Article: For Ashley Tisdale, new movie, new music and new goals
I wanted to post this new article about Ashley. Along with this pic I grabbed from an earlier post. 
For Ashley Tisdale, new movie, new music and new goals
Source: USA Today
Sharpay has been unleashed.
Ashley Tisdale, the actress who brought High School Musical’s snobby bad-girl Sharpay Evans to life, steps outside the Disney fold this Friday, starring in Aliens in the Attic, her first post-HSM feature. And she’s not stopping there: Tisdale’s sophomore album, Guilty Pleasure, aimed at a more mature audience, hit shelves Tuesday.
In Aliens in the Attic, Tisdale plays college-bound high school student Bethany Pearson, whose family’s vacation home in Michigan gets invaded by pint-sized aliens. She shot the film just before High School Musical 3, knowing it would be the first thing fans see after she finished the Disney trilogy.
The New Jersey native, 24, says she’s taking her career to the next level but is in no rush to grow up or out of her niche.
“I’m easing into it,” she says. “If you go too far, that can kind of hurt you. So I just take baby steps. Once you’re playing the older roles, you’re there forever after that. You can never go backward. So I’m taking my time getting there.”
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Barbra Streisand | Led Zeppelin | High School Musical | Zac Efron | Ashley Tisdale | AC/DC | High School Musical 3: Senior YearTisdale’s Guilty Pleasure, a guitar-driven record on which she co-wrote five songs, pays homage to her musical influences, including Led Zeppelin and AC/DC.
“The subjects (of the songs) are a little bit more mature. There’s a lot of breakup songs, and then there are songs that are role-playing in a relationship, and innuendos like ‘I like what you do to my hair,’ so I think you know where that is going,” she says, slightly embarrassed. “As a young kid, you don’t listen to what they’re saying or what they’re singing about. You like the beat. You like the music.”
One thing Tisdale doesn’t like: “the Hollywood life.”
“I’ve gone to clubs before because I love to dance … but I don’t drink or do drugs or smoke. That’s something that’s not typical, I guess,” she says. “I think I’m a big hypochondriac. I see people and it’s sad what happens to people when they go down these roads — really talented people.”
Plus, “I’ve never liked the taste of alcohol. It’s not like I haven’t had it before. I just don’t like the taste. At an early age, I was like, ‘So why would I do this?’ I’ve never been a weak person. I’m very strong. I’ve never given into peer pressure. My mom instilled confidence in me, and I always felt if I’m going to do something, it’s because I want to do it.”
Tisdale hopes to tour with her album, and though she doesn’t have any more movies lined up, Aliens director John Schultz says her future is bright.
“She is like a young Barbra Streisand. She can really be a big comedic actress and then belt out a tune and probably direct a movie in the future,” Schultz says. “I hope that she doesn’t try to be something she’s not. Everybody always wants to do dramatic and meaty roles — and she probably will do that and do it very well. But she has a gift of comedy that she should never step too far away from. ”
Here’s what Ashley has to say on other issues:
On the cast hierarchy of HSM:
“When I’m in a movie, I’m not one of those people who forgets their place. I was a third lead in that movie. I was not the star of High School Musical. It was always based on Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens’ characters. I loved my character — she was amazing — but she wasn’t the star.”
On growing up in the spotlight:
“My mom and dad wanted me to have a normal childhood, so I went to regular school my whole life so I could have those experiences. I worked in clothing stores growing up, even though I didn’t really have to. They wanted me to learn the value of a dollar. At an early age, I knew what I wanted.”
On her personality:
“I can be stubborn sometimes and headstrong, but I honestly think it’s because I know what I want in life.”
On the paparazzi and tabloids:
“They just try to get a reaction out of you so they can sell it and say ‘Ashley is crazy!’ They’re just stalkers with cameras. I just block it out of my life. I’m a very positive person, so I don’t really read that stuff. It’s not a normal thing to have to go through. I don’t find myself that interesting.”
On her future:
“I know I’ll always have to work hard, and I’m OK with that. With people I grew up with in the business, a lot of it did come easy for them. It was like they just landed into something. But with me, it’s always been a difficult road, I’ve always had to work hard for it. But I don’t think I’d have it any other way.”
