By now, it’s a familiar tune; that is, the former struggling Disney masses yearning to break free. So it’s no surprise that the High School Musical lead stars are having a heck of a time doing so. It certainly doesn’t help that Zac Efron and Vanessa “Publicity Boobs” Hudgens dated for years, thereby solifidying their own reputations as 24-hour Disney beards standbys. For his part, Efron has been making some halfway decent efforts to establish himself outside the franchise even if “halfway decent” just isn’t enough when charisma and talent fail completely. Still, I have to respect that he hasn’t been badmouthing the movies that brought him to the public’s awareness in the first place. Also, he loves to read the blogs, unlike his ex-girlfriend, who has completely gone the way of the whining, unappreciative species.

Perhaps Hudgens is merely frustrated that her movie career isn’t taking off. Neither Sucker Punch nor Beastly fared well at the box office, and I don’t know a single person who even briefly considered watching Bandslam. One day soon, she’ll get naked for what she considers to be an amazing movie. Still, we’ve seen it already, and girlfriend needs to bring something else to the table, and fast. For some unknown reason (Sucker Punch has been out for weeks already), Hudgens has done a new interview with latimes.com. in which she talks about being such a “very present person” that leaves all of the big choices “up to fate.” And the clichés don’t stop there:

On Her Tween Fanbase: “Teenagers come up to me and are obnoxious about the whole thing, like, ‘Oh my God, you’re that girl! You’re that girl from the Disney Channel.’ And I’m like, ‘I was that girl,'” she said, twirling a strand of her hair.

On Zac Efron: Another moniker she’s eager to drop? “Zac Efron’s girlfriend.” Or, make that ex-girlfriend: In December, she and her former “Musical” costar broke up after a years-long, much-publicized relationship. “It was interesting,” she said of being half of such a high-profile couple. “But we got to a point where it was just like, we just can’t pay attention, because one week we’d be married and then the next week we’d be broken up and the next week I would have a baby. It was just the most obscene things.”

On Her Nude Photos: “It’s just silly because I’m a very present person, and that’s the thing that has been so in the past.” she said, burying her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie sweatshirt: “The fact that somebody keeps bringing up the past is just selfish. I mean, it sucks. I already released a statement the first time it happened. It’s just unfortunate that it keeps reminding people about the past and not the present.”

On Empowerment: Despite the release of the embarrassingly racy photos, Hudgens said she felt comfortable donning risqué costumes in “Sucker Punch” because she found the movie’s underlying message empowering. “I was in the best shape of my life, so why not? The woman’s body is a beautiful thing. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t, like, be our best in our costumes.”

On Her New Age Philosophy: “It has honestly changed me, almost,” the actress said, pulling a cap down over her eyes that was bedazzled with rhinestones spelling out the word “Faith.”

On Being A Woman In Hollywood: “You really have to stay strong, because times get tough. Especially in this business. It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” she said. “There’s so many amazing actresses who got taken advantage of. Someone like Natalie Wood, one of my idols — who knows what happened to her? She was on a boat that was mysteriously in the water, and now she’s dead. A lot of women get walked all over on by not standing up for themselves, and that’s just not what I’m about. I’m figuring myself out now as a young adult more than I ever have. It’s like my eyes are opening and I’m awakening to controlling my future.”

[From latimes.com]

LMAO. I just love how she calls people “selfish” for repeatedly bringing up the fact that she predictably drops a new batch of nude photos every time she has a movie coming out. How about how her co-stars feel about the fact that Vanessa’s boobs overshadow an entire film’s production to the point where people don’t even want to see her boobs fully dressed onscreen? Oh right, I forgot that those pictures aren’t her fault because they’re the work of those two ex-friends who obsessively leak them. I’m steadily affirming my own opinion of late that anyone who takes nude photos on a cell phone must, to a certain varying degree, want them to be leaked. Especially if that person just happens to be a young, attention-seeking starlet with little to no acting ability.

Photos courtesy of LAT & WENN.