Footloose

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For the musical, see Footloose (musical). For the title song by Kenny Loggins from this movie, see Footloose (song).

Footloose
Film poster for Footloose
Directed by	Herbert Ross
Produced by	Lewis J. Rachmil Craig Zadan
Written by	Dean Pitchford
Starring	Kevin Bacon Lori Singer Dianne Wiest John Lithgow Ashleigh Tobon
Music by	Tom Snow Jim Steinman Kenny Loggins Nigel Harrison Mark Mothersbaugh Jamshied Sharifi
Cinematography	Ric Waite
Editing by	Paul Hirsch
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 17, 1984
Running time	107 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$8,200,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$80,000,000 (USA) (sub-total)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Footloose is a 1984 film that tells the story of Ren McCormack (played by Kevin Bacon), a teenager who was raised in Chicago. McCormack moves to a small town where the town government has banned dancing and rock music. Ren and his classmates want to have a senior prom with music and dancing. They must figure out a way to get around the law and Reverend Shaw Moore (played by John Lithgow) who makes it his mission in life to keep the town free from dancing and rock music.

The movie was loosely based on events that took place in the tiny, rural farming community of Elmore City, Oklahoma. Much of the film was filmed in Utah County.

1 Taglines
2 Production details
- 2.1 Casting
- 2.2 Filming
3 Cast
4 Soundtrack
5 Reception
6 Musical version
7 Remake
8 References
9 External links

Taglines

The music's on his side.
He's a big city kid in a small town. They said he'd never win. He knew he had to.
One kid. One town. One chance.
All he wanted to do was dance.

Production details

Dean Pitchford wrote the screenplay (and most of the music) for Footloose, Herbert Ross directed the movie, and Paramount Pictures co-produced and distributed it.

Oscar winning director Michael Cimino was hired by Paramount to direct the movie when negotiations with Ross initially stalled. After four months working on the film, the studio fired Cimino, who was making extravagant demands for the production, and ended up hiring Ross.^[1]

Casting

Footloose also starred Lori Singer as Reverend Moore's independent daughter Ariel, a role Madonna also auditioned for. Dianne Wiest appeared as Vi, the Reverend's devoted yet sympathetic wife.

Footloose is one of the earliest film appearances of Square Pegs star Sarah Jessica Parker as Ariel's friend Rusty, a role for which she was nominated for Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama at the Sixth Annual Youth in Film Awards. It was also an early role for Chris Penn as Willard Hewitt, Ren's best friend, who doesn't know how to dance until Ren teaches him.

Filming

The film was made at various locations in Utah County. The high school and tractor scenes were filmed in and around Payson, Utah. The church scenes were filmed in American Fork, Utah. The steel mill was the Geneva Steel mill. The final sequence is filmed in Lehi, Utah, with the Lehi Roller Mills featured in the final sequence.

Cast

Kevin Bacon as Ren McCormack
Lori Singer as Ariel Moore
John Lithgow as Reverend Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest as Vi Moore
Chris Penn as Willard Hewitt III
Sarah Jessica Parker as Rusty
John Laughlin as Woody
Elizabeth Gorcey as Wendy Jo
Frances Lee McCain as Ethel McCormack
Jim Youngs as Chuck Cranston

Soundtrack

01. " Footloose" - Kenny Loggins
02. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deneice Williams
03. "Almost Paradise" (Love Theme) - Mike Reno (Loverboy) & Ann Wilson (Heart)
04. "Holding Out for a Hero" - Bonnie Tyler
05. "Dancing In The Sheets" - Shalamar
06. "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" - Kenny Loggins
07. "Somebody's Eyes" - Karla Bonoff
08. "The Girl Gets Around" - Sammy Hagar
09. "Never" - Moving Pictures

Two songs from the movie, "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams both hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received 1985 Academy Award nominations for Best Music (Original Song). The song "Footloose" also received a 1985 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song – Motion Picture.

The movie's soundtrack was released in compact cassette, gramophone record, and compact disc format. The soundtrack was also re-released on compact disc for the 15th anniversary of the film. The re-release included four new songs: "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot, "Hurts So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner, and the extended 12" remix of "Dancing in the Sheets". The soundtrack includes two rock singles, the title song by Kenny Loggins and "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler, three R&B singles, "Let's Hear It For the Boy" by Deniece Williams, "Somebody's Eyes" by Karla Bonoff, and "Dancing In the Sheets" by Shalamar and the love theme "Almost Paradise" by Mike Reno from Loverboy and Ann Wilson from Heart. The film was later released in VHS, Laserdisc and DVD formats, Some of the music for the songs where composed by people such as Sammy Hagar, Eric Carmen, Jim Steinman and Kenny Loggins and the soundtrack went on to sell over 9 million copies in the USA.

The entire soundtrack was covered by indie artist Doveman, and is available for free download on his website.^[2]

Reception

The film, despite mixed critical reviews, nonetheless grossed approximately $80,000,000 in domestic box office.^[3]

Musical version

Main article: Footloose (musical)

A musical version of Footloose that features many of the same songs from the movie is played at the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End. The musical is generally faithful to the film version, with some slight differences in the story and characters.