Newcomer to star in 'Footloose' remake

HOLLYWOOD, June 22 (UPI) -- Newcomer Kenny Wormald has been cast in the upcoming remake of "Footloose," Hollywood's Paramount Pictures said Tuesday.

Zac Efron and Chace Crawford were previously cast in the lead role of Ren, but backed out of the production, prompting Paramount to conduct an extensive worldwide search for a new star.

Julianne Hough is to play Ariel, Dennis Quaid to play Reverend Moore and Miles Teller as Willard in the remake.

The original movie starred Kevin Bacon as Ren, Lori Singer as Ariel, John Lithgow as the Reverend and Chris Penn as Willard.

Craig Zadan, who served as a producer on the 1984 film, joins his longtime creative partner Neil Meron and producers Brad Weston and Dylan Sellers on the remake.

Oscar-winning songwriter Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay and songs for the original movie, will be an executive producer for the contemporary version.

Brewer is expected to shoot from a script he adapted from Pitchford's original, Paramount said.

"I saw 'Footloose' in my hometown theater when I was 13-years-old and it rocked my world. It was a teenage rebellion movie that explored the struggles of faith and family in a small town, and it had a killer soundtrack. I can promise 'Footloose' fans that I will be true to the spirit of the original film. But I still gotta put my own Southern grit into it and kick it into 2011," Brewer said in a statement. "It's going to be a blast!"