It tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town, where he attempts to overturn the ban on dancing instituted by the efforts of a local minister (John Lithgow).
“Footloose” starred Bacon as a Chicago teenager who moves to a small town and leads a teen rebellion against the local minister (John Lithgow), who has outlawed dancing. The film's dance numbers turned Bacon into a kind of pop star for the 1980s generation, but what he really wanted for his career was serious roles.
It is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name, and stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Andie MacDowell and Dennis Quaid. The film follows a young man who moves from Boston to a small Southern town and protests the town's ban against dancing.
In a 2013 interview with Howard Stern, Kevin Bacon admitted that he has actually tipped DJs at weddings not to play "Footloose". He stated that people expect him to dance to the song as he did in the movie. In truth, while he did do some of the dancing, there was also a dancing double for him.
Footloose 1984 Cast Then and Now 2022 How They Changed
Did John Travolta star in Footloose?
John Travolta reportedly also turned down the role of Ren McCormack. Christopher Atkins (The Blue Lagoon) says he was already cast in the role but scared off producers and director Herbert Ross when he showed up to the initial meeting high.
One footnote: “Footloose” is based on a true story. Once upon a time, there was a small town in Oklahoma that banned dancing in the 1800s. As a result, students had to fight to have a senior prom.
Valerie Bertinelli nearly landed the role of Kevin Bacon's love interest, Ariel, in the 1984 movie Footloose, but there was one problem. The 57-year-old actress appeared on Wednesday's Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and revealed that she went out for the leading lady role in the beloved dance film.
But because the plot of Footloose revolves around dance, the lack of music in this case is especially glaring. Kevin Bacon did most of his own dancing, but some moves were too difficult for him. A double was brought in for the more serious gymnastics stunts—a fact the studio wanted to hide from the press.
Bacon recently told the Podcrushed podcast that he hadn't even realized he was auditioning for a dance movie when he first tried out for “Footloose.” “When I did the dance movie, I was not a dancer. I wasn't trained as a dancer,” he said. “If I'm being honest, I didn't even really understand that it was a dance movie.
Casting. Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe were both slated to play the lead. The casting directors were impressed with Cruise because of the famous underwear dance sequence in Risky Business, but he was unavailable for the part because he was filming All the Right Moves.
Chicago teen Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small, southwestern town whose fundamentalist preacher has banned dancing and rock music. Ren inspires the preacher's daughter and others to challenge the town's repressive bans and hold a senior prom.
Moore, who seems to be the only preacher in town, acts as the de facto civic moral leader. He is paranoid about his daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough), a free spirit who attracts the attention of a local bad kid, Chuck Cranston (Patrick John Flueger).
While there is a Beaumont city in Texas, it is very different from the Bomont in the movie. In fact, the original story that inspired “Footloose” took place in a town called Elmore City, Oklahoma, according to Chickasaw Country.
A few weeks later, the grieving and fanatical Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) is delivering a Sunday sermon; he feels the towns despair over the tragic deaths of five high school seniors, including his son, Bobby, in an auto accident the previous night after an evening of teenage drinking and dancing.
The High School Musical heartthrob decided not to take the role of Ren McCormack in the upcoming remake of the hit '80s musical – a part that launched the career of then-25-year-old Kevin Bacon – because he wants to challenge his acting chops.
What happened to the actress who played Ariel in Footloose?
Here's Lori Singer more than 30 years later. Her Bomont High days are long behind her, but Lori Singer is still stunning at 59! After a whirlwind decade, Singer stepped back from the spotlight for 20 years -- until she made her return in 2011 with a guest-starring role on Law & Order: SVU!
How old was Julianne Hough when she starred in Footloose?
Hough is 23 and plays an 18-year-old as if she were in her early 30s, bringing in notes of gravity, weariness, despairing recklessness and even self-disgust. Somehow it works.”
