Things aren't slowing down for Corbin Bleu — who's gone from the rigors of "High School Musical 2" and its national and international concert tour and touring in support of his own album to appearing in "Freestyle," the independent flick that marks his first big-screen starring role. He's shooting the picture in Vancouver.

"It's a motocross movie about this young man's coming of age and his dreams to turn pro, and all the struggles he goes through supporting his family. I'm a producer on it, as well," reports the 18-year-old multi-talent. And he's a freshly minted motocross rider, good enough to ride in the film. 

Isn't that awfully risky? 

"No, no, it's OK. I've got a helmet on. They're not going crazy fast or anything," he insists. Corbin learned basketball and baseball moves for his "HSM" role, in addition to lots of dancing, of course. He went into intense training in boxing and double-dutch jump-rope technique for his "Jump In!" telepic of this past January. 

"It's become a running joke — I have to learn something new for every movie I do. I hope I can keep up the streak with this motocross. What these guys go through is pretty difficult. It's really the most physically demanding sport in the country," notes Corbin, who also managed to squeeze in some promotion for the Dec. 11 DVD release of "High School Musical 2 (Extended Edition)."

He'll be busy with "Freestyle" 'til Dec. 20 and then take a holiday break before getting his head back into the "High School Musical" game for the third installment of the Disney Channel juggernaut. "HSM3," which will take the group through its final high school days, begins rehearsals in February for an end-of-March production start and fall 2008 debut. 

HEAR, HEAR: Multi-platinum Israeli music man David Broza, whose "David Broza at Masada: The Sunrise Concert" airs on PBS this month, tells us he's likely to tour the United States in the new year — especially if his concert special in the desert at dawn proves to become as popular as it appears it will. 

The artist, who's been compared by critics to names including Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen, has Shawn Colvin and Jackson Browne on the special with him. He tells us, "I am a big fan of Jackson Browne, and he's been coming to my concerts. When I was going through a list of possible guests — because the producers at WTTW thought it would be a wise thing to have known American artists on stage with me to help support the show and add value — I immediately thought of him.

And Shawn Colvin is someone I admire. Being a singer-songwriter, as I am, it felt perfect," he says.

Browne and Colvin had to journey not only halfway round the world but out into the middle of the desert — to the ancient historic site Broza describes as "a monumental place. The Dead Sea is right there, but you don't really see it until, as the sun comes up, the vapor over it disappears, and it's breathtaking. You're transfixed and mesmerized."

Included in the concert is the song "Things Will Be Better," which Broza wrote in 1977 in commemoration of the peace process of that time. It's become a peace anthem in his country. "The night before the concert, I sat with Jackson and told him I'd like to translate part of the song into English," he recalls, and so part of the song is in Hebrew, and some is now in English. 

SOUNDS GOOD: Voiceover superstar Billy West tells us one of his favorite memories of doing the "Futurama" series is sitting down with guest voice artist Al Gore — who is featured prominently in the newly released "Futurama" full-length movie DVD "Bender's Big Score." Gore is heard as himself during the 2000 presidential recount in the tale that begins at Christmastime 3007. "He's excellent at doing it. We've had him on a few times as a matter of fact. His daughter Kristen was one of the writers on the show for awhile, and he was a huge fan of the show," says West, whose repertoire of voices has spans "Ren and Stimpy" to "Space Jam" and "The Proud Family." "When he came in to do one of the shows, I talked with him for awhile, and he seemed like such a nice, sincere man that I forgot he was vice president. It was like talking with a guy at a bar. I said, 'Man, you got ripped off,' and he said, 'Well, if I can find a way to serve, I will.'"

West couldn't be happier to be back in "Futurama" mode — with three more movies on the way next year. "I'm thrilled! This is my favorite show among all the stuff I've done. The writing is phenomenal. When you make real hard stuff look simple, it's the Fred Astaire effect. He could dance with a coat rack and make it look so easy, and people watching would say, 'Well, who COULDN'T dance with a coat rack?' And then they'd try it and break their ankle."

WAITING GAME: Mario Lopez, who'll be seen in the ABC Family Channel romantic comedy "Holiday in Handcuffs" with Melissa Joan Hart Dec. 9, has a second telepic comedy on the way on Oxygen — "Husband for Hire." He also has a CW sitcom called "Eight Days a Week." "It's about these four assistants who work for crazy bosses. I play one of the bosses," he tells us. Its future is unclear at best, however. The show is currently in limbo due to the writers' strike.

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

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.