Zac Efron and director Kenny Ortega’s “High School Musical 3” grossed $42 million on opening weekend, motivating Paramount to fast-track “Footloose,” hoping to get the film ready for Efron and Ortega to start production next spring.
The studio has brought on “Nick and Norah¬ís Infinite Playlist” director Peter Sollett to rewrite Jon Hartmere’s script and hired Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to join Dylan Sellers as producer.
Unlike “HSM3,” “Footloose” goes after the older teen and adult demographics. Efron is about to sign a deal that will pay him a mid-seven-figure salary and give him script approval.
Zadan and Meron have produced “Chicago” and “Hairspray,” which was Efron¬ís first feature. Zadan also was a producer of the original 1984 “Footloose.” They join Sellers, who has put two years of work into the musical with Ortega.
The studio is working on new songs that will complement some of the memorable original tunes. Though the Herb Ross-directed film wasn¬ít a musical, screenwriter Dean Pitchford wrote lyrics for songs that included the Kenny Loggins title song and “Let¬ís Hear It for the Boy,” “Almost Paradise” and “Holding Out for a Hero.” Some of those tunes will be in the new movie.
“Footloose” spawned one of the biggest-selling soundtracks of its era and made a star of Kevin Bacon.
