The romantic comedy Bandslam was released in August of 2009 by Summit Entertainment and Walden Media. The film stars a teenage cast, including High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens. The plot of Bandslam is a music-loving high school student who gets involved in a love triangle with two different girls - each of whom is working on music of her own.

Rock star David Bowie makes a brief appearance in the Bandslam movie as himself. The film also stars Aly Michalka, Gaelan Connell, and Lisa Kudrow.

The director of Bandslam is Todd Graff who is also an actor and he wrote the screenplay for this movie along with Josh A. Cagan. This Summit Entertainment film was filmed in Austin, Texas and the high school scenes were shot at Austin’s School for the Deaf, which are a few blocks from the studios. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976222/

All of the cast members in Badslam were required to perform their own vocals, and many of the young actors also double as musicians. Star Gaelan Connell, who plays Will, is the lead singer of the band Sweet 16. Hudgens, who also sings in the High School Musical films, released her debut solo album, V in September of 2006, and a follow-up, Identified in 2008.

V was certified Gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. Alyson Michalka, who plays Hudgens' romantic rival in the film, is also a singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. She plays in the musical duo 78violet (previously known as Aly and AJ) with her sister, Amanda Michalka.

Prior to making the film, the entire cast underwent 2 weeks of vocal training and musical rehearsals.

The film was generally well-received by critics, and currently has a freshness rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers complained a bit about the pacing, and overall predictability of the story, but praised the young cast and particularly the music.http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bandslam/

Many critics also noted the film's esoteric musical taste, and admired how it did not dumb down references to Bowie or The Velvet Underground to appeal to teenage viewers. Dyan Lybarger of eFilmCritic.com praises writer-director Todd Graff for making a rare film that doesn't condescend to teens.http://www.kcactive.com/aande/reel/0809_reel.htm#bandslam

• Gaelan Connell plays Will Burton

• Alyson Michalka plays Charlotte Banksasks

• Vanessa Hudgens plays Sam

• Lisa Kudrow plays Karen Burton

• Charlie Saxton plays Bug

• Tim Jo plays Omar

• Scott Porter plays Ben Wheatley

• Ryan Donowho plays Basher Martin

• Elvy Yost plays Irene Lerman

• Lisa Chung plays Kim

• David Bowie plays Himself