Raise your hand if you are a big fan of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL or HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 or HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3?  Ok, then what about THE O.C.’s Autumn Reeser or DEGRASSI: TNG’s Nina Dobrev?  Hand still not raised, what about Neil Haskell from SYTYCD?  If none of those things rings a bell, raise your hand if you think you would like to spend a few hours enjoying some singing and dancing set at a mall?  If your hand was raised for any reason, you’re in luck!  From the producers of HSM comes THE AMERICAN MALL.

Set in the kind of mall that’s always been a home away from home for teens everywhere, “The American Mall” is the story of Ally, a hardworking young woman whose mother has owned a music shop that’s been the soul of the mall ever since it opened when Ally was a kid.  Ally’s singer/songwriter dreams seem to come closer to fruition when she meets Joey, a musician who’s moonlighting as a janitor at the mall in order to support his own rock star ambitions.  While Joey understands her songs (and heart) like no one else, Ally’s happiness and the fate of the music store are threatened when the mall owner’s spoiled daughter Madison – who will stop at nothing to get what she wants – becomes involved.

 

“The American Mall” stars Nina Dobrev (“Degrassi: The Next Generation”) as Ally, Rob Mayes as Rob, Autumn Reeser (“The O.C.,” “Lost Boys: The Tribe”) as Madison Huxley, Yassmin Alers (“Rent”) as Erin, Ally’s mom, and Al Sapienza (“The Sopranos”) as shopping mall owner and Madison’s dad, Max Huxley.  Rounding out the cast are Wade Allaiin Marcus as Ricky, Neil Haskell (“So You Think You Can Dance”) as Drew, David Baum as Stavros, Brooke Lyons (“American Dreams”) as Dori, Blythe Auffarth (“Veronica Mars”) as Alexa, Bresha Webb (“Lincoln Heights”) as Little Penny, Bianca Collins (“Unfabulous”) as Mia and Rodney To as Ben.  Shawn Ku directs the movie and choreographs the musical numbers with Bonnie Story (“High School Musical”).  “The American Mall” is produced by MTV in conjunction with Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush, the creators of the hit phenomenon “High School Musical.”

 

Airing on MTV at 9PM on August 11 (that’s this coming Monday for those of you not near a calendar), THE AMERICAN MALL has everything you need.  A story of star-crossed love, jealous managerial type lady who causes trouble, music, dancing, guitars, group sings, crazy antics in a mall, friendships, good triumphing over evil, and a showcase for some really great talent.  I, for one, am really excited to tune in.  After the jump, check out the trailer, a music video, and some pictures from the movie!

The extended trailer:

Pictures of the cast – some studio shots, some promo shots, some shots from the movie:

You can also check out the first 5 minutes of the show (featuring our first glimpse at the music) here: The American Mall.