Footloose

For the musical, see Footloose (musical). For the title song by Kenny Loggins from this movie, see Footloose (song).

Footloose
Film poster for Footloose
Directed by	Herbert Ross
Written by	Dean Pitchford
Produced by	Lewis J. Rachmil Craig Zadan
Starring	Kevin Bacon Lori Singer Dianne Wiest John Lithgow
Cinematography	Ric Waite
Edited by	Paul Hirsch
Music by	Tom Snow Jim Steinman Kenny Loggins Nigel Harrison Mark Mothersbaugh Jamshied Sharifi
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	February 17, 1984
Running time	107 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$8,200,000 (estimated)
Box office	$80,000,000 (USA) (sub-total)

Footloose is a Template:Fy film that tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager who was raised in Chicago. McCormack moves to a small town where the town government has banned dancing and rock music. Ren and his classmates want to have a senior prom with music and dancing. They must figure out a way to get around the law and Reverend Shaw Moore (played by John Lithgow), who makes it his mission in life to keep the town free from dancing and rock music.

The movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, rural farming community of Elmore City, Oklahoma. Much of the film was filmed in Utah County, Utah.

Production details

Dean Pitchford wrote the screenplay (and most of the lyrics) for Footloose, Herbert Ross directed the movie, and Paramount Pictures co-produced and distributed it.

Oscar winning director Michael Cimino was hired by Paramount to direct the movie when negotiations with Ross initially stalled. After four months working on the film, the studio fired Cimino, who was making extravagant demands for the production, and ended up hiring Ross after all.

Casting

Footloose also starred Lori Singer as Reverend Moore's independent daughter Ariel, a role Madonna also auditioned for. Dianne Wiest appeared as Vi, the Reverend's devoted yet sympathetic wife.

Footloose is one of the earliest film appearances of Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker as Ariel's friend Rusty, a role for which she was nominated for Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama at the Sixth Annual Youth in Film Awards. It was also an early role for Chris Penn as Willard Hewitt, Ren's best friend, who doesn't know how to dance until Ren teaches him.

According to an episode of VH1's Confessions of a Teen Idol, Christopher Atkins was originally going to play Ren, but had to drop out due to him finding out that his wife was expecting a baby. The role was soon given to Kevin Bacon.

Filming

The film was made at various locations in Utah County. The high school and tractor scenes were filmed in and around Payson, Utah and Payson High School. The church scenes were filmed in American Fork, Utah. The steel mill was the Geneva Steel mill. The final sequence is filmed in Lehi, Utah, with the Lehi Roller Mills featured in the final sequence.

Cast

Actor	Character's name
Kevin Bacon	Ren McCormack
Lori Singer	Ariel Moore
John Lithgow	Reverend Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest	Vi Moore
Chris Penn	Willard Hewitt III
Sarah Jessica Parker	Rusty
John Laughlin	Woody
Elizabeth Gorcey	Wendy Jo
Frances Lee McCain	Ethel McCormack
Jim Youngs	Chuck Cranston

Soundtrack

Main article: Footloose (soundtrack)

Track listing

1. "Footloose" - Kenny Loggins
2. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deniece Williams
3. "Almost Paradise" (Love Theme) - Mike Reno (Loverboy) & Ann Wilson (Heart)
4. "Holding Out for a Hero" - Bonnie Tyler
5. "Dancing In The Sheets" - Shalamar
6. "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" - Kenny Loggins
7. "Somebody's Eyes" - Karla Bonoff
8. "The Girl Gets Around" - Sammy Hagar
9. "Never" - Moving Pictures

The movie's soundtrack was released in cassette, 8-track tape, vinyl, and Compact Disc format. The soundtrack was also re-released on compact disc for the 15th anniversary of the film. The re-release included four new songs: "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot, "Hurts So Good" by John Mellencamp, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner, and the extended 12" remix of "Dancing in the Streets". The soundtrack includes two rock singles, the title song by Kenny Loggins and "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler, three R&B singles, "Let's Hear It For the Boy" by Deniece Williams, "Somebody's Eyes" by Karla Bonoff, and "Dancing In the Sheets" by Shalamar and the love theme "Almost Paradise" by Mike Reno from Loverboy and Ann Wilson from Heart. The film was later released in VHS, Laserdisc and DVD formats, Some of the music for the songs was composed by people such as Sammy Hagar, Eric Carmen, Jim Steinman and Kenny Loggins and the soundtrack went on to sell over 9 million copies in the USA.

The first two tracks both hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received 1985 Academy Award nomination for Best Music (Original Song). "Footloose" also received a 1985 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture.

Reception

The film, despite mixed critical reviews, grossed approximately $80,000,000 in the U.S. box office.

Musical version

Main article: Footloose (musical)

A musical version of Footloose that features many of the same songs from the movie is played at the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End. The musical is generally faithful to the film version, with some slight differences in the story and characters.

Remake

Paramount Pictures has announced plans to fast-track a remake of Footloose, with plans to start filming in the Spring of 2009. Zac Efron was cast as Ren in the new movie, but he later dropped out, reportedly saying that he wanted to take a break from musicals. Kenny Ortega is announced as director, with Peter Sollett re-writing the script and Dylan Sellers, (producer of The Replacements), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron as co-producers. It will be filmed in Utah, like the original. It has been reported that Chace Crawford, of Gossip Girl fame, has screen tested for Kevin Bacon's role of Ren. Derek Hough, of Dancing with the Stars fame, is also rumored to be a front-runner for the role of Ren. Hough played Ren in the musical version of Footloose on stage in London. According to E! News, Julianne Hough, also of Dancing with the Stars, has been in talks with the producers to take on the role of Ariel, formerly played by Lori Singer. It was reported that Hayden Panettiere has also audtioned for the role.

External links

• Footloose at IMDb
• Footloose at AllMovie
• Footloose at Rotten Tomatoes
• Footloose Review, history and filming locations