Footloose was secretly gathering its mess together in the background and now suddenly presents itself as a movie already in the making witha full cast announcement including newcomer Kenny Wormald as Ren and Dancing with the stars and country artist Julianne Hough as Ariel!
Paramount issued the following statement:
Adam Goodman, President of Paramount Pictures Film Group, announced today the completion of principle casting on writer / director Craig Brewer’s “Footloose”. Following an extensive worldwide search, newcomer Kenny Wormald will play the highly coveted role of ‘Ren’, opposite previously announced star Julianne Hough as ‘Ariel’. Dennis Quaid also joins the cast in the role of ‘Reverend Moore’, along with Miles Teller as ‘Willard’.
Craig Zadan, who also served as a producer on the original film, joins his longtime creative partner Neil Meron (“Chicago”) and producers Brad Weston and Dylan Sellers (“Agent Cody Banks”) on the remake. OscarÒ winning songwriter Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay and songs for the original movie, will executive produce. Brewer (“Hustle And Flow,” “Black Snake Moan”) will shoot from a script he adapted from Pitchford’s original.
I do like the idea of Quaid as the stern well meaning Reverend, and I wonder just how close to the original this remake will run?
I have my reservations about how Footloose will play in an updated world where acquisitions of the contraband Rock Music will be impossible to control, but perhaps it will be set in the 80s and feature an 80s soundtrack. That would be awesome.
