VIDEO: Filmmakers Protest Footloose Remake by Remaking it Themselves... But Why?

footloose_300.jpgOn the one hand, this full-length remake of Footloose by 54 filmmakers worldwide is kind of a brilliant, awe-inspiring protest against the current remake culture we're facing in Hollywood. It's an impressive accomplishment, and their hearts were clearly in the right place. On the other hand, why Footloose?

Apparently a number of filmmakers became so incensed by Hollywood's constant recycling, they finally snapped when Paramount announced its Footloose remake. Each filmmaker took a different segment of the film and re-shot it, hoping to point out the absurdity of this endless stream of re-hashed classics.

According to a missive from the filmmakers, originally published last year:

We were fed up. The Hollywood remake machine was going to take another solid movie, put it through the ringer, and make a buck from a younger generation. We decided "Let's beat them to the punch. Let's do this remake our way."

Originally slated to release in June 2010, director complications have pushed the release of "The New Studio Remake Footloose" back to 2011. Hollywood can't make it by 2010? We can.

Our fifty-four filmmaker The Footloose Remake will hit Los Angeles in June, taking the place of Paramount's release.

Let's undermine the Hollywood remake machine.

That's all well and good, and the filmmakers' letter to Paramount is pretty great too, but seriously, why is Footloose somehow the straw that broke the camel's back here? I realize that they started this ambitious project in 2008, when more recent, frightening revivals like The Wild Bunch and Robocop hadn't yet been announced, but back then we were also looking at remake announcements for Straw Dogs and Videodrome among others. I really like Footloose too (honest!), but it's not some untouchable auteurist gem! Of all the remakes on the way, Footloose is actually one of the least offensive.

In any case, the remake is still pretty fun and very impressive, and it more or less gets the point across. And yes, it's great to see people actually taking action instead of just whining on the internet (ahem). Maybe I'm just dreaming about what could have happened if the same 54 filmmakers remade Straw Dogs instead. Here's hoping that's their next project. In the meantime, check out Our Footloose Remake:

Our Footloose Remake (Full Movie) from DaveAOK on Vimeo.

[The Footloose Remake via / Film]



Comments

  • Ju-osh says:

    Best scene starts at 00:32:00 -- the world-famous warehouse dance!
    (Slightly off-topic: Is anyone else dreading the inevitable 'parkour-ing' of this scene in the re-make?)