Hannah Montana

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, CA. 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.[2]

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 afore-mentioned episode. Other names considered for the title were The Secret Life of Zoe Stewart (discarded as too similar to Zoey 101 on Nickelodeon), The Popstar Life!, and Alexis Texas. Former American Juniors finalist Jordan McCoy and pop and R&B singer JoJo (who rejected the role)[3] were considered for the role of Zoe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend"[4] 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, jewelery, apparel, and dolls, at select stores. [5] Play Along Toys has released the Hannah and Miley dolls and other merchandise. 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.[6]As stated by Jason Earles at the launch of the High School Musical 2 Extended Edition DVD, filming of the second season has finished.

Popularity

Main article: Best of Both Worlds Tour

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.[7] The shows attract much attention, with an example being the attendance of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich who later admitted to having watched every episode.[8]

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 stanzas one and two and stanzas seven and eight 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).

Lawsuit

On 2007-08-23, 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.[9]

Cast

Main

* Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana
* Emily Osment as Lilly Truscott/Lola
* Mitchel Musso as Oliver Oken/Mike Standley III
* Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart
* Billy Ray Cyrus as Robby Stewart
* Moises Arias as Rico (Season 2)

Recurring

* Moises Arias: Rico (Season 1)
* Shanica Knowles: Amber Addison
* Anna Maria Perez de Tagle: Ashley Dewitt
* Dolly Parton: Aunt Dolly
* Vicki Lawrence: Mamaw Ruthie
* Frances Callier: Roxy
* Cody Linley: Jake Ryan
* Selena Gomez: Mikayla

Minor

Main article: List of Hannah Montana minor characters

Guest appearances

* Corbin Bleu: Johnny Collins (1)
* Paul Vogt: Dontzig (3)
* Ashley Tisdale: Maddie Fitzpatrick (1)
* Lisa Arch: Liza (2)
* Brooke Shields: Susan Stewart (2) (1 has aired, the 2nd has aired only in the UK)
* Larry David: Himself (1)
* Madison Pettis: Sophie Martinez (1)
* John D'Aquino: President Richard Martinez (1)
* Jesse McCartney: Himself (1)
* Selena Gomez: Mikayla (2)
* Karina Smirnoff: Madame Escajeda
* Jonas Brothers: Themselves (1)
* The Rock: Himself (1)
* Heather Locklear: Heather Truscott (1)