Fame Writer Flexes Muscle, Imagination

By S.T. VanAirsdale

I'll get to the New York Magazine Fall Preview issue soon enough, when we take on the local crop of slow-news-week filler in The Reeler's annual Fall Preview Review. In lieu of deep thoughts about, say, penetrating Nicole Kidman's world, let's instead check out the tantalizing latest from NYM's Vulture blog about that godforesaken Fame remake we choked on some four months ago:

Allison Burnett (Resurrecting the Champ) is writing the script and has some strong ideas about the movie’s position in today’s marketplace: "Talk about a commitment to reality," he told us earlier this week. "Watch that movie again and look at the sophistication of how they’re not cartoon kids. They’re real kids with real problems, and when you’re that age, your problems are the most important things — you can’t imagine anything more dire. So we’re sticking to that; it’s not going to be Bring It On versus American Idol, it’s serious."

Ask Burnett about the explosive success of Disney’s sugary, made-for-TV High School Musical movies, though, and a look of only partially swallowed disgust gives an unspoken glimpse into studio feedback sessions. “That ... came up and I just made it really clear that those movies are for 6- to 12-year-olds, and that’s not what I want or was hired to write.

Exactly -- which is precisely why MGM won't allow you within 1,000 feet of the set. Security! OK -- places, everyone! And Zak! Big smile!

Posted at August 27, 2007 1:44 PM