Chace Crawford is now, sort of, one degree from Kevin Bacon — he has officially signed on as Ren McCormack in the new “Footloose” remake. Not only will he actually have to sing, but he’ll also have to keep up with his leading lady, played by “Dancing With the Stars”‘ Julianne Hough. Kenny Ortega, also behind “High School Musical,” was one of the three main filmmakers involved in the decision to cast Zac Efron in the leading role. Efron later dropped out after being advised to stay away from musical roles so that he can build up versatility. While we hope Chace Crawford is as good a song-and-dance man as Zac Efron or Kevin Bacon, Crawford says, “I don’t know if the gymnastics [high bar] scene is going to make it, I’ve got some movement in me, but I’m not a dancer. I need to start stretching now.” In case you haven’t seen this cult classic, in a nutshell: mysterious new guy moves to ultra-religious Midwestern town, introduces teens to rock ‘n’ roll, and trouble ensues when hot girl’s preacher dad shuts down the fun. I don’t know about you, but I hope they do justice to this rebel with a cause.
