural ability in front of the camera is rare."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Fortune Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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