"High School" star Tisdale now a TV producer

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "High School Musical" star Ashley Tisdale is adding "producer" to her resume.

The 23-year-old actress is in negotiations for a one-year deal with FremantleMedia North America, the production company behind "American Idol."

Tisdale will develop reality shows aimed at the younger demographic, and will stay behind the camera. She already has numerous endorsement deals, with such products as Degree Girl deodorant and Huckleberry Toys, and the FremantleMedia deal is another step in her transformation into a global brand.

Tisdale, who plays rich-girl Sharpay Evans in Disney Channel's lucrative "High School Musical" franchise, is also in negotiations to star in a remake of "Teen Witch" for Tom Cruise's United Artists company.

The 1989 original starred Robyn Lively as an unpopular high school teen who learns she's descended from the witches of Salem and has inherited their powers. The movie was a fantasy musical. A writer will be sought to pen the update.

Tisdale recently wrapped production on her theatrical film debut, the Fox adventure comedy feature "They Came From Upstairs," and is in preproduction on a third "High School Musical" movie, which is being prepped for the first time as a theatrical feature.

Her first feature, the direct-to-DVD comedy "Picture This," comes out on July 22. She is also working on a second album.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter