I don’t want anyone to think I’m a dork or anything, but you know that song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins? That’s a pretty catchy tune.
I was just listening to it online, and I found myself really wanting to cut a rug, Kevin Bacon-style, right here in my cubicle. Of course, I didn’t because, you know – that’d be pretty dorky. But in my head I imagined the dance, which ended with me knocking a tape recorder, a Rolodex and three empty Dr. Pepper bottles off my desk in a frenzied finish.
The reason I’m even thinking of “Footloose” is because I recently read that there’s going to be a remake of the film, starring Arroyo Grande’s own teen sensation, Zac Efron.
Efron told Access Hollywood that he is slated to play Ren McCormick, the Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing and rock music are illegal. (Egad!) Efron will reprise the role that made Bacon famous (Well . . . aside from “Friday the 13th,” that is.).
Efron is, of course, on a roll, as we recently reported in a Ticket cover story. Right now he’s actively promoting both “Hairspray,” currently in theaters, and “High School Musical 2,” which will initially air Aug. 17.
Efron, 19, is regularly featured in newspaper and magazine stories, including the current Newsweek, which has a somewhat cynical angle on the “HSM” cast. (In this era of Lindsay Lohans, I guess it’s hard to believe a cast of young adults can’t be in rehab.)
Next Tuesday, Efron will appear on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. And Efron will be featured in “Rolling Stone” next month.
In a recent interview with the Tribune, Efron acknowledged he’s on many magazine covers these days. But he doesn’t think too much about it.
“I just laugh,” he said. “That’s all I can do is laugh. You can’t believe that you’ve gotten so lucky and people are interested enough to put you on a magazine.”
Even though he’s on a path to superstardom, he still hasn’t succumbed to the circling-the-drain lifestyle that fellow Disney alum Lohan has experienced. Even though the Newsweek article was skeptical, those who know him say Efron resembles his wholesome, Disney image.
Maybe part of it has to do with growing up on the Central Coast.
“I consider myself sort of a small-town boy,” Efron said. “For a while I felt like a fish out of water in L.A . . . I have to wait in hours of traffic and park next to 40 other cars, take an elevator to my modest apartment in the Valley. It’s so different than being home.”
It’s sort of fun waiting to see what he does next. Until then, all I gotta say is: “Everybody cut, everybody cut . . .”
–Pat P.
