Footloose
is a 1984 American film that tells the story of Ren McCormack, played by Kevin Bacon, a teenager who was raised in Chicago. McCormack moves to a small town where the local government has banned dancing and rock music. Ren and his classmates want to have a senior prom with music and dancing. They must figure out a way to get around the law and Reverend Shaw Moore, played by John Lithgow, who blames rock music's influence for the death of his first child.
The movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, rural farming community of Elmore City, Oklahoma. [1] Much of the film was filmed in Utah County, Utah.
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Production
Dean Pitchford wrote the screenplay (and most of the lyrics) for
Footloose
,
Herbert Ross directed the movie, and
Paramount Pictures co-produced and distributed it.
Michael Cimino was hired by Paramount to direct the movie when negotiations with Ross initially stalled. After four months working on the film, the studio fired Cimino, who was making extravagant demands for the production, and ended up rehiring Ross.
[2]
Casting
Footloose
also starred
Lori Singer as Reverend Moore's independent daughter Ariel, a role
Madonna also auditioned for.
Dianne Wiest appeared as Vi, the Reverend's devoted yet conflicted wife.
Footloose
is one of the earliest film appearances of
Sarah Jessica Parker as Ariel's friend Rusty, a role for which she was nominated for Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama at the Sixth Annual Youth in Film Awards. It was also an early role for
Chris Penn as Willard Hewitt, Ren's best friend, who doesn't know how to dance until Ren teaches him.
Filming
The film was made at various locations in
Utah County. The high school and tractor scenes were filmed in and around
Payson, Utah and
Payson High School. The church scenes were filmed in
American Fork, Utah. The steel mill was the
Geneva Steel mill. The final sequence is filmed in
Lehi, Utah, with the Lehi Roller Mills featured in the final sequence.
Cast
- Kevin Bacon
as Ren McCormack
- Lori Singer
as Ariel Moore
- John Lithgow
as Reverend Shaw Moore
- Dianne Wiest
as Vi Moore
- Chris Penn
as Willard Hewitt III
- Sarah Jessica Parker
as Rusty
- John Laughlin
as Woody
- Elizabeth Gorcey
as Wendy Jo
- Frances Lee McCain
as Ethel McCormack
- Jim Youngs
as Chuck Cranston
Soundtrack
The movie's
soundtrack was released in
cassette,
8-track tape,
vinyl, and
Compact Disc format. The soundtrack was also re-released on compact disc for the 15th anniversary of the film. The re-release included four new songs: "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by
Quiet Riot, "
Hurts So Good" by
John Mellencamp, "
Waiting for a Girl Like You" by
Foreigner, and the extended 12" remix of "Dancing in the Sheets".
The soundtrack includes three rock singles, the title song by Kenny Loggins and "Holding Out for a Hero" by
Welsh singer
Bonnie Tyler, and "Girl Gets Around" by Sammy Hagar, three R&B singles, "Let's Hear It For the Boy" by Deniece Williams, "Somebody's Eyes" by Karla Bonoff, and "Dancing In the Sheets" by Shalamar and the love theme "Almost Paradise" by Mike Reno from Loverboy and Ann Wilson from Heart. The film was later released in
VHS,
Laserdisc and
DVD formats, Some of the music for the songs was composed by people such as Sammy Hagar,
Eric Carmen,
Jim Steinman and Kenny Loggins and the soundtrack went on to sell over 9 million copies in the USA.
The first two tracks both hit #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and received
1985 Academy Award nomination for
Best Music (Original Song). "Footloose" also received a
1985 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture.
Reception
The film, despite mixed critical reviews, grossed $80,035,402 around the world.
[3]
Musical version
A musical version of Footloose that features many of the same songs from the movie is played at the Playhouse Theatre in London's
West End. The musical is generally faithful to the film version, with some slight differences in the story and characters.
Remake
Paramount Pictures has announced plans to fast-track a musical remake of
Footloose
, with plans to start filming in March of 2010.
Zac Efron was cast as Ren in the new movie,
[4] but he later dropped out, reportedly saying that he wanted to take a break from musicals.
[5] Kenny Ortega is announced as director, with Peter Sollett re-writing the script and Dylan Sellers, (producer of
The Replacements
),
Craig Zadan and
Neil Meron as co-producers.
[6] It will be filmed in Utah, like the original. It was announced on May 19, 2009 that
Chace Crawford will be playing the lead role of Ren in the upcoming remake.
[7] Derek Hough from
Dancing with the Stars
was in talks to play Ren since he played the role in the
musical version in
London and pop recording artist
Keithian has been in talks to play Ren's best friend. According to
E! News,
Julianne Hough, Derek's sister, also of
Dancing with the Stars
, has been in talks with the producers to take on the role of Ariel, formerly played by
Lori Singer. It was confirmed on June 21, 2009 that Hough will be playing the role of Ariel if her schedule permits.
References
- You Got Trouble in Elmore City: That's Spelled with a "t," Which Rhymes with "d" and That Stands for Dancing
- Shall We Footloose?
- Box office / business for Footloose (1984)
- Zac Efron Brings Home the Bacon in Footloose Redo
- Zac Efron No Longer Cutting Footloose
- Zadan and Meron Will Co-Produce ''Footloose'' Remake for ''High School Musical'' Star Efron
- EXCLUSIVE: Chace Crawford to Star in Footloose