DuaneAdler Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Is it time to start referring to the "Teen Dance Movie" as its own genre of film? It's alarming how many of these movies are being announced, never mind that they all have roughly the same plot. And now The Weinstein Company is interested in suckling the teen dance teat. They have just bought the North American rights to Make It Happen, which starts shooting next month. The film is described as "a dance movie set in the world of burlesque." I'll admit, my interest in the film went from zero to ten by the time I reached the end of that sentence. It's amazing how just one word can change my opinion of a movie. They're shrewd, these Hollywood types. It seems like a sure way to double the box office -- dancing and romance for the ladies, half naked women for the gentlemen.

As we told you earlier, Make It Happen will star the lovely Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse) as "a small-town woman who moves to Chicago with dreams of entering the Chicago School of Dance but winds up working in a burlesque club." The club "proves to be a place of conflict and self-discovery." Sadly, I don't think the filmmakers and I are on the same page with the phrase "self-discovery." Winstead is currently in theaters playing John McClane's daughter in the surprisingly solid Live Free or Die Hard, and I have a feeling Mr. McClane wouldn't approve of her new role at all. Make It Happen co-stars Riley Smith and Tessa Thompson, who played Jackie Cook on Veronica Mars. Darren Grant (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) will direct the film. Duane Adler wrote the script -- he also wrote Save the Last Dance and Step Up so it's clear the guy can tackle any genre. Teen dance movies, movies about dancing teens, films involving people between the ages of thirteen and nineteen who move their feet rhythmically -- Adler can do it all.

There's something about the dashed dreams of hopeful girls that's so damn appealing in Hollywood. How many times did Rose McGowan's machine gun-legged heroine state: "I'm not a stripper! I'm a go-go dancer!"? It's the city of dashed dreams, so it's no wonder that the movie industry loves the theme. Now Darren Grant, the man who brought us Diary of a Mad Black Woman and a whole slew of music videos is jumping on the train.

According to Variety, he has signed on to direct a burlesque dance film called Make it Happen. The plot is simple -- a young, small-town girl moves to Chicago, dreaming of becoming a professional dancer. Of course, she ends up performing at a burlesque bar instead. Oh, the possibilities! Will she become empowered by the sexiness and realize that she's right where she wants to be? Will she wiggle her bum and inspire an agent who happens to be in the crowd that she should get her big break? I'm sure it will be something like that, since it is coming from Duane Adler, the guy who wrote Save the Last Dance and Step Up. There is no cast attached yet, but that should come soon, since the movie starts filming in July in Louisiana and Chicago. Meanwhile, Grant has his hands full with two other features, which altogether give him a bit of a varied cinematic palette. He's directing Mama Black Widow, which follows Otis Tilson's story about black ghettos in the 1930's, and Venus Kincaid, which is about a government agent who morphs into a teen girl who still remembers all her skills and training.

The brand new Fox Atomic started out last year with the Abs n' Stabs fest Turistas, their Hills Have Eyes II brings mutant rape back to the silver screen on Friday, and their highly anticipated 28 Weeks Later opens May 11th. Seems like horror's their game, no? But each new announcement shows signs that they're branching out. In August, they'll release The Comebacks, a football comedy directed by Tom Brady (Not that Tom Brady). Last month they announced Space Invader, an astronaut comedy with Will ("A trick is something a whore does for money") Arnett. And now they are in talks to pick up an untitled spec script from Duane Adler, who also wrote Save the Last Dance and Step Up.

The script for this one is said to be "a music-driven tale of a forbidden teen romance." You know, like Save The Last Dance. And Step Up. I wonder if this guy just writes his scripts like mad libs -- "Boy from wrong side of tracks meets girl at (place). They have to learn to overcome their differences and dance in order to (action)." Would it kill Mr. Adler to experiment a little bit, especially at Fox Atomic, a studio known for hardcore horror? Why not mix n' match genres?

How's this for a pitch: Nick Cannon and Hilary Duff love each other but Duff's closed-minded mother won't let her marry outside of her race. The couple decides to head to Las Vegas and elope. But their car breaks down in the desert. A hideous band of freaks kidnaps and tortures them, and in a last minute plea bargain for her life, Duff cries out "Please! I'll do anything! I'll even...teach you to dance?" The mutants are intrigued. Two hours, twenty training montages, and a lot of life lessons later, Duff and Cannon bring their Mutant Dancing Spectacular to Vegas. Tickets sell out immediately. At first, the audience is horrified by these flesh-eating flashdancers, but then they learn to overcome their prejudices. And who's that in the back, giving a standing ovation? It's Hilary's mom. She's overcome her prejudices too. Cut to marriage scene with mutant bridal party, greenlight sequel.