Footloose is an absolute classic. There’s no denying that. It was such a hit, that it needed to be remade! People really couldn’t get enough. There’s no storyline more catchy than one about a small town where dancing is illegal, amirite?
But there is so much more to be said about this iconic film!
RELATED STORIES
Here are some random facts about Footloose that you may not know!
1. The movie was based on a real city in Oklahoma.
Believe it or not, Elmore , Oklahoma did, in fact, have a law against public dancing since the city was founded!
But in 1979, high school students protested against the law so that they could have a prom, and thankfully, because of that, the law was changed.
2. Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe almost got the role of Ren instead of Kevin Bacon.
It’s hard to imagine anyone but Kevin playing the lead role in Footloose . But initially, the casting directors were rooting for Tom Cruise instead.
Rob Lowe also auditioned for the part !
“I have post-traumatic stress with anything having to do with *Footloose*,” Rob said.
He also recalled being asked to sing karaoke at a Kenny Loggins party.
“I was like, ‘I won’t do anything with that damn movie, but I’ll do Danger Zone from Top Gun ,” he said to Hollywood.com .
3. Christopher Atkins actually landed the role of Ren before Kevin Bacon.
Before Kevin was given the lead role, Christopher Atkins was already locked in!
Unfortunately, after meeting with the producers and the director while being under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the part was taken away from him.
“I had *Footloose*,'” Christopher said on a podcast.
“And I went to meet with the producers and director of the movie, but I was on my way to Palm Springs to go have some fun, but I already started having fun before,” he continued .
“So, I went in, out of my mind, and they saw this crazy guy and they thought, ‘We can’t do this movie with this guy.'”
“I messed up. I was a total idiot. … It could have been a whole different ballgame for me .”
4. Madonna auditioned for the part of Ariel.
As you may already know, Madonna is quite the dancer! She probably would have made an excellent Ariel.
But instead, the part was given to Lori Singer. To be fair, it all ended up working out for the best.
5. The movie title was going to be *Cheek to Cheek*.
Before landing on the name Footloose , Cheek to Cheek was a placeholder.
After brainstorming multiple alternative titles, the creator said ” Footloose is one of those interesting words that looks good on paper—you see it scrawled across a billboard, and it sells itself.”
6. Kevin Bacon didn’t realize upon taking the role that he was going to have to dance.
According to Kevin, the first read-through of the script “didn’t really indicate anything.”
But once the ball got rolling, he had to hire a dance instructor and a gymnastics coach. He revealed that during his training, he “worked the skin off his hands.”
He also revealed that he was very disappointed about needing to use stunt doubles.
He told People that he “was furious … It’s like a starting pitcher getting taken out of a game—no one wants to be told they can’t get the guy out.”
7. Sarah Jessica Parker originally turned down the role of Rusty.
After being told by the director that she would have cut and dye her hair red for the part, she was less than enthusiastic about taking the job.
Fortunately, after a couple of days into production, they changed their mind and let Sarah keep her long locks!
8. Kevin Becon went undercover as a high school student to prepare for the film.
While we’ve all been to high school (well, most of us), it’s totally understandable that a 24-year-old Kevin needed his memory refreshed.
He sat in on a few hours of high school under the alias, “Ren McCormack,” in preparation to film .
9. John Lithgow sneakily got a real-life minister to help him prepare for his role.
In an effort to channel his character, Reverend Shaw Moore, he sought out an actual minister and asked him to teach him about the religion.
Talk about committing to the role!
He called it an “incredibly valuable thing to do.”
“I did feel like a total hypocrite, a snake in the grass, but without that—this man was extremely kind and very persuasive. That’s what I needed to play that part and deliver those sermons,” he told Huffington Post .
10. Kevin’s jeans were intentionally worn tight.
“I remember having these pants on that were unbelievably tight already, but weren’t quite tight enough for some of the shots,” he said on the DVD commentary.
“They would take them and pin them from behind so they were really skintight. It wasn’t so much about sexiness as it was that line to make the [dance] move look powerful.”
