"Musical" star Hudgens fills "Will" bill

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens has signed on to play a former stutterer in "Will," a comedy-drama set to shoot February in Austin.

The Walden Media project centers on a high school outcast and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. They assemble a like-minded crew of misfits and form a rock group to perform in a battle of the bands competition at their school.

Hudgens will play Sam, a 15-year-old former stutterer now speaking slowly and deliberately, who becomes romantically entangled with the lead outcast.

Todd Graff will direct from a script he wrote with Josh Cagan. Graff is an actor-turned-director who made his helming debut with 2003's "Camp."

Hudgens, 19, is best known for playing Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" movies, and for appearing in a series of nude photos that leaked on the Internet. Her feature credits include "Thunderbirds" and "Thirteen."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter