Director Kenny Ortega is about to see his stock skyrocket after the upcoming premiere of his Michael Jackson film This Is It, so it's a good thing Paramount had him already locked in to next direct the studio's musical remake of Footloose, right? And surely, after casting leads Chace Crawford and Julianne Hough and asking for a mere $5 million upgrade to the film's $25 million budget, Ortega would find the studio to be amenable to his wishes, wouldn't he?
Take it from here, Variety:
Kenny Ortega has ankled as director of Footloose, over differences with Paramount Pictures on tone and budget.
Sources said that Ortega wanted to make a picture with elaborately-staged musical numbers, at a budget of $30 million or so. Par production chief Adam Goodman wanted an edgier drama with less emphasis on the musical numbers, and a budget around $25 million or less. Paramount has confirmed the budget dispute, but the studio said the budget will be less than $25 million.
The disagreement continued until Ortega decided his dance with the studio had ended.
Ortega's reps had a different spin, and issued a statement saying, "Coming off the extraordinary project, Michael Jackson's This is It, director Kenny Ortega has decided it is premature for him to commit to his next film and will not be moving forward with Footloose as previously reported." And thus continues the strange saga of a low-budget Footloose remake (that might not even come out until 2011) receiving more press than just about any movie in production.
Ortega and Paramount No Longer Dancing on Footloose [Variety]