The Mean Girls 2 premiere is coming to the ABC Family channel this January, hoping to find success in the wake of the original. Mean Girls 2 will be devoid of nearly everyone who made the first movie so much fun, and in the place of the lead character will be Meaghan Martin. This could be an interesting chapter in the story, but it definitely sounds like one of those made-for-television movies that typically come out with little fanfare. Still, Mean Girls 2 could offer something original for its ABC Family viewers, and possibly turn that into DVD sales after the premiere.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Mean Girls 2 will debut on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 8 pm. ABC Family is hoping that it will be a big event for their Sunday night movies, and that it will also attract more viewers when they show it additional times on the network. Some continuity will be presented by the return of Principal Duvall, played by Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows. Meadows presented some great laughs in the first film, taking on the role of a principal who seems out of his depth at times, but brings a lot of humor to the screen. This time he will be there to present some “glue” to the story.

The lead character is going to be played by Meaghan Martin (as Jo), who will be a new student coming to the school. She is familiar to ABC Family viewers, as she played Bianca Stratford on 10 Things I Hate About You, and was also in Camp Rock 2 that just came out in 2010. She was also in the first Camp Rock movie, and will definitely be recognizable in her new leading spot in Mean Girls 2. Some of the other cast members will be played by Maiara Walsh, Jennifer Stone, and Nicole Gale Anderson. The thought is that the combined cast will help to make this one a winner, and that it will be the return of Meadows that opens doors for this film.

Meaghan Martin recently sat down with Clevver TV to talk about her upcoming movie Mean Girls 2. The movie is a sequel to the original Mean Girls film, and will be available on DVD in February 2011.

In the interview you can listen to Meaghan talk a bit about her hesitation to do this movie at first, but how she realized quickly that it was a great opportunity. Also she talks about her fellow cast mates and how talented everyone who worked on the movie is.

After you watch the interview below be sure to let us know if you are excited to see Mean Girls 2!

I’ve added a poster of Mean Girls 2. Meaghan looks stunning, I hope the promoshoot will be released soon! Check it out in the gallery!

Camp Rock 2 is a ratings hit and it’s time to give a little credit to Demi Lovato’s sassy on-screen rival Meaghan Martin. Eighteen-year-old Martin, better known to Jonas groupies as the cutthroat Camp Star diva Tess Tyler, says her character was inspired by Meryl Streep’s icy turn in The Devil Wears Prada and Rachel McAdams’ ruthless queen bee in Mean Girls.

“I wanted to play her as a smart mean girl, not a ditzy annoying mean girl,” Martin said of Tess in an exclusive interview with Celebuzz. “I wanted her to be smart and manipulative because that’s far more scary.”

With that kind of grasp on the mentality of the high school princess, it’s no wonder Martin landed the starring role in Mean Girls 2, the TV sequel slated to premiere next year on ABC Family. Though Martin isn’t embarrassed to admit she can quote the original Mean Girls “pretty much beginning to end,” she tells Celebuzz she didn’t look to Lindsay Lohan’s character, Cady Heron, for inspiration.

“She kind of fell off the edge, which is sad,” Martin added of Lohan. “I feel bad for her.”

Though she’s often playing mean girls, Martin couldn’t be sweeter or more bubbly in our chat, calling Demi her “very close” friend and describing her Jonas co-stars as “down-to-earth,” “very real” gentlemen who battled her in ping pong and kickball on the Camp Rock set. (“Nick Jonas is definitely the most competitive,” she said with a laugh.)

As for Jonas Brother crushes, however, Martin seems wise beyond her years.

“When you spend as much time around them as I have, I think that a crush would not be the wisest,” she said.

Will you tune in to see Meaghan Martin in Mean Girls 2?

“I didn’t really study the first movie for this role just because my character is very different from Lindsay’s,” Martin said. “Jo is like a tough tomboy kind of badass girl and that’s not really Lindsay’s character… it’s ironic that I was probably using more of Mean Girls for Camp Rock than Mean Girls 2!”

But being a young Disney darling just like Lohan once was has inspired inevitable comparisons. How does Martin take to being called ‘the next Lindsay Lohan?’

“In some ways it’s like, ‘well thank you,’ because before she did lose her footing she had an incredible career,” Martin told Celebuzz. “If I could have that career and just not have the end results of it, then I will be very happy.

Meaghan Martin has said she is relieved to not be playing a nasty piece of work in Mean Girls 2.

The actress – who is best known for playing b****y Tess Tyler in Disney’s Camp Rock TV movies – has revealed she’ll finally be playing a nice girl in the sequel to Lindsay Lohan’s 2004 hit.

“I just finished [Mean Girls 2] and that was a great experience – I’m excited for it to be released,” she explained whilst promoting Camp Rock 2 in New York.

“I don’t play the mean girl in it and that’s the good news – I’m the nice one. It was great, I’m so happy to be the nice one for a change, especially as not only is she nice but she’s a tough tomboy and that’s not like anything I’ve ever played.”

She added: “I hope that the people who tune in will be happy to see me in a new role.”

The 18-year-old also said she believes the b****y schoolgirl characters Hollywood depicts are realistic.

“Movies always escalate everything for the comedy or drama but there are definitely mean girls in real life. It’s scary when you hear about it on the news,” she said.

Remember Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam airs TONIGHT at 8/7c on Disney Channel!

Tina Fey, who played the teacher Ms. Norbury in the original Mean Girls, did not return this time to the sequel Mean Girls 2. Tina was in negotiations to be in this sequel but rejected numerous offers from Paramount to be in it. She now says she regrets this decision.

“It’s funny, because now it’s shooting and I don’t really have anything to do with it,” said Fey. “I haven’t read it or anything like that. Paramount was very generous and solicitous with me for several years, saying, ‘Would you like to do it?’ And at the time, I was like, ‘They should just let it be what it is!’”

She continued: “Now, its like, why not just do it? I should have done it, because now it’s happening anyway!”

Mean Girls 2 is now in productions and will be released direct to DVD. It will have Disney Stars such as Meaghan Martin, Jennifer Stone, Nicole Anderson and Maiara Walsh starring in it.

I’ve added a cute on the set photo of Meaghan from Mean Girls 2. She looks really beautiful so check it out!

For all of you hoping that “Mean Girls 2″ would have the same amount of cultural clout as “Mean Girls,” think again. Hollywood Crush has discovered exclusively from our source close to the project that the film is skipping theaters and heading straight to a TV near you once it is finished.

There had been some initial speculation that “Mean Girls 2″ would be a straight-to-DVD sequel, but it turns out that it is actually being made for television. In addition to the leading ladies who have already been named publicly (we’re looking at you, Meaghan Martin and Maiara Walsh), fellow Disney stars Jennifer Stone (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) and Nicole Anderson (“Jonas L.A.”) have also announced their involvement with the film.

For those of you who were pissed that the leading ladies of “Mean Girls 2″ were Disney actresses, this should make a lot of sense. Our source couldn’t confirm which network the film would end up on, but our bets are that it won’t be on the Disney Channel. Instead, we think it will premiere on ABC Family, a channel which is also owned by Disney but has an audience that is more a “Mean Girls” target age range. Just check out “Pretty Little Liars” if you don’t believe us.

This is a good chance for the actresses in this film to break out from their secondary Disney Channel roles and be known on a more teenage girl-oriented network. It is also good news for the “Mean Moms” film, which is a sequel of sorts to “Mean Girls” as well, because that means it won’t be seeing any box office competition from the made-for-TV sequel.

Shooting on “Mean Girls 2″ is already underway, and the film is set for a TV premiere in 2011.

Source

Meaghan Martin will be starring as “Jo” in the sequel Mean Girls 2 to the popular Lindsay Lohan original movie Mean Girls that came out in 2004.
Meaghan announced via Facebook:

I won’t be going on [the Camp Rock] tour because I will be in Atlanta filming “Mean Girls 2″! I will be playing the lead role of “Jo”!

Congrats Meaghan!
Mean Girls 2 revolves around a new high school student, Jo, who agrees to befriend an outcast, Abby, at the urging of Abby’s wealthy father in exchange for paying all of Jo’s costs for the college of her dreams. Jo and Abby team up to take on the school’s “mean girls,” the Plastics. The story becomes a high stakes battle of loyalty that ultimately comes to a head when one of our heroines finds out that her friendship has been bought and paid for.