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?
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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.
We already have a perfectly good version of Footloose. It’s called Footloose. Jeez!
This is wrong. This feels wrong. It is just a big bowl of wrong. Ugh, why can’t they leave well enough alone!
I have no feelings on this one way or another, except to say Chace Crawford continues to come off as Efron-lite. Which is pretty dang lite, honestly.
My first thought was, wait, we don’t live in a world where it makes sense to express rage with a music video – it just won’t play now. But it will . . . just not to me. The same people who love High School Musical will embrace this remake – and honestly, that’s who it’s for. Those of us who were young enough to love the original may feel a little piece of our soul die when the new one comes out, but sadly, neither the makers nor the audience is really gonna care.
Margaret, I swear we would be best friends if we ever met. Whenever I find myself really into a Popwatch post, I think “did Margaret write this?” and sure enough the answer is almost always yes.
Anyhow, I’m not too happy about this casting. I have nothing against Crawford, but it’s exactly what you said in the post. Ren is an EXUBERANT character who MUST dance and rally the entire high school into doing the same. I can’t see Crawford playing that. Most of all, I cannot picture him doing the angry barn dance – you’ve got to be pretty awesome to pull off one of the best dance scenes in an 80’s movie (next to the final scene of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) and I don’t think he’s got it in him. Hopefully he’ll surprise us all. But dear lord, Miley Cyrus as the preacher’s daughter? That would be a dealbreaker. It’s either going to be good, or it’s going to be Disney-fied and teeny-bopper oriented; it will not be both.
I adore Footloose and Kevin Bacon will always be Ren to me. That said, this is based on the stage version and thus, like the remake of Hairspray, quite different. It’s not a remake so much as a reimagining. I don’t know if Chace was the right guy as I haven’t seen him sing or dance. I will say the thing that scares me more than any other is the talk that Miley Cyrus is in consideration for Ariel. Please please don’t let that happen!!!! She’ll ruin it!!!
I hate remakes. That said, I was super-excited at the idea of an Ortega/Efron combo re-making the already awesome Footloose. And then Efron dropped out. And Crawford dropped in. And then all of the awful choices supposedly auditioning for Ariel. Ugh. My only hope is for the latest rumor of Miley as Ariel – I think she’d be great in the role (well, at least much better than Hayden or Julianne or any of the other little starlets who’ve tried out). Help us, Miley-wan, you’re our only hope!
I don’t see this material relevent today. Plus how do you outdo that great soundtrack!
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
chuck
I’m worried that he won’t be able to sing and dance, and Zach would have been better but this is a good choice for Chace career. http://www.collegesinglesdating.com/
Let’s hear it for not having to suffer the double indignity of a ‘Footloose’ remake *and* Zac Efron. The former is bad enough without the latter. Coupled with the ‘Fame’ remake, I gather it’s time for 33 year-old me to break out the Geratol and my original ’80s soundtracks.
well, why don’t give him a chance?
i mean, as you said, he never had a part which involved singing or dancing. he might be good. he may not. the only way to know is to let him try. So I’m lookin forward to it!
also,IMVHO Chace and zac have nothing in common but the haircut, why do people keep comparing them?
i like chace better, btw!
(forgive me for my mistakes but eng’s not my mothertongue)
Why give him a chance? That’s pretty simple to answer, because he’s never sing or dance before and he doesn’t display a lot of emotions when he acts. Right there tells you he’s the wrong guy for the part. However, what’s done is done and Chace will have to prove to the people who actually want to see this disaster of a movie, but in my opinion I don’t think he will. Paramount will have nothing to blame but themselves for hiring a “fluff” actor. Since they casted Chace, I am not all intested in watching it.
Derek Hough just turned 25, not 24. Born in 1985. I agree he would have been the best one for the part. Both the People poll and the other poll agreed.
If Chase is in it, I won’t be seeing it.
they have made a big mistake derek hough should get this role.
i saw him in west end and he was amazing.
he won the poll saying that most people wanted it to be him by over 50%
and have we ever seen crawford dance? no i didnt think so.
they better get it right when it comes to ariel if not it is going to be a fim which isnt worth wathchin.
DEREK HOUGHH