Fame Cast Fills Up, Begins Production

The Fame remake will be hitting big screens in the Fall of 2009, and the cast has just been finalized. Reports are coming in that Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth and Debbie Allen have all been enlisted "to fill out the administrative and teaching roles" at New York City High School of Performing Arts. MGM says "This picture is a celebration, a testament to people pursuing their dreams, so we set out to find talented actors who could both convincingly instruct onscreen and also inspire audiences." The student cast members are mostly unknowns, and can be checked out on IMDB. Incidentally, Debbie Allen played dance teach Lydia Grant in the 1980 film, and will be coming back as Principal Simms. Check out the original "Hot Lunch Jam" below.

Will the remake live up to it? Production begins this Wednesday (though it's not listed as being filmed in New York).

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on December 1, 2008 4:10 PM

Comments [rss]

sinisterteashop

Thank god that white guy started playing the piano first or that jam session would have been a race riot!

Murgus

A lot of the interior scenes in the original were filmed in what is now Performance Space 122. The clip here I think is their 1st floor theater. I believe they have shows running this week.

Huffy6241

Fixed gear bicyclists.

Spirit of 76

I bet the remake's soundtrack will be completely forgettable, too.

halfpastdome

they're filming in LA.

zodak

you want fame? it starts right here! right now!

nomnomnom

What are you fools talking about?!? Fame was awesome!!

I recently re-watched it and caught Isaac Mizrahi in one of the scenes. Plus, it's so awesomely old-school New York.

fugothamist

gritty

Gothampc

"Will the remake live up to it?"

No. One of the underlying factors of the original was that New York was very gritty when the original was filmed. There was a sense that these kids escaped their environments when they entered the school. The school was in a sense a protective shell. What can this new version do that hasn't been done by High School Musical?