luisah's: 'Footloose' Stars Love Remake's Nods To Original

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

'Footloose' Stars Love Remake's Nods To Original

New stars name Ariel's red boots, Ren's VW Beetle and Willard's dance montage as their favorite call-outs to 1984 original.
By Kara Warner‬

Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough in "Footloose"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

For the "Footloose" purists out there who are worried about how the Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough-starring remake pays homage to the Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer-led original, fear not: There are more than enough nods to the 1984 dance classic in director Craig Brewer's 2011 version.

When MTV News caught up with the cast and Brewer, who have also assured us that their film stands on its own, we asked them to reveal their favorite scenes that were directly inspired by the original film.

"My red boots," Hough said, speaking to the fancy footwear that both she and Singer's versions of the character Ariel wear.

"The Bug," Wormald said of his and Bacon's characters owning a beat-up Volkswagen Beetle. "And the 'angry dance.' Yeah, and everything. All the nods I think were appropriate.‬"

"I love the flick of the drivers' license from the police‬," Hough added about the moment when Ren is harassed by local law enforcement that was lifted from the first film and repurposed in the second.

"And Willard [Miles Teller] doing the kick-step right through the lockers," Wormald said of the boys' "Let's Hear It for the Boy"-backed dance montage. "That was shot-for-shot, so that's incredible.‬"

Brewer explained why those moments were "must-haves" for him.

"We had to have the 'angry dance.' We had to have the 'teaching Willard how to dance' montage," he said. "And I'm very proud to say it's set to Deniece Williams' original 'Let's Hear It for the Boy.' There's this moment where, like, all these guys are sitting around trying to teach him the gangster walk bounce, and it's set to Deniece Williams' 'Let's Hear It for the Boy.' Where else are you going to see that but in my version of 'Footloose'?" He said with a smile.

"Then, of course, the VW Bug. If you see 'Hustle & Flow,' you'll see I have a love for junky cars. I think they're the most beautiful American statement of 'I don't have a lot, but we're going to do a lot with it,' and the VW Bug, I think, was one of the first of those badass junky cars.‬"

Check out everything we've got on "Footloose."

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