Actress Vanessa Hudgens will be honored with the ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow award at the annual cinema owners convention in Las Vegas in March.

The 21 year old has landed the coveted accolade after impressing movie bosses with her turn in the High School Musical franchise, and her more recent roles, including the upcoming film Beastly.

Her co-star in the fantasy movie, Alex Pettyfer, has been named the Male Star of Tomorrow, with ShoWest managing director Robert Sunshine branding the pair “outstanding young talents”.

Katherine Heigl will receive the Female Star of the Year award at the annual ceremony.

Hudgens and Pettyfer follow a long line of impressive Star of Tomorrow recipients, including Chris Pine, Shia Labeouf, Hayden Christensen, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

Star Trek star Chris Pine is to step into Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford’s shoes after signing up to play beloved movie character Jack Ryan in a new movie.

Pine becomes the fourth actor to portray the Tom Clancy character on the big screen behind Ford, Affleck and Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in 1990′s The Hunt For Red October.

Ford played Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, while Affleck took over the role in 2002′s The Sum of All Fears.