It’s official: Chace Crawford will be starring in the remake of Footloose, the one Zac Efron dropped out of earlier this spring.
I’m trying to separate my feelings about the wisdom of a Footloose remake — unwise! don’t do it! — from my feelings about Crawford as the lead, but…yeesh. I can’t lie, PWers: This whole thing is bumming me out. I like Crawford enough as the snooty, conflicted Nate on Gossip Girl, but Ren is an exuberant character, someone whose youthful energy is explosive, whose need to duh-duh-duh-dance cannot be denied!
I’m guessing the smoking and DUI will be cut from the update, but watch this and tell me you think Crawford can Billy Elliot it up like this:
The polite word for how I feel is skeptical. But maybe Crawford’s just never had the chance to move when the spirit said move — and director Kenny Ortega choreographed Dirty Dancing for crying out loud. The guy knows his way around dance-fueled coming-of-age stories. Maybe my concern is overstated.
What about you, PopWatchers? Are you ready for Chace Crawford to liberate a small town from its puritanical no-dancing policies?
I think I’ll just watch the original the night the new one opens. I’d much rather watch a young Kevin Bacon than Crawford any day.
I’m going to give Chace a chance. the only shows/movies we’ve seen him in are Gossip Girl, the Covenant and Molly Hartley. Nothing that really entails singing and dancing. He could be great in Footloose. I’ll catch it on HBO or something.
The question is – is there ANY footage of Chace cutting a rug in any capacity anywhere?? I need to see it before I decide on this. But he sure is pretty.
Original could never be beat for sure!
I will give this movie a chance but if they cast Miley as the lead girl, I will never see it.
I’m sorry but Chace is nothing compared to Zac. Sure they look sort of alike but Zac was so good in HSM3, like Scream just made me totally think of Footloose.
I know why Zac didn’t want to do another musical, but he was the only one who could have made this remake not fail so him not being in it is disappointing.
Chace Crawford is the poor man’s Zac Efron. This should have been scrapped the second Efron dropped out.
You might not be able to “Billy Elliot it up” — but a lot of the dancing in that movie was done by a double — including the more acrobatic parts of the scene you are showing here.
The idiots who run Paramount Pictures have made the fatal blunder they almost made with the original FOOTLOOSE. Paramount wanted Rob Lowe to play Ren; the director, Herbert Ross, insisted on a relative unknown, Kevin Bacon. Neither would budge (the geniuses at Paramount claimed Bacon wasn’t sexy–using language I won’t repeat here). Finally, Ross flew Kevin (a friend of mine) to L.A. to do a screen test and that did the trick. The movie was a smash and made Kevin a star. I was all for a re-make, but only with Derek Hough in the lead–a brilliant dancer, choreographer, singer bursting with boyish enthusiasm and charm (and sexy as well)–in the role he was born to play (and did when the show was staged in London to rave reviews). Derek just turned 25, the same age as Kevin when he filmed FOOTLOOSE. With Chace (flavor-of-the-month) Crawford in the lead, this remake will bomb–and the Paramount execs will have nobody else but themselves to blame.As for Derek,how about remaking GOOD NEWS
I can’t be the only one who is less than impressed with all these vapid, talent-free pretty boys (and girls) invading Hollywood. Kevin Bacon at his worst can still act circles around Chase Crawford at his best.
I suppose it’s only a matter of time before they remake “The Silence of the Lambs” with Megan Fox as Clarice Starling and Zac Efron as Hannibal Lecter.
Honestly, theres barley any difference between Effron and Crawford. One pretty boy with man-bangs can fill in for another.
I’m sorry, this is such a WTF moment…
The only actual movement I’ve seen Chace make is when he’s playing basketball with Chuck Bass (in an ascot–Chuck, not Nate)… Otherwise, his acting as well as his movements have all been paced like a snail–even in his many sex scenes… I want to see his audition video–he must have impressed SOMEONE with his moves…
I can see what a disaster this is going to be! How can you remake a great movie using tween fluff actors? About the only thing they can do is look pretty on screen in lame shows and movies. I will also be enjoying Kevin’s Ren when this bombs in the theatres!
I can’t imagine Chace Crawford expressing enough emotion to play this part. Kevin Bacon is always so expressive, Chace is like a mannequin. I agree that this is a total WTF moment. I enjoy Footloose but honestly can anyone see Chace Crawford bustin a move? I didn’t think so.
What is paramount thinking? Clearly Chace is so wrong for the role its not even funny. I am sure he got it because they seems to want to cast it with fluff tween actors with looks. Can he even sing or dance? My guess would be no since he hasn’t been in acting all that long.Shame on Paramount, but they will have nobody else to blame but themselves when the movie bombs which clearly it will as I am along with tons of others who will not see this movie because of a bad casting decision on Chace.
In my opinion of who should have been Ren, I would have picked Derek Hough. Derek is way better suited for the role as he can sing and dance. He also received rave reviews from London’s West End for that role.
Pooh-pooh me if you like, but I was quite disappointed when Zac Efron bowed out of the remake. We shall see what this Chace guy has up his sleeve – I’ll give him a fair chance.