Hannah Montana is an Emmy Award-nominated American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus) by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real identity from the public, other than her close friends and family.
On April 9, 2008, it was announced that Hannah Montana would return for a third season in 2008 and production started on August 4, 2008. Season 3 premiered on November 2, 2008, and is still filming. Hannah Montana: The Movie was released in theaters on April 10, 2009.
Production
Michael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven. The show is produced by It's a Laugh Productions, Inc., in association with Disney. It is filmed at Tribune Studios in Hollywood, California. The series premiere scored record ratings for Disney Channel: 5.4 million viewers, a response "beyond our wildest expectations," according to the president of Disney Channel Entertainment.
The original idea for this show was based on the That's So Raven episode "Goin' Hollywood", which was supposed to be the pilot episode for a sitcom called Better Days, in which a child star of a popular TV show of the same name was to try her hand at going to a normal school. The episode "New Kid in School" has the basic premise as that aforementioned episode. Other names considered for the title were The Secret Life of Zoe Stewart (discarded as too similar to Zoey 101 on Nickelodeon)[citation needed], The Popstar Life!, and Alexis Texas. Former American Juniors finalist Jordan McCoy and pop and R&B singer JoJo (who rejected the role) were considered for the role of Zoe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend" Lilly Romero, later changed to Lilly Truscott, but they thought she would be better for the main character, so she tried out for Zoe Stewart/Hannah Montana. Zoe Stewart was later changed to Chloe Stewart, which was eventually changed to Miley when she got the part. The names of Hannah Montana were changed a few times. Three of the previous names were Anna Cabana, Samantha York, and Alexis Texas.
In December 2006, Disney announced plans to release Hannah Montana products, including: clothing, jewellery, apparel, and dolls, at select stores. Play Along Toys released the Hannah Montana fashion dolls, singing dolls and Miley Stewart doll, and other merchandise in August 2007. More Hannah dolls were released in November, along with Oliver, Lilly, and later Jake Ryan dolls. They became one of the most popular Christmas toys in 2007. Hannah Montana is signed for at least one more season according to Disney Channel. Filming for the second season started in December. The new season started in April, 2007, in which she is in high school.As stated by Jason Earles at the launch of the High School Musical 2 Extended Edition DVD, filming of the second season has finished.
By February 2008, the Hannah Montana franchise had become so important that Disney convened an "80-person, all-platform international meeting to discuss Hannah Montana's future." All Disney business segments were represented at the meeting.
Popularity
In addition to the high ratings of the TV series, concerts for Hannah Montana have also been exceedingly popular. Tickets for every concert sell out, with some later being scalped for thousands of dollars. The shows attract much attention, with an example being the attendance of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich who later admitted to having watched every episode.
Opening sequence
The theme song for Hannah Montana is "The Best of Both Worlds" written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, produced by Gerrard and performed by Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana). John Carta, who also composes the music cues to signify scene changes and commercial breaks, composed the music for the song. The song's lyrics describe the basic premise of the television series.
The full-length version, which is 2 minutes, 54 seconds in length, was included on the show's soundtrack, released in October 2006. For the TV version of the theme, which lasts only 50 seconds, only the first two stanzas and the last two were used.
"Just Like You" and "The Other Side of Me" were originally tested for the opening theme song, before "Best of Both Worlds" was chosen as the theme. Stage and features episode clips of each cast member when each cast member's name appears. Each cast member's name is "wiped" on the screen in a marquee-light-style. The sequence then switches to full-screen episode clips (most of the clips used in the Season One version of the sequence were of the early produced episodes) with the creator's names appearing in the second-to-last clip. The show's title logo design appears at the beginning, and again at the end, of the sequence (the latter portion as with most other portions of the sequence on the "concert stage" feature Cyrus as her character Hannah Montana).
In Season 3, a new version of the opening credits were used. It features Miley as herself and Hannah Montana in a Times Square-like setting. The names of the actors and actresses and clips from the show appear in a sort-of marquee board and it features Hannah Montana with her new wig and clothes style. The song playing is the new version of The Best of Both Worlds.
Lawsuit
On August 23, 2007, Buddy Sheffield, a comedy writer who wrote for The Smothers Brothers Show, The Dolly Parton Show, and In Living Color, sued Disney over Hannah Montana alleging that he originally came up with the idea for Hannah Montana but was never compensated by Disney. The lawsuit claims breach of contract, breach of confidence, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. In the lawsuit, Sheffield claims that he pitched an idea for a TV series with the name of "Rock and Roland" to Disney Channel in 2001 with the plot of a junior high student who lived a secret double life as a rock star. The lawsuit claims that Disney Channel executives at first liked the idea but passed on the series. Sheffield claims that he deserves a share of the revenue generated by Hannah Montana.
Films
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert is a musical documentary film from Walt Disney Pictures presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The limited release was intended to be for one week, February 1-7, 2008 in the US and Canada with release in other countries later on, but was extended for viewing as long as theaters wanted. Disney recently announced the concert was filmed in several cities to be theatrically released upon the US in February and internationally throughout the month. The film uses 3-D glasses.
The opening weekend, February 1-3, 2008, the movie had gross revenue of $29 million. Ticket prices were as high as $15, at least 50% higher than most regular movie tickets in 2008. It was the number one movie of the weekend, more than doubling the receipts of the number two movie, "The Eye". Opening in only 638 theaters, it set a record of over $42,000 per theater. It also set a record for the highest revenue for a 3-D movie for one weekend. Finally, it set a record for gross revenue for a Super Bowl weekend.
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie has been confirmed by many of the stars from the show. It will not be a Disney Channel Original Movie, but will instead follow in the steps of the Lizzie McGuire series, which is a feature-length film released in cinemas. Filming was scheduled to take place May 2008, and should be released on April 10, 2009. The visuals are more subdued and Miley’s wardrobe is a little more demure—meaning there's less neon and more country girl class. All your favorite characters are back, but everyone seems to have grown up a bit—maybe it’s something in the water down South. Oprah Winfrey also confirmed on her show on November 21, 2007 that a film was in the works. Cyrus stated that the movie might be her last as Hannah Montana due to the film's resolution. "I don't know if I would do another (Hannah Montana) film, but I would love to do another season," said Cyrus.
Nominations and awards
On April 9, 2008, it was announced that Hannah Montana would return for a third season in 2008 and production started on August 4, 2008. Season 3 premiered on November 2, 2008, and is still filming. Hannah Montana: The Movie was released in theaters on April 10, 2009.
Production
Michael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven. The show is produced by It's a Laugh Productions, Inc., in association with Disney. It is filmed at Tribune Studios in Hollywood, California. The series premiere scored record ratings for Disney Channel: 5.4 million viewers, a response "beyond our wildest expectations," according to the president of Disney Channel Entertainment.
The original idea for this show was based on the That's So Raven episode "Goin' Hollywood", which was supposed to be the pilot episode for a sitcom called Better Days, in which a child star of a popular TV show of the same name was to try her hand at going to a normal school. The episode "New Kid in School" has the basic premise as that aforementioned episode. Other names considered for the title were The Secret Life of Zoe Stewart (discarded as too similar to Zoey 101 on Nickelodeon)[citation needed], The Popstar Life!, and Alexis Texas. Former American Juniors finalist Jordan McCoy and pop and R&B singer JoJo (who rejected the role) were considered for the role of Zoe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend" Lilly Romero, later changed to Lilly Truscott, but they thought she would be better for the main character, so she tried out for Zoe Stewart/Hannah Montana. Zoe Stewart was later changed to Chloe Stewart, which was eventually changed to Miley when she got the part. The names of Hannah Montana were changed a few times. Three of the previous names were Anna Cabana, Samantha York, and Alexis Texas.
In December 2006, Disney announced plans to release Hannah Montana products, including: clothing, jewellery, apparel, and dolls, at select stores. Play Along Toys released the Hannah Montana fashion dolls, singing dolls and Miley Stewart doll, and other merchandise in August 2007. More Hannah dolls were released in November, along with Oliver, Lilly, and later Jake Ryan dolls. They became one of the most popular Christmas toys in 2007. Hannah Montana is signed for at least one more season according to Disney Channel. Filming for the second season started in December. The new season started in April, 2007, in which she is in high school.As stated by Jason Earles at the launch of the High School Musical 2 Extended Edition DVD, filming of the second season has finished.
By February 2008, the Hannah Montana franchise had become so important that Disney convened an "80-person, all-platform international meeting to discuss Hannah Montana's future." All Disney business segments were represented at the meeting.
Popularity
In addition to the high ratings of the TV series, concerts for Hannah Montana have also been exceedingly popular. Tickets for every concert sell out, with some later being scalped for thousands of dollars. The shows attract much attention, with an example being the attendance of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich who later admitted to having watched every episode.
Opening sequence
The theme song for Hannah Montana is "The Best of Both Worlds" written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, produced by Gerrard and performed by Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana). John Carta, who also composes the music cues to signify scene changes and commercial breaks, composed the music for the song. The song's lyrics describe the basic premise of the television series.
The full-length version, which is 2 minutes, 54 seconds in length, was included on the show's soundtrack, released in October 2006. For the TV version of the theme, which lasts only 50 seconds, only the first two stanzas and the last two were used.
"Just Like You" and "The Other Side of Me" were originally tested for the opening theme song, before "Best of Both Worlds" was chosen as the theme. Stage and features episode clips of each cast member when each cast member's name appears. Each cast member's name is "wiped" on the screen in a marquee-light-style. The sequence then switches to full-screen episode clips (most of the clips used in the Season One version of the sequence were of the early produced episodes) with the creator's names appearing in the second-to-last clip. The show's title logo design appears at the beginning, and again at the end, of the sequence (the latter portion as with most other portions of the sequence on the "concert stage" feature Cyrus as her character Hannah Montana).
In Season 3, a new version of the opening credits were used. It features Miley as herself and Hannah Montana in a Times Square-like setting. The names of the actors and actresses and clips from the show appear in a sort-of marquee board and it features Hannah Montana with her new wig and clothes style. The song playing is the new version of The Best of Both Worlds.
Lawsuit
On August 23, 2007, Buddy Sheffield, a comedy writer who wrote for The Smothers Brothers Show, The Dolly Parton Show, and In Living Color, sued Disney over Hannah Montana alleging that he originally came up with the idea for Hannah Montana but was never compensated by Disney. The lawsuit claims breach of contract, breach of confidence, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. In the lawsuit, Sheffield claims that he pitched an idea for a TV series with the name of "Rock and Roland" to Disney Channel in 2001 with the plot of a junior high student who lived a secret double life as a rock star. The lawsuit claims that Disney Channel executives at first liked the idea but passed on the series. Sheffield claims that he deserves a share of the revenue generated by Hannah Montana.
Films
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert is a musical documentary film from Walt Disney Pictures presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The limited release was intended to be for one week, February 1-7, 2008 in the US and Canada with release in other countries later on, but was extended for viewing as long as theaters wanted. Disney recently announced the concert was filmed in several cities to be theatrically released upon the US in February and internationally throughout the month. The film uses 3-D glasses.
The opening weekend, February 1-3, 2008, the movie had gross revenue of $29 million. Ticket prices were as high as $15, at least 50% higher than most regular movie tickets in 2008. It was the number one movie of the weekend, more than doubling the receipts of the number two movie, "The Eye". Opening in only 638 theaters, it set a record of over $42,000 per theater. It also set a record for the highest revenue for a 3-D movie for one weekend. Finally, it set a record for gross revenue for a Super Bowl weekend.
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie has been confirmed by many of the stars from the show. It will not be a Disney Channel Original Movie, but will instead follow in the steps of the Lizzie McGuire series, which is a feature-length film released in cinemas. Filming was scheduled to take place May 2008, and should be released on April 10, 2009. The visuals are more subdued and Miley’s wardrobe is a little more demure—meaning there's less neon and more country girl class. All your favorite characters are back, but everyone seems to have grown up a bit—maybe it’s something in the water down South. Oprah Winfrey also confirmed on her show on November 21, 2007 that a film was in the works. Cyrus stated that the movie might be her last as Hannah Montana due to the film's resolution. "I don't know if I would do another (Hannah Montana) film, but I would love to do another season," said Cyrus.
Nominations and awards
- 2007 Creative Arts Emmy - Outstanding Children's Program (Nominated)
- Hannah Montana was up against two other Disney Channel shows, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and That's So Raven, but lost to a Nick News special, Private Worlds: Kids and Autism.
- 2007 Winner of the "Choice TV Show: Comedy" for the Teen Choice Awards
Winner of the 2006-2007 Golden Icon Award (presented by Travolta Family Entertainment) for "Best New Comedy". - Winner of the Bafta Kids Vote 2008 at Bafta Children's Awards 2008, the only award voted for by the British public .
