Craig Brewer to helm Footloose

First Zac Efron wanted to do it. Then he didn’t. Then Gossip Girl ’s Chace Crawford signed on. Then he signed off.

But despite all of the talent hot-footing it away from the Footloose remake, Paramount have finally landed a choreographer, um, director for the film – and it’s Black Snake Moan ’s Craig Brewer.

According to Variety , Brewer has signed on to direct his rewritten script, in which teen Ren moves to a small town and begins chaining up girls who won’t dance with him.

Alright, we made that last bit up. In the 1984 original, Kevin Bacon played Ren, a teenager who discovers that his new hometown has outlawed rock music and dancing. Especially annoying for Ren, who just can’t keep his feet still.

Brewer is wasting no time kick-starting his search for a new lead, with Paramount eager to get this in front of cameras by the summer – and who can blame them after such a tortured pre-production?

You can thank Paramount president Adam Goodman for Brewer’s involvement – he wanted the remake to be edgier than was originally planned by first director Kenny High School Musical Ortega. And he’ll no doubt get that from Brewer.

Apparently Brewer’s 2005 musical drama Hustle & Flow , which won an Oscar for its original music, piqued Paramount's interests in him for Footloose . With him at the helm, we should definitely expect something a little bit different from this remake.

Who should step into Crawford’s shoes?