Let's hear it for the boy

Photo: Getty Images

Guess what happens when your movie opens to a $42 million weekend at the box office AND photos of you and your on- and off-screen girlfriend go above and beyond the call of duty to convince the world of your total and complete straightness? If you're Zac Efron, it means you're reportedly getting a seven-figure offer (and script approval!) to star in the remake of Footloose. That middle link also means we'll stop bitching about not seeing Zac's nips on the big screen. Hello, high quality shirtless pics!) If that's not enough, Hairspray/Dreamgirls producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are now signed on, too.

The musical sounds like it will be a closer kin to the stage show (singing and dancing!) than the Kevin Bacon version, and will be directed by High School Musical director-choreographer, Kenny Ortega. Which is convenient because Ortega knows a little about remakes -- all three of the HSM flicks borrowed heavily from just about every movie musical or musical video ever made, from Singin' in the Rain (a hat-tip to his mentor, Gene Kelly) to Ortega's own choreography in Madonna's "Material Girl." A few of Ortega's other credits: Choroegraphing Dirty Dancing, Jon Cryer's lip-syncing in Pretty in Pink, Newsies and the Australian tour of Hugh Jackman's The Boy From Oz. Oh, and major tours by Barbra, Cher, Gloria Estefan and Michael Jackson.

Plus, the real-life connection I could not have made up if I tried. As Ortega told the San Francisco Chronicle:

"After my dad passed away, I found an old yearbook of his. There were photographs of him running and in the high school musical."

All together now: Aww. But really, we're glad he's found such an eager young hoofer to hook up with. We fully admit to being swooned by Zac's dreamy stare, and his big angsty Flashdancey number in HSM3 was nothing if not also an audition/preview of Footloose. Please, please see the making-of below:

Previously > Destroying records, innocence > Rated G for gay 

Comments

[Chris]

the title of this post should've been "Lets Hear it for the Troy."