Movies Features

Julianne Hough and Kenny Wormald talk Footloose

By Anne Brodie Oct 18, 2011, 13:38 GMT

Writer/director Craig Brewer ("Hustle & Flow," "Black Snake Moan") delivers a new take of the beloved 1984 classic film, "Footloose." Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont\'s local councilmen ...more

You might know Julianne Hough as Ryan Seacrest’s girlfriend, one of the professional partners on the Dancing with the Stars team.  You might not know Kenny Wormald, but together, they are bringing back Footloose, the beloved 1984 dance film that starred Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer and celebrated youthful rebellion and the love of dance. 

In a town where dancing is banned, the kids find their own ways to blow off steam; thus was it ever and again.  It’s a feel-good story with a heart pounding song and dance element.

Twenty-three year old Hough (pronounced “Huff”) is a country western singer and dancer who idolizes Dolly Parton, lived her dream in the film, in a rocking line dance sequence in a country music bar. 

Hough joins Wormald, a 27-year old born dancer from Boston who had no real acting experience, in this ambitious project written and directed by Craig Brewer. 

Monsters and Critics took part in an interview with Hough and Wormald in Toronto.

Footloose is an unusual film to make today.  Why does it matter?

Julianne Hough: With all the explosions in films now, it’s hard to make movie like Footloose, a grounded movie that has a budget behind it. We were fortunate we got backing behind this great soulful, feel good movie with a great message for kids.

Kenny Wormald: And kids seeing it and kids seeing it for the first time will have those feelings we all had seeing it first generation.

The community of Bomont, in the film, is strictly church oriented, and dancing is banned.  Is this a relevant issue today?

JH: Absolutely, not to get into religion or politics, but I think religion plays huge part of small towns. I grew up in Utah and that’s very heavily populated with Mormons and it definitely doesn’t dictate but it influences people's decisions.

KW: I think that stuff is really happening.  It’s funny. Our producer searched “ban on dancing” online just to see if it’s still relevant before we started. He told me they stopped counting at 100 towns that still had bans on dancing and it all stemmed from a tragedy, like in Footloose so it’s very relevant still. Crazy, yeah.

You’re both dancers, how did Craig Brewer help you become actors?

JH: Honestly, what he did for us by helping us be better actors was telling us that you got the job based on our acting not because we can dance.  He told me “You came in here and showed us what you can do what you’re capable of. 

Now work your butt off and we'll do this together!” He gave us confidence and believed we were actors and that’s what helped.

KW: He knew how important it was to have dramatics not just the dancing.  When we got the call they said it was for the acting and it made me feel so good and I was so ready for this challenge. 

One scene where I’m talking to my aunt and more dramatic scene and Craig's squashed up against the wall in a corner shooting, that’s his passion for us and wanting us to do well.  We grew up so much in that atmosphere.

JH: In my short film career, I’ve worked with three directors and Craig Brewer is an actor’s director, he knows what it takes to get things out of them and he has a theatre, so he loves that. 

He loves it and he’s really about the realness of it, he takes you under his wing and makes sure you feel like you did the best job you could.

KW: We were comfortable and that was the most important thing.

The original Footloose is iconic.  Did that carry weight for you?

KW: I don’t think it ever took off and got to us, my first hurdle was booking the role and I was like "Yes!" And then “No!” because I had to do this role!  So I think there was a moment of that but Craig helped take the pressure off. 

It felt like we were making our own movie, we were in love with the original and we had it in us, but we made our own.

JH: Going into it, there's pressure but once we started there was never that feeling ever. It never dawned on us there would be an issue and we kept doing what we were doing every day.

KW: It's coming up now, not when we were working.  I’d much rather handle this now.

JH: You wanted to keep in the things that made the original timeless. I was so excited because it made teenagers going through stuff now makes them look at this movie and that was then and they can still grow up in a cool, safe world.

KW: It has the guts you wanted in Footloose. That was vital.

Julianne, your character has a really juicy arc and story.  Tell me about it.

JH: I was just telling Craig today that looking back at the movie and watching the dance scene, there are three dance scenes for Aerial.  They basically show her arc.  The first one she’s grinding, dancing, it’s all about sex and trying to make her boyfriend jealous. 

Trying to get attention and doing whatever it takes.  The second dance is when she’s still figuring herself out. 

She knows that what she is doing isn’t the best thing and she doesn’t want to do that in her heart but she still does it – she’s flirty and sexy in the country music club. Then when it comes to the Footloose number at the end of the movie, it’s like she’s going back to the innocence and the young girl where she’s just having fun.

There's no sex in that at all.  I keep saying sex but I mean sensuality. That’s the dance way of saying that’s her arc. 

What were you doing when you were seventeen?

KW: I was dancing six days a week, tap, jazz, modern, ballet, hop hop, dance competitions and eating my dad’s home cooked food that I don’t get anymore because I moved to Los Angeles.

JH: Where everything is like$17 dollars a plate!  I had just moved back from London, and I was so mature for a 15 year old and I just wanted to be a kid.  So when I was 17 and going to high school I couldn’t sit still so I had a job teaching dance.  I just wanted normal things, prom, and parties, to be a highschooler. I got that experience.

You both always wanted to dance?

JH: For me, it’s been my whole life.  There are home videos of me, movies, TV commercials, that we made.  It was just in my life. I never wanted to choose singer, dancer, actor – I just wanted to be an entertainer.

I was always passionate about it. I can’t do one without the other, I separate them but I love then so much

KW: I grew up dancing since I was 6. And when I was 18 I had to decide to go to college or New York or LA and all the Britney Spears and the dancing and seeing Justin Timberlake’s first solo performance, I was in my living room trying to do it – gave me the final push to go to LA.  I’m a huge fan of movies and wanted to act.  When I decided I just went for it.

You were shooting during the week and weekends you rehearsed, that’s a lot of time, and I see an intimacy and friendship between you.  How was that?

KW: That was the cool part, it was like summer camp, it was us young actors together and we had a blast.  We hung out in Atlanta at work and off camera, we formed relationships and we all keep up with each other.  It’s amazing. 

You’re not going to have that on every film you work on.   It was a great experience and we’re going to hang on to this forever.

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