A scene from Fame.
It was an uncharacteristically sweltering day in L.A. in mid-January when I visited a Hollywood middle school for a peek at the remake -- oops, reinvention -- of Fame, the 1980 Alan Parker film about a prestigious performing arts school in Manhattan that made dancing on New York taxis seem cool, transformed young singer Irene Cara into a star with Oscar and Golden Globe accolades, and begat a successful TV series. While various crew members broiled outside, the cast and other crew stayed slightly cooler in the school auditorium, the setting for the climactic graduation sequence with a large choir, ballet dancers, and a rock orchestra.
While director Kevin Tancharoen, already an acclaimed choreographer and director at just 22, rehearsed and shot several takes of “Hold Your Dream,” a multifaceted song that includes the gospel rock section being filmed on this day, I pulled various cast members outside for quick one-on-ones. The cast members agreed that their young director, one of their peers, has given them freedom to rewrite and improvise scenes to make them more genuine and believable. And while interior scenes are being shot in L.A., exteriors at the real school and in New York will be filmed in February.
At least three of the late-teen to early-twentysomething cast members (Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, and Asher Book, the latter a current member of boy band V Factory) actually attended the real High School of the Performing Arts in Manhattan (now called Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts), so they have some real-life experience to draw from.
“I’ve yet to come across a scene where I felt that that it was too much or would never happen in real life,” said Iacono, who plays idealistic acting student Neil. He said he told director Tancharoen how, at his school, “in between classes, the doors would open and someone would pirouette into the hallway and a conga line would start. The craziest stuff happened.”
“I’m originally from Virginia, but I lived in New York for six years and originally went to the Fame school,” said Book, who plays singer Marco. “I’m excited to go back and see that. I haven’t been there in seven years, so it will be fun.”
Fans of the original movie should note that “reinvention” means this version does not recycle old characters. “It’s new kids in the same predicament but today,” said Collins Pennie, who revealed that he shares a rough Brooklyn childhood with his rapping and acting alter ego Malik. “My character’s completely new. I’m not playing Leroy. I gotta keep telling people that!”
When I bring up that the producers have yet to find someone to sing the famous “Fame” theme song, aspiring pop singer Naturi Naughton – who has been learning classical pieces by the likes of Beethoven and Chopin to play pianist turned singer Denise and portrayed rapper Lil’ Kim in Notorious – shamelessly exclaimed, “Hey, you’re looking at her! I’m waiting for that moment when they can say, ‘You get to sing the Fame song.’ It’s classic. I’ve already put positive vibes out there. I hope they give me a shot at it. Please!”
With 10 kids vying for attention for school time and screen time, is there a true leading role in this large cast? “If you talk to anyone they’ll say their character is the star,” quipped the animated Kay Panabaker, who plays aspiring singer and actor Jenny. “For what it’s worth I’m number one on the call sheet, so I think I’m in the most scenes, but I’m not saying anything!”
Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (the gregarious and “amped up” actress Joy), shows up in low-slung jewelry and leg warmers. The irony of donning an ‘80s look while not shooting for the remake – sorry, reinvention – was not lost on the young star, who explained, “In my freshman and sophomore years [in the movie] Joy’s in polka-dot leggings with striped socks and crazy shoes and colorful stuff. She’s got three different colors in her hair.”
While precocious, self-confident teens and young adults can either endear themselves to or irritate older folks, the cast of Fame generally comes off as amiable and likeable, and they are clearly all along for the ride. Most have some sort of theater, TV or film credits, ranging from Hannah Montana to Prom Night, and are awaiting their big breaks to see if indeed they will live forever, at least on film. Whether or not this movie does that for them remains to be seen when it opens this September. Either way, remember, it’s not a remake.
“I feel like with remakes you can get yourself intro trouble by saying you’re going to do it better,” said Panabaker. “We’re not doing it better, we’re doing it differently.”
A life-long movie aficionado and NYU film school grad, Bryan Reesman (www.bryanreesman.com) revels in everything from big-budget epics to obscure horror and cult movie gems that no one has ever heard of. He has been published in the NY Times, Playboy, American Way, Premiere and MovieMaker.
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