What happens when the battle for the soul of a small town gets fought in the most unexpected of arenas: the dance floor? This 80s flick, inspired by true events, dared to answer that question and became one of the most influential movies of the decade!
In this small Utah town, the spirit of youth is a whispered song, until the new student from big city Chicago decides it’s time to crank up the volume. With his rebellious heart and dancing feet, he challenges the status quo, winning allies and sparking a cultural showdown that had audiences rooting for freedom and dancing in the aisles.
So get ready to cut loose, kick off those Sunday shoes, and dance your butt off as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Bethany Wells and JB Huffman discuss “Footloose” from 1984 on this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast.
Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:
• According to recent interviews Payson High School officials did with the local FOX news station a few years ago, the school — where filming began in May 1983 — looks the same as it did in the ‘80s. And Ren’s locker, which appears several times in the movie, is still there and marked on the inside with a plaque that begins, “Congrats! You’ve got Kevin Bacon’s locker!”
• According to Kevin Bacon, his credited main dance double in the famous warehouse scene, Peter Tramm, was married at the time to Marine Jahan, who was the famously uncredited dance double for Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance".
• In the scene where Reverend Shaw shows Ren a picture of his deceased son Bobby, John Lithgow showed a photograph of his real son.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, Blu-Ray Behind the Scenes Featurettes
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/footloose-just-turned-40-10-113814618.html
https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_footlse.htm
http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/column/index.cfm?columnID=20404
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