She Likes to Watch

“Everybody cut, everybody cut footloose!”

Ever wonder what inspired that Kenny Loggins tune, “Footloose”?

Turns out it had something to do with Jimmy Buffett, machetes and Malibu rum. At least, that’s what “Yacht Rock,“ the winning Web series about soft rock stars in the 1970s and ’80s, would have us believe.

Created by J. D. Ryznar and Hunter D. Stair, “Yacht Rock” imagines the stories behind some of the era’s biggest hits, featuring fictionalized versions of mega-acts Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald.

Episodes are hosted by “Hollywood” Steve Huey, a music critic for the online All Music Guide.

It’s fun and a little freaky, with intentionally poor production values and a deranged cast. If you remember this music — either with nostalgia or puking disdain — you’ll enjoy “Yacht Rock.”

Channel 101 canceled “Yacht Rock” after 10 episodes, but the show came back earlier this year for a sweet special episode about — you guessed it — “Footloose.”

Ryznar and Stair star as McDonald and Loggins alongside Jason Lee of “My Name is Earl” (playing a shaggy-haired Kevin Bacon) in the goofiest explanation for a hit single ever.

***

A note to viewers: Salty language makes the show decidedly not safe-for-work, so wear headphones or check out “Yacht Rock” on your free time.

The Central Coast’s hottest commodity is now America’s Sweetheart.

Zac Efron, star of “Hairspray” and the upcoming “High School Musical 2,” will appear on the cover of next month’s Rolling Stone, the magazine announced earlier this week.

The 19-year-old actor and Arroyo Grande native is pictured grinning and reaching a hand under his white T-shirt to expose tanned abs. Besides him are the words “The New American Heart Throb.”

Check out it out for yourself
here.

I don’t want anyone to think I’m a dork or anything, but you know that song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins? That’s a pretty catchy tune.

I was just listening to it online, and I found myself really wanting to cut a rug, Kevin Bacon-style, right here in my cubicle. Of course, I didn’t because, you know – that’d be pretty dorky. But in my head I imagined the dance, which ended with me knocking a tape recorder, a Rolodex and three empty Dr. Pepper bottles off my desk in a frenzied finish.

The reason I’m even thinking of “Footloose” is because I recently read that there’s going to be a remake of the film, starring Arroyo Grande’s own teen sensation, Zac Efron.

Efron told Access Hollywood that he is slated to play Ren McCormick, the Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing and rock music are illegal. (Egad!) Efron will reprise the role that made Bacon famous (Well . . . aside from “Friday the 13th,” that is.).

Efron is, of course, on a roll, as we recently reported in a Ticket cover story. Right now he’s actively promoting both “Hairspray,” currently in theaters, and “High School Musical 2,” which will initially air Aug. 17.

Efron, 19, is regularly featured in newspaper and magazine stories, including the current Newsweek, which has a somewhat cynical angle on the “HSM” cast. (In this era of Lindsay Lohans, I guess it’s hard to believe a cast of young adults can’t be in rehab.)

Next Tuesday, Efron will appear on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. And Efron will be featured in “Rolling Stone” next month.

In a recent interview with the Tribune, Efron acknowledged he’s on many magazine covers these days. But he doesn’t think too much about it.

“I just laugh,” he said. “That’s all I can do is laugh. You can’t believe that you’ve gotten so lucky and people are interested enough to put you on a magazine.”

Even though he’s on a path to superstardom, he still hasn’t succumbed to the circling-the-drain lifestyle that fellow Disney alum Lohan has experienced. Even though the Newsweek article was skeptical, those who know him say Efron resembles his wholesome, Disney image.

Maybe part of it has to do with growing up on the Central Coast.

“I consider myself sort of a small-town boy,” Efron said. “For a while I felt like a fish out of water in L.A . . . I have to wait in hours of traffic and park next to 40 other cars, take an elevator to my modest apartment in the Valley. It’s so different than being home.”

It’s sort of fun waiting to see what he does next. Until then, all I gotta say is: “Everybody cut, everybody cut . . .”

–Pat P.

They call it the “Zac Attack.”
As Pat Pemberton’s article in Ticket suggests, there’s an air of media frenzy about Zac Efron, the singing, dancing star of “Hairspray” and “High School Musical.”
He’s graced the covers of BOP, Tiger Beat, Teen and Kewl. He’s popped up on “Extra” and MTV’s “TRL.”
YouTube features about 53,000 videos with a connection to the Arroyo Grande teen. And a Google search turns up more than 2 million hits, including a dozen fansites.
On Tuesday morning, the “nicest kids in town” — Efron, Nikki Blonsky, Elijah Kelly and Amanda Bines — appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to promote “Hairspray.”
Efron was his usual polite self, praising co-star Blonsky for her skill and talking about “Hairspray’s” positive message.
“There’s so many good messages in this movie,” he said. “It’s really about being accepting of all people, all shapes, all sizes. It’s about following your dreams.”
In June, Elle magazine raved about Efron’s sex appeal (“not unlike Romeo of Verona or Leonardo in ‘Titanic’ ”) and his talent (“he can sing and dance like Justin Timberlake”).
People magazine’s Monica Rizzo recently wondered if Efron and his “High School Musical” co-star Vanessa Hudgens are “the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of the teen set?”
The two were spotted Tuesday at the “Hairspray” premiere in Los Angeles, where they watched the movie together, held hands and danced to a live rendition of “Proud Mary.”
People even put Zac Efron on its “Most Beautiful” list in April. The actor features prominently in a special issue about “High School Musical 2.”

****

What’s next for this talented teen?
Efron and the cast of “Hairspray” return to “Today” this morning for a live performance. Watch on NBC at 9 a.m.

A documentary billed as a “Mother Teresa meets Indiana Jones adventure” wooed judges at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival enough to capture top honors in this year’s festival competition.

“Beyond the Call,” by Chicago native Adrian Belic, was named Best in Competition by the festival this week. The documentary features two men from different parts of the country who partake in self-financed humanitarian efforts in some of the most dangerous, war-torn countries in the world.

This year’s festival featured a record number of entries. Forty-two of those were screened and submitted to judges, who selected their favorites in six categories.

Other winners:
· Best feature film, “Hollywood Dreams”
· Best feature documentary, tie, “Our Land, our Life” and “Iraq in Fragments”
· Best short feature, “Rose”
· Best short documentary, “The Damndest, Finest Ruins”
· Best short film, tie, “Mute” and “Sadiq”
· Best student film, tie, “Sadiq” and “Gordo”
· Special jury award for best animation, “The Naked Hitchhiker”
· Special jury award for best foreign film, “Brod Ludaka (Ship of Fools)”
· Audience award – best short film (under 15 minutes), “The Frank Anderson”
· Audience award – best short feature/documentary (16-60 minutes), “The Damndest, Finest Ruins”
· Audience award – best feature-length film (over 60 minutes), “Beyond the Call”

***

Here’s something to do next time you’re buying frozen peas and pancake syrup at the grocery store: Count the number of teen magazine covers that feature Arroyo Grande’s Zac Efron. During one recent trip to Rite Aid, I counted seven — which was every teen magazine they had in stock. I even saw a special edition magazine dedicated solely to Efron, the ‘tween dream who once appeared in plays at the Unity Church in San Luis Obispo.

Efron attended last year’s film festival for a screening of the independent film “Derby Stallion.” But in just a year the 20-year-old’s career has skyrocketed, thanks to his role in the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical.” So he was simply too busy to return this time around.

In theaters now, you’ll see him in a preview for “Hairspray,” a summer release with with John Travolta, Queen Latifah and Christopher Walken. And a sequel to “High School Musical” is currently in the works.

When I interviewed him a year ago, Efron was considering a role in a Lifetime TV movie. You can bet he wouldn’t consider that today. In fact, once “Hairspray” hits, I’d expect a blitz of Efron movie roles.

We’ll have more on “Hairspray” in a future Ticket story.

– Pat P.