Footloose

Craig Brewer’s remake carries two names over from the 1984 picture: Dean Pitchford, who wrote the original, co-wrote this screenplay, and Craig Zadan produced both. Kenny Ortega, announced as director in October 2008, left a year later over differences with Paramount and the budget. Zac Efron was cast as Ren in 2007 and dropped out in 2009; Chace Crawford, named as his replacement, withdrew over scheduling; the part went to Kenny Wormald in June 2010. Kevin Bacon turned down the cameo he was offered, Ren’s father who had walked out on the family, but gave Brewer his blessing. The town moved as well. Bomont sat in Utah in 1984 and sits in Georgia here, with shooting around Atlanta. Where Ren and Chuck played chicken on tractors in the original, the challenge becomes a school bus race. The album holds 8 new songs and 4 remakes from the original soundtrack; Kenny Loggins’s own recording opens the film and Blake Shelton’s country arrangement closes it. A good fit if you want a remake that stays with the original and keeps its changes down to the scale of a tractor turning into a bus. Not for viewers who want the dancing held in long takes; Wormald is a trained dancer, but the numbers are cut between close-ups and wider coverage.