Footloose remake seems to have hit a few bumps, and I had hoped that this was one idea that would get swept under the carpet. But it looks like now Craig Brewer has re-written a script for it, and will direct it as well.
I am an emotional rollercoaster on this one as I do not want to see it re-made (the original holds up) but there may be a glimmer of hope.
Paramount Pictures is back on course with their “Footloose” remake, setting director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan) to bring the movie to the big screen from his own re-written script. However, Brewer will have to find a new lead now that Chace Crawford is exiting the project due to scheduling conflicts with “Gossip Girl.” The plan is to have the cameras rolling by this summer.
I was a little concerned that they had hired on Kenny Ortega to direct because Footloose is NOT a musical. Its a movie with a lot of music in it, but music is the story, not the movie.
And an updated film I just can’t see working in today’s culture. I hope they keep it an 80s film, because I just can’t see how in this media saturated generation they could possibly enforce a ban on rock music. In the original, the town was far removed from any radio stations, and tapes were “smuggled in” to be played in car radios by rebels.
I don’t think its impossible to do, but I am not optimistic about a remake of this movie.
However the addition of Craig Brewer does give me a little hope. Hustle and Flow grabbed culture of that time and showcased that drama against the heavy influence of music. This is the kind of vision I hope we get with Footloose.
Give it real drama, 80s music and a radical like Ren McCormick can lead that sleepy town out of its backwards way of life.
