BuddyTV interviews Olesya Rulin, who plays Kelsi Nixon in High School Musical 3.

This weekend, the much anticipated High School Musical 3 hits movie theaters nationwide.  Tickets have been on sale for weeks in advance and sold out in several locations for opening weekend.  In the last movie that all the original cast members will appear in, the senior class of East High is faced with life changing decisions such as which college to attend and whether or not to move on and start a new life outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The stars of the movie has been traveling non-stop to promote the movie and today, Olesya Rulin (who plays Kelsi Nixon) talked to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview.

Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.

How are things changing for the characters in High School Musical 3?

In the third one, every single person has a choice to make about what their future will be like after they graduate. So no matter who your favorite is, you can follow their journey as they make their choice to leave high school and what they do. My character is making a choice of attending which university to pursue her love of music.


Will Kelsi be composing any more music for High School Musical 3?

Of course, because there's another musical. Kelsi sees the Wildcats starting to drift in directions, and before they go she wants to do one more musical to really enjoy the Wildcats one last time.


Have you started to see similarities between you and your character?

Definitely, Kelsi and I have lots of things in common. We were both really shy at first in high school, and even though I'm not musically inclined, I do love music. She's opened my eyes to musicals and classical piano.


How is making a major motion picture different than filming a TV movie?

The only difference was basically production value. We focused a lot on still keeping high school innocent and a spirit you see in the first one and the second one. Our wardrobe was better, and we did have Broadway sets for three minutes in the musical numbers, which were insane. Oither than that, it was the same thing, just being able to hang out with your friends again.


The whole cast has gone from being regular people to huge stars. Do you share a bond since you all became famous together?

We're very protective of each other. We really are a family, we're very close-knit, Even though people say, "You're huge stars," I don't see Zac as "Zac Efron, The Heartthrob." He's Zac, and to me, I've known the kid since he was 16. Luckily for us, we don't see each other that way.


Some of you cast members like you and Corbin [Bleu] have stayed out of the spotlight. Do you like having your privacy and being able to maintain it as opposed to some of the other people in the movie?

I actually adore that. It's wonderful that I've been able to be a part of the production and knows all these people and learn as much as I have learned and still say away from the press. I think that's just a sad part of the industry that people follow you when you go get your coffee, but it's one of those things you have to get used to.


There are a lot of stories that the last day of filming on the High School Musical 3 was very sad on the set. What was it like for you?

It was really bittersweet. We definitely did cry on the last scene and we were just bawling. The last week of production was pretty tough. If there was an emotional scene oir something really touching we would all break down. But it was like a magical moment because the last scene we filmed everyone was on the stage and I was in the piano pit so I had the best seat in the house, I got to see the whole production. It was just singing and dancing and seeing everyone up there and how much they've grown and how much older everyone's gotten.  I was really proud looking back at the cast and the crew, because we've had the same crew for three and a half years. It was really special.


Do you feel that High School Musical 3 gives all the characters at East High a proper goodbye and send-off?

I definitely do. Especially at the very end, there's a song called "High School Musical" where we come to a sense of what we personally are going through as well as our characters. There's a curtain call, and you see the top six do their final leap. It's very magical, and I think we made the third one for our fans and they get a feeling for the completion of the Wildcats trilogy.


A lot of the actors have talked about moving on and branching out from High School Musical movies. Do you have a plan, or anything in the future that you want to do?

I made two movies this year, one was Major Movie Star with Jessica Simpson and the other was Flying By with Billy Ray Cyrus and Heather Locklear.  I have no desire to get out of Disney.  Disney has gotten me where I am today and I'm very thankful for that.  I am interested in other things to do like dark comedies and I've read several scripts but I don't feel any instantaneous pull to get out it at all.


Is there anything you want to say to your fans who are heading out to movie theaters this weekend to catch High School Musical 3?

I hope they like it. We made the third one for them, so I hope they have a good time and they enjoy it.

- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of Disney)