Kenny Ortega Exits Big Screen FOOTLOOSE Redo

Variety reports the news that director Kenny Ortega has exited the upcoming big screen musical remake of "Footloose." The trade paper cites differences with Paramount Pictures on tone and budget as the cause for Ortega leaving the production.

The Ortega directed Michael Jackson concert film "This is It," which hits movie screens next week on October 28th.

Variety reveals that Paramount will start the search for a new director on Monday, and is sticking to its plan of starting production in March, when star Chace Crawford is on hiatus from the CW hit "Gossip Girl." Crawford is will start alongside Julianne Hough of "Dancing with the Stars" fame.

The new film Footloose will be expanded into a "full-blown movie musical" from the earlier film with songs. Footloose also starred Lori Singer and John Lithgow. It was originally written by Dean Pitchford and directed by Herbert Ross. A Broadway musical version of Footloose was previously staged in 1998.

Over the course of his 30-year career, Emmy Award-winning director and choreographer Ortega has worked with superstars Madonna, the late Michael Jackson, Kiss, Cher, and Diana Ross. He choreographed the classic "Dirty Dancing" and, most recently, directed all three "High School Musical" films. The hugely successful trilogy has broken numerous records including "High School Musical 3: Senior Year's" record opening for a song-and-dance film grossing $42 million in its first weekend.

The film will be produced by the highly successful team of Craig Zadan (a producer of the original "Footloose" in 1984) and Neil Meron. Together, Zadan and Meron produced the blockbuster "Hairspray" and the critically acclaimed "Chicago," which was the first musical in 34 years to win the top honor of Best Picture Oscar at the 2002 Academy Awards. The film will also be produced by Dylan Sellers ("Agent Cody Banks"). Academy Award-nominated Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich") wrote the recently green-lit screenplay.