So it’s no wonder that Disney is in the midst of filming its own take on the legend, Avalon High, due to premiere on the Disney Channel this fall. The movie, based on the novel by Meg Cabot, who wrote Princess Diaries along with several other teen book series, transplants the story of King Arthur to high school — think Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew becoming 10 Things I Hate About You.

Avalon High stars Britt Robertson (Life Unexpected’s Lux) as Allie, a transfer student to Avalon whose parents are “traveling professors who specialize in King Arthur’s legend.” When she gets to Avalon, Allie starts to research the Arthur legend herself, and realizes some pretty crazy similarities between her fellow students (played by the likes of Gregg Sulkin from Wizards of Waverly Place and Molly Quinn from Castle) and the legendary characters. Explains Disney, in a synopsis of the movie’s plot:

“The deeper Allie searches, the more convinced she is that her school is a contemporary Camelot, and it’s up to her to solve of the mystery of Avalon High before notorious traitor Mordred wins again.”

Will we be watching? Probably — we can’t ever get enough of those King Arthur legend stories. Will you?

(Photo by Nikki Nelson/WENN.com)

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Britt Robertson In 'Avalon High': Another Take On King Arthur

“Are any of y’all famous?”

We weren’t.

“Well, I’m gonna be famous. When I’m famous I’ll see you again and I can tell you I tol’ you so.”

She was slurring through a thick southern accent as she drunkenly teetered next to our table.

“I’m going to be on TV. For reals. Next week, that show on the Disney Channel.”

Hannah Montana, this girl was not. That said, if we’re to believe “Party In The USA,” she was a little bit like Miley Cyrus. I think anyone who decides to try their luck in Hollywood is, too. I know I used to be.

If we’re not hopping off a plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan, we’re driving cross country with everything we own, or, God forbid, taking the bus. We’re here to be the next Spielberg, Streep, or Situation.

Raised on (and often by) television and movies, my generation of Hollywood hopefuls has come to California with the fantasy making it big. Like American Idol contestants, we’re here to see our name in lights (in a manner of speaking), and, as Millennials, we’ve been told by our parents and Mr. Rogers that we can accomplish anything. How could we not succeed?

The answer: easily.

When I first moved to Southern California about three years ago, I felt almost invincible. I had a film degree from a prestigious East Coast school, a resume that read like a laundry list of name-brand internships, and the naiveté and ill-advised confidence that I knew exactly what I needed to start making my mark in Hollywood. But as the age- old adage goes: “It’s all about who you know.”

I guess I never got the memo.

Hollywood is a social place. Deals are made over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With people that you ran into at that party the week beforehand. You know, the one where Hilary Duff cursed you out for beating her at charades (true story).

This is not to say that you won’t make it unless you’re the child of a famous director or were born into a storied Hollywood dynasty like the Kardashians. However, you might have the best screenplay ever written, but it’ll languish on your hard drive unless you know how to get it into the right hands. You COULD just blindly submit your script to an agency, but odds are it’ll just end up in the trash. Trust me, I’ve thrown enough away to know.

Who you know is even more important in today’s economic climate. With so many people out of work, competition for that next gig is fiercer than one of Tyra Banks’ giant weaves. I would know: over a year ago, when I was working as the second assistant to the president of a major broadcast network, I was laid off. As it turns out, even working for the head honcho isn’t recession-proof.

Thankfully, as the realization sunk in that I was no longer going to be stocking his mini-fridge with Vitamin Water or taking his Prius to the carwash (it really was a pretty kush gig), my soon-to-be ex-boss told me that he’d taken the liberty of emailing someone about me. That someone is my current boss.

Of the jobs I’ve gotten since moving to LA almost three years ago, I would never have even heard of them if not for the connections I’ve made working my way up the ladder. The paparazzi crotch shots and big bucks won’t just fall into your lap, and while overnight success stories do happen, the odds are something akin to being struck by lightning. Twice.

So, those dreams of moving to the land of fame excess and fitting right in? Don’t worry if all you see are stilettos — take it down a notch and make some friends. The glitz and glamour will come later, and while the drunk Disney Channel girl might’ve seemed a little impatient, at least she was trying.

Too bad about that first impression, though. I didn’t set my TiVo.

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Dispatches From Hollywood: Like They Say, It's All About Who You Know

As much as we love JT, we already know everything about him. But what about the cluster of young unknowns in this film? The ones who will be playing the youngest, richest, luckiest geeks of all time?

Introducing, the Facebook 5:

Jesse Eisenberg
Eisenberg portrays Zuckerberg, and shares that innate nerdiness and good fortune despite said innate nerdiness. You have seen the buzzy 26-year-old actor before in Adventureland (where he romanced Kristen Stewart), Zombieland and The Squid And the Whale. He plays awkward well, evoking a slightly more dreamy Michael Cera. If this Social Network group were The Brat Pack, he’d be Anthony Michael Hall. The Jersey-bred son of a clown-mother and college professor-father, Eisenberg will soon be seen alongside Justin Bartha as an Ecstasy-dealing Orthodox Jew in Holy Rollers, out May 10. As of last May, he was a sixth-year junior majoring in Anthropology at the New School in New York City, riding his bicycle and living with his girlfriend. “I have one female fan,” he told Rolling Stone. “But she lives with me. I’m not aware of any others.” That’s what Zuckerberg said … before he invented Facebook! Zing!

Andrew Garfield
Garfield — born in Los Angeles, raised in England — plays Facebook co-founder and Zuckerberg nemesis Eduardo Saverin, who slapped the CEO with a lawsuit over money and the rights to “founder” status after they drifted apart. But back to Garfield: He is lanky and intense-looking, with a foppish look straight out of an Ivy League underground society. The 26-year-old first gained recognition on stage in his native Britain, and appeared opposite NatPort/ScarJo in the 2008 drama The Other Boleyn Girl. Here’s video of Garfield after winning best actor at the British Academy Television Awards for his role in the TV movie Kid A. He is a Leo, allergic to nuts and word has it was romantically linked to actress Shannon Woodward.

Patrick Mapel
Mapel was picked to play genial, boyish Chris Hughes, the Zuckerberg college roomie-turned-Facebook founder and spokesman who left the company to campaign for Obama. Mapel has, like, no film credits beyond an obscure 2008 drama called The Evening Journey, which, according to IMDB, is the  story about residents of hard-working fishing village. But wait! His mother is none other than Mare Winningham of St. Elmo’s Fire fame; Mapel is one of five children borne of Winningham and her ex-husband William Mapel, a TV tech advisor; Mapel, who was born in 1983, lived through the suicide of older brother, actor Riley Mapel, in 2005. Last year, Mapel popped up on Broadway in an adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play Mourning Becomes Electra. In the opening-night party photos, he looks the spitting image of Hughes: slight, Waspy and approachable.

Joseph Mazzello
Mazzello — oh, you know him – is That Kid from Jurassic Park! He was also in The River Wild with Meryl Streep, and Radio Flyer alongside Elijah Wood. He’s now 26, with a degree in film from USC, and was cast in The Social Network as Dustin Moskovitz, another guy who was lucky enough to live in the same Harvard dorm room as  Zuckerberg when the seeds of Facebook were planted in 2004.  ”They were in their dorm rooms trying to meet girls, and it became a billion- dollar business,” Mazzello told the British paper The Independent. “The whole thing caused a lot of conflict between the friends and eventual lawsuits.” This past weekend, The Independent ran an unintentionally hilarious profile of Mazzello, pegged to his leading role as a WWII marine in the new Steven Spielberg-produced TV epic The Pacific; interviewer Guy Adams writes breathlessly about how Mazzello disppeared from Hollywood, cast aside like a washed-up loser: “The sensitive and slightly awkward youth, who had walked hand-in-hand with Steven Spielberg up red carpets, suddenly stopped being cast in blockbuster movies; or pretty much any movies, come to that. His intense gaze and gingery brow (both of which are still very much in evidence) vanished from the public arena overnight. And that explains why he now finds himself, at the grand old age of 26, being “sort-of recognised” by members of the public at a Los Angeles luxury hotel.” Geez, Guy, give this Ginger a break! Spielberg certainly did.

Brenda Song
Song’s star keeps rising, and she has been featured in a slew of popular Disney Channel shows like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, where she played rich girl London Tipton, and original made-for-TV movies such as Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. The 22-year-old California native is fast-becoming a red-carpet fixture, and by all accounts,  will make a cameo in The Social Network as Zuckerberg’s girlfriend Priscilla Chan. They are a cute couple, and Chan reportedly won the Facebook frontman’s heart with a Twizzler. One time, TMZ caught them walking out of Mr. Chow and they got embarrassed. While Song is much more glamorous than Chan, she seems equally down-to-earth: The husky-voiced actress has a black belt in taekwondo, and despite her Disney princess background, once dated rapper Flo Rida. She also successfully won a lawsuit last year after an escort service used her image on an ad in the back of LA Weekly. Song has a bit of a rebel streak; will she balance Eisenberg’s onscreen awkwardness? Certainly. And Chan is the graceful and charming better half of Zuckerberg, who let it be known, is far more reknowned for his ego than his people skills.

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Meet The Facebook 5: Stars Of 'The Social Network'

I’ve never been that impressed by Hilary Duff, and with this newest tidbit of information, my opinion of her has gone even lower.

Seems that Hilary is is going to be in a remake of “Bonnie and Clyde”, the classic film noir starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. It’s one of those movies that you can’t really improve upon, but if you try, you’d better do it RIGHT. Hiring a Disney Channel and pop idol wannabe is definitely not right. You know that, I know that, and Faye Dunaway knows that; here’s what she had to say:

“Couldn’t they at least cast a real actress?”

Uh huh! I agree, Faye. So what did Miss Fancy Pants have to say back?

“I think that my fans that are going to go see the movie don’t even know who she is, so you know, uh, I think it was a little unnecessary but I might be mad if I looked like that now too.”

Classy, huh? First, the fact that you say your fans don’t even KNOW who Faye Dunaway is says a lot about the mental capacity of both you and your giggling fanbase. Plus, making fun of someone’s looks is so amazingly stupid, especially when you’re nothing to write home about. You know Hilary, there’s this little thing called “karma” and it tends to come back and bite ya when you say idiotic stuff like that. Might want to think about that.

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Hilary Duff brings out the claws against Faye Dunaway

Who’s that guy with Miley Cyrus? That’s 20 year old Justin Gaston, a model and aspiring country singer, who’s been spending a LOT of time with 15 year old Miley Cyrus lately. He went to church with the family, and then later that night he hit Disney’s Concert for Hope where Cyrus performed with the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.

Would you let your daughter date a 20 year old? Yeah, I don’t think so! What was going through Billy Ray Cyrus’s Achy Breaky Heart?

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Is Miley Cyrus dating a 20 year old?

Images courtesy Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

You guys all did so great! I loved hearing your stories of the first Disney movie you ever had the chance to see. I used the handy dandy Random.org Integer Generator to pick who won, and here we go:

So! Natalie and Denise, please email me at wendy@b5media.com with your snail mail addresses and I’ll get those spanking new “Enchanted” DVD’s out to you ASAP!! Great job everyone!

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ANDDDDDD...the winner of the "Enchanted" DVDs are:

2) A Kristen Davis sex tape AND pictures have come out!: Sweet little Charlotte from Sex and the City sure picked a whopper of a wrong guy to go out with!

3) Vanessa Williams, Kristin Chenoweth, Carla Gugino, and Marley Shelton: NAKED: How about some naked booty to go along with your cornflakes? Anyone? Anyone?

4) Naked Brad Pitt: Oh, yeah – the nakedness just keeps on a’comin.

5) Celebrity Oops Moments: What will those celebrities think of next!

6) Sexy Pics of Rachel Ray: My eyes! They burn!

7) Celebrities for Disney photoshoots – including behind the scenes candid shots!: Awesome stuff; not sure what I think of Whoopi as the Genie though.

8) Naked Jamie Lee Curtis in AARP: I didn’t know it was possible to be this nauseous this early in the morning.

9) Is Ryan Seacrest gay? : Annoying, yes, but gay? Who cares?

10) Tiger Woods home burned to the ground: sad news for the world’s best golfer.

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Top Ten Favorites for you this happy Saturday

Anyway, check out this cool side by side comparison of classic Disney movie scenes and Enchanted.

Images courtesy Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

More fun with Disney and Enchanted after the cut:

So cool, right? Seriously, even though it’s cheesy in parts, I love, love, LOVED this movie. And you will too.

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Classic Disney moments honored in "Enchanted"

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Celebrities for Disney photoshoots - including behind the scenes candid shots!