Next month, Memphis director Craig Brewer's remake of the 1984 dance classic "Footloose" will finally be released in theaters.
"Footloose" tells the story of Ren, a teenager from Chicago who moves to the small town of Bomont to live with his aunt and uncle. Bomont banned public dancing, loud rock music and other activities deemed to be corrupting its youth after an incident three years prior that resulted in the death of several local teenagers. Ren, however, wants to bring dancing back and hopes to win the love of the local preacher's troubled daughter.
When Craig Brewer was initially asked to direct the film, he turned it down.
"It was put into the context that the people who made ‘High School Musical' were going to be doing the ‘Footloose' remake, right down to the cast," Brewer said. "Nothing against Zac Efron, but it didn't seem like a movie I'd want to make, much less see."
Brewer said that Paramount insisted that he would be able to do it his way.
"I told them, ‘My version of ‘Footloose' isn't too far from ‘Footloose.' Would you be okay with me doing the same story, with some of the exact same lines?'" Brewer said.
Brewer said that he told Paramount to look at the content of the movie – which includes underage drinking, premarital sex, drugs, a violent car crash and a female teenager getting beaten up by her boyfriend – and then decide.
"After that, they went back and watched ‘Footloose,' and said, ‘You know what, this movie isn't so much a dance movie as we thought, and it's got a bit more of a hard edge to it,'" Brewer said. "I'm positive that if you were to release the same ‘Footloose' from 1984 today, it would (be rated R)."
As a fan, remaining true to the original movie was very important to Brewer, but there were changes to the film he found essential.
"The biggest change I wanted to make was ‘Why?'" he said. "The way it is presented to you in the original movie is that every parent in it is so prudish. They ban books, they even burn books, and it's not realistic. To be honest, it wasn't even realistic in 1984. I think moving the actual tragedy to the beginning of the movie and seeing the town respond to that made it more modern and more American."
The car accident that sets the film's plot in motion is never shown on screen and not mentioned for some time in the original version. Brewer said that by moving the accident to the beginning of the movie, the parents of the town became more sympathetic characters.
Other changes include added humor in the form of a bus race and making Ren's uncle a more likable character, a decision inspired by Brewer's own "cool uncle," in addition to the director wanting to avoid Southern stereotypes.
Brewer said the actors were a major part of the movie being more humorous, as well.
"Once I found these guys, it was funny," Brewer said at a question and answer panel during a recent screening of the movie.
While making the film, Brewer wanted to avoid using big-name actors in the leading roles.
"I made one rule," he said. "No stars."
"I'm confident enough to say I don't need Kevin Bacon handing the baton off to Kenny Warmold. Kenny made Ren his role. He was himself, and I think that it shows you it wasn't all Kevin Bacon."
The music has also changed, with covers of several songs, including a cover of "Holding Out for a Hero" that differs drastically from the original.
Not all of the songs are different though.
"I knew that I wanted to have some songs the same," Brewer said. "We had the original ‘Footloose' at the beginning and the original ‘Let's Hear it for the Boy' in the movie, with the movie ending on Blake Shelton's ‘Footloose' and a new mix of ‘Let's Hear it for the Boy' in the credits."
Brewer said he hopes his remake will spark interest in the original film.
"I don't think anyone sees our movie and doesn't feel great affection and renewed interest in the original film," he said. "We're not here to replace it; we're a companion piece with the original."
