The High School Musical phenomenon is spreading. No longer willing to contain itself to sequels and numerous DVD releases, the stars of the Disney channel movie are getting caught up in the belief that they have real talent and taking over other, more beloved movies. Haven’t they learned anything from the devastating career moves of Britney and Justin, as opposed to the quieter members of the Disney family who silently slid off the radar?
Apparently these lessons have to be learned the hard way. The first lesson will come for the HSM crowd with Hairspray, featuring Zac Efron in a more formidable role. Even that isn’t enough for Efron, however, who has decided to appear in a more formidable role in another remake.
According to Variety, Paramount has announced their intentions to create a more-musically focused remake of the ‘80s classic Footloose, with Efron in the lead role originally played by Kevin Bacon. HSM director Kenny Ortega is in talks to lead the project. This would be the third picture Ortega and Efron would work together on, but the first non High School Musical flick.
What worries me is that, unlike the Hairspray remake, this isn’t based on anything but the original movie. Hairspray is an adaptation of the Broadway musical that was based on the original John Waters movie. While Footloose has also spawned a Broadway musical, the announcement from Paramount doesn’t make it sound like they’ll be looking to that for movie ideas. Instead it’s just a remake, with more music, and High School Musical people. You might as well throw in Justin and Kelly from “American Idol” and make it a complete catastrophe. On the plus side, if this goes through, Kevin Bacon will be linked to the younger generation of musical actors in one less step.
