Caffeinated Clint
A remake of the ’80s classic “Valley Girl” is in the works, says Deadline.
Deborah Foreman’s biggest claim to fame, and one of then-unknown Nicolas Cage’s first filmish forays, the 1983 film told a punkish wannabe (Cage) from the wrong-side-of-the-tracks who romances a beautiful, privileged princess-type (Foreman). Even today, it’s got a loyal fan-following and a recently released Special Edition DVD of the film went gangbusters. I remember Nicolas Cage even being asked about the film at Comic-Con last year – he lit up like a glow-worm, excited to talk about a film that obviously means a lot to him.
As opposed to director Martha Coolidge’s beloved original, the remake will be a musical – with the leads belting out a range of ’80s classics by the likes of The Go Go’s and The Cars (Guessing the decision to flip the narrative structure of the film has a lot to do with how well the sing-a-long blockbuster “Rock in Ages” is tracking).
Most interesting about the new film is that a newbie is helming. Commercials director Carl Weiner got the gig after bowling Paramount and MGM over with a three-minute demo reel, paid for himself.
The demo “featured choreographed dance routines set to a mash-up of the 1980s tunes that will be sung in the film. He demonstrated the spirit, designostuming and camera work that reflected his vision for the film. It told the studio execs everything they needed to know. This week, they gave Weiner the job and it was the reel that won it for Weiner.”
A script by Amy Talkington is being rewritten by ”Rachel Getting Married” scribe Jenny Lumet.
Here’s one of my favourites from the original film’s soundtrack : “I Melt With You”….
