Tweens everywhere must be feeling RLY đ right now in the wake of the news that legendary choreographer/questionable film director Kenny Ortega has stepped down as director of the remake of “Footloose” scheduled to start shooting in March. Or maybe they don’t care because Gossip Girl mini-hunk Chace Crawford and Dancing With the Stars hoofer Julianne Hough are still onboard the “Footloose” remake train.
Ortega cited needing a “rest” after pumping out the Michael Jackson doc “This is It” in the wake of the pop king’s death this summer. Ortega told EW that his exit “was not planned” and “it had been a wonderful couple of years developing the idea but I really need to take a break.”
Yes, a “rest,” definitely NOT the creative and budget differences cited by sources in this MTV News piece. Apparently Paramount wanted an “edgier drama” that came in around $25 mill, and Ortega’s sparkly, big musical number track record isn’t speaking to their aesthetic or budget. Anyone who’s seen “High School Musical” (please, only bother yourself with the first one) can tell you that Ortega, who choreographed “Dirty Dancing,” isn’t exactly known for his edgy, gritty directorial style. If you want fresh-faced teens cutting a rug in the halls of a shiny high school,putting green, or pristine turn-of-the-century New York City street (“Newsies“!) Ortega’s your man. Then again, why hire a professional ballroom dancer (Hough) if you’re going for “edge”? Seems as though Ortega was instrumental in Hough’s hiring– she told EW, âHe is one of the people who really believed in me in the beginning and championed my being hired,â and that she “was surprised when he left the project,” so hopefully she’ll still have a job when they start production next year.
We’re decidedly in the anti-unnecessary remake camp â why mess with perfection?? If it’s not “The Third Man,” it’s trying to pass off Chace Crawford as a poor man’s Kevin Bacon. Any version of “Footloose” that doesn’t include an awkwardly teenage Sarah Jessica Parker or Chris Penn (RIP) is not a ‘Footloose’ we need to see. Then again, a gritty drama about a town that outlaws dancing sounds like a ridiculous snoozefest to us, so, why not do big, sassy musical numbers? With the success of “Glee,” it’s apparent that teens, tweens  a cappella fans all over the nation are fiending for some blue-eyed soul-crooning, fancy-footwork hoofing, white boy musical numbers. Honestly, Ortega’s IMDB rap-sheet proves he’s the only man for that, very particular, job.
Ortega will be just fine being unemployed for the next year, based on the piles of money “This Is It” is earning â the MJ concert-prep doc opened on Tuesday and made $2.2 million that night alone, doubled that yesterday, and Sony is projecting a $40 million take through the weekend.
