Vanessa Hudgens journeys to Mysterious Island

There will be an advance screening of “Journey 2: A Mysterious Island,” starring Filipina actress Vanessa Hudgens. The preview is slated for February 7 at Regal E Walk, three days before the film’s commercial release on February 10.

In the film, Hudgens plays a strong-willed daughter who insists on joining her father and three others to an island to rescue its lone inhabitant from a pending calamity.

Hudgens, a Chinese-Filipino American actress/singer, and Samoan American Dwayne Johnson topbill the family adventure film.

The new 3D film is a sequel to the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” It begins when young Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson, reprising his role from the first film) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island. It’s a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret.

“Journey 2” is directed by Brad Peyton (“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”). It also stars Michael Caine as Sean’s grandfather, Alexander Anderson and Kristin Davis as Sean’s mom, Liz Anderson.

Hudgens began her career in the world of musical theatre at the age of 8, with roles in such productions as “Evita,” “Carousel,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “The King & I,” “The Music Man,” “Cinderella” and “Damn Yankees,” and most recently appeared as Mimi in a stage production of “Rent” at The Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris.

The recognition Hudgens received for her early work quickly brought her to the screen, and she made her feature film debut in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Thirteen,” starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood. Soon thereafter, she co-starred in the action-adventure film “Thunderbirds,” and was a recurring guest star on Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” Her other television credits include appearances on “Quintuplets,” “The Brothers Garcia,” “Still Standing” and “Robbery Homicide Division.”

It was Hudgens’ role in Disney Channel’s breakaway sensation “High School Musical” that garnered her the most praise and attention. She played Gabrielle Montez, the sweet girl torn between her attraction to both basketball jock Troy Bolton and the school musical auditions. With critics and fans clamoring for more, Hudgens reprised her role in the highly successful follow ups, “High School Musical 2” and the feature film “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” She then followed up those hits by starring in “Bandslam,” a film which centers around a high school misfit and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their love for music.

Hudgens most recently starred in Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” and in “Beastly,” a modern-day take on Beauty & the Beast. Her upcoming film projects include the Ron Krauss drama “Gimme Shelter,” Scott Walker’s thriller “The Frozen Ground,” with Nicolas Cage and John Cusack, and the crime drama “Spring Breakers.”

For more information about the film, visit http://www.themysteriousisland.com.