Footloose Remake Cast Set
Our long national nightmare is over! TheFootlooseremake finally has a cast. Now I can rest easy tonight. Mostly because no one I care too much about is in the movie, whichCraig Brewer(Hustle and Flow,Black Snake Moan) is still directing. OK, there’sDennis Quaid, playing John Lithgow’s role, but he’s been in worse. The rest of the names, each of which is sure to thrill you in different ways, after the break.
A press release from Paramount announces that little-knownKenny Wormaldhas the lead role formerly made iconic by Kevin Bacon. Wormald is a Boston kid who has been on the MTV seriesDancelifeandCenter Stage: Turn it Upand toured with Justin Timberlake and The Pussycat Dolls. All of which probably proves his dancing bonafides, but can the kid act?
The previously announcedJulianne Houghwill be the small-town girl Wormald falls for. Quaid will play her uptight preacher father, whileMiles Tellerwill play the lunkhead friend played in the original by Chris Penn. No word yet on a new actress for the mother of Hough’s character, originally played by Dianne Wiest. I’m making the early guess that Teller is going to be the standout here from an acting perspective, not because he looks the part, but because he’s already shot a part in John Cameron Mitchell’s new filmRabbit Hole, and working with Mitchell counts for a lot.
Craig Brewer is directing from a script he wrote based on the original film’s script by Dean Pitchford, who is exec producing. No word on whether Pitchford’s original songs will be used or reworked, or if we’ll have a slate of modern pop pap. Who is the Kenny Loggins for 2011? Answer that question and you could become a billionaire.
From the press release, Brewer says,
I saw ‘Footloose’ in my hometown theater when I was 13-years-old and it rocked my world. It was a teenage rebellion movie that explored the struggles of faith and family in a small town, and it had an awesome soundtrack. I can promise ‘Footloose’ fans that I will be true to the spirit of the original film. But I still gotta put my own Southern grit into it and kick it into 2011…It’s going to be a blast!
