Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron has launched his own production company.

The 'High School Musical' star has partnered with his manager Jason Barret to form Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions and employed Fox network executive Jason Young as head of development and Angie Edgar of Alchemy Production Group as his creative executive, contactmusic.com reports.

'We're looking for stuff that is original, that doesn't necessarily have a brand associated with it. You can make something truly brilliant now and it doesn't have to be a remake,' Efron said.

Company executives have already lined up a series of projects with Efron in the starring roles.

The planned ventures include: 'Art of the Steal', about an unlikely geeky criminal mastermind; time travel story 'Einstein Theory'; action adventure 'Fire'; a remake of Swedish thriller 'Snabba Cash', and an as-yet-untitled workplace comedy.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old actor has denied that he splurged $2,000 during a night out with a friend in a strip club in New York.

Reports suggested that by the time the duo left in the early hours of Monday morning, Efron had spent thousands on the dancers.

'I'm not really the type of guy that does that type of thing often...No, not at all. It was like $6. I don't remember. I don't think I opened my wallet. It was more of a celebratory thing,' he said.