Disney Channel Original Movie "Cadet Kelly" Enlists Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano

Disney Channel, the leader in television for kids and families, has recruited two of its hottest young stars Hilary Duff ("Lizzie McGuire") and Christy Carlson Romano ("Even Stevens"), to report for duty on the live-action original movie "Cadet Kelly," announced Gary Marsh, executive vice president, original programming, Disney Channel.

Production is scheduled to begin in Toronto on July 30 and premiere in the first quarter of 2002.

"Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano have established their comedy credentials in our two highest-rated original series. By showcasing them in a Disney Channel original movie, an even broader audience can now enjoy their comedic talents," said Marsh.

In "Cadet Kelly," fourteen-year-old Kelly Collins (Duff) has it all. The good-hearted Greenwich Village native is hip to the latest fashions and she has never been more popular with her friends. At home things are just as spectacular, until her mom decides to remarry the head of the George Washington Military Academy.

It isn't long before Kelly and her mom have to relocate to upstate New York, and Kelly is ordered to turn in her designer duds for revolting fatigues and change into Cadet Kelly. Ick! Nevertheless, Kelly decides to make the best of the situation and tackle her new life with vigor.

Military school will definitely be tough, especially when notorious upperclassman Capt. Jennifer Stone (Romano) sets her sights on breaking the newest cadet ... but Kelly will prove that she is tougher. Now, if only there was something she could do about those uniforms!

"Cadet Kelly" is being produced by Bob Shapiro and Jerry Leider in association with Disney Channel. The script was written by Gail Parent and Michael Walsh and will be directed by Larry Shaw.

-- Posted July 10, 2001
Source: Company Press Release