DebbieAllen Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Just before I get started I want to make one thing perfectly clear: this fan rant has nothing to do with me hating remakes in principle. Instead, this rant is about fame (as a movie and a concept) and a disturbing trend I noticed in the marketing for the shiny new Fame hitting theaters this fall. So let's start at the beginning, shall we? I was surfing channels whey I first happened across the latest trailer for the musical update that does a little cross-promotion with the boy-wizard, Harry Potter. So as I sat there watching this bizarre combination of Hogwarts and The School of Performing Arts, it occurred to me that this trailer seemed to almost being equating 'fame' with magic. This new version of Fame seemed to have none of the pain, suffering, and sacrifice (except of the mildest teen-angst ways imaginable) of the original -- and that's when I started to get a little ticked.

Alan Parker's Fame was a part of a larger trend in the late 70s and 80s to make 'grittier' musicals (along with films like A Chorus Line or Fosse's All That Jazz) that took the "let's put on a show" tradition of musicals and revealed all of it's flaws and the screwed-up people who inhabited the business of making fantasy. What made Fame (1980) such a stand-out for me as a young girl was that suddenly the idea of stardom didn't seem so great. Instead, it became a deal with the devil, and Parker's film seemed to keep that idea under the surface of the uplifting finale and songs about lunch programs.

After the jump: why a Fame remake has me so worked up, and a glimpse of the film that started it all...

In 100 days, on September 25, the big-screen version of Fame will hit. To mark the event, MGM has finally released a full-length trailer over at Yahoo. No more of this one-song blip. Now we've got a collection of scenes ranging from entry auditions to final, epic, grand performances. Unsurprisingly, most of the focus is on the most popular arts -- dance and song. This may be Fame, but the popular arts still reign supreme.

Best of all, this trailer finally lets us get a look the teachers. Charles Dutton and Kelsey Grammar get the most play, but there's also brief glimpses of Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth, and of course, Debbie Allen. However, the fact that Ms. Allen, who was one of the main parts of the original show, only gets the briefest glimpse whilst hugging is a bit disappointing. Luckily, there's Dutton's voice over to keep things on track.

But what I can't get over is how darned catchy that theme song still is. Most of my memories of Fame are fleeting at best, but that song has reeled me in hook, line, and sinker. I don't know why -- is it nostalgia, or the fact that the modern twist still leaves the song in tact? And how about you? Are you a sucker for "Fame"?

There's less than half a year until the new incarnation of Fame hits theaters on September 25, and that means we've entered trailer territory! Of course, the first teaser trailer never really shares a lot of the plot, but what this trailer does show bodes well for the film -- stellar singers, our beloved theme song (with a slight makeover and update), and a lot of fancy shmancy dancin'.

The most attention is given to Naturi Naughton (Lil Kim in Notorious), who kicks off the trailer with a little piano playing and a seriously impressive rendition of Irene Cara's "Out Here on My Own." But soon, it's an explosion of fancy dancing and quick clips to our old theme song. If I've one complaint, however, it's that there's a lot of dancing in the clips, but the music and non-dancing art are relegated to ridiculously brief and small shots. Then again, the kids love themselves the song and dance these days (just ask the kids of South Park), so it makes sense from a marketing standpoint.

As an old Fame fan, I'm digging it so far, although we really need to see Debbie Allen. Fame can't live forever without her!

You can check out the High Def version over at Moviefone.

Back in October, we heard about the large cast of unknowns that were assembling for the remake of Fame. Now we've got word of the instructors, and I'm happy to say -- Debbie Allen leads the pack!

Variety reports that Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth have signed on for "the roles of instructors and supervisors" in the upcoming remake. Don't worry -- Frasier won't be in tights, but sadly, Allen isn't either. Instead of teaching the kids to dance, Allen will be the school's principal (which makes sense), while Dutton plays an acting teacher, Grammer plays an orchestra maestro, Mullally plays a voice instructor, and Neuwirth plays a dance instructor.

Damn, these kids are lucky -- you can't much better than that for your intructors. But perhaps more importantly -- this means a reunion for Lilith and Frasier! Bebe played Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane in Cheers, and popped up as the ex in a handful of Frasier episodes. Will the dance instructor canoodle the maestro once again?