“Dear White People” and “Bad Hair” filmmaker Justin Simien is set to adapt and direct a modern series retelling of the iconic 1983 film “Flashdance” for Paramount Television Studios and the Paramount+ streaming service.
Jennifer Beals starred in the original as a steel mill worker and young dancer with dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. It was famed for several dance sequences set to now-iconic songs like “What a Feeling” and “Maniac,” and pulled in $200 million globally.
CBS All Access began developing a version back in 2020 with Tracy McMillan (“Good Girls Revolt”) writing and Angela Robinson directing. That version revolved around a young Black woman with ballet dreams and a strip club reality who struggles to find her place in the world.
Simien’s take is expected to be a new version. He remains attached to Disney’s new “Haunted Mansion” film and the “Star Wars: Lando” TV series.
“Flashdance” joins multiple series in the works for Paramount+ that tie back to the company’s vast Paramount Pictures catalogue. Others include “Fatal Attraction,” “The Italian Job,” “Love Story,” “The Parallax View,” a “Grease” prequel, and the ‘making of The Godfather’ themed “The Offer”.
In addition, a series adaptation of the John Travolta and Debra Winger-led 1980 country music-themed film “Urban Cowboy” is on the way for the streamer, with James Pondsolt and Benjamin Percy announced as co-writers this week.
Source: Indiewire
