Now that Zac Efron is Footloose and fancy-free, he’s moved quickly to plug the gap in his schedule created by his decision to leave the remake of the Kevin Bacon ‘classic’ by lining up a starring role in The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud.
The movie, based on the acclaimed novel by Ben Sherwood, will see Efron reteam with Burr Steers, director of the upcoming comedy,** 17 Again**. Clearly, they had a good experience making that one.
Yet The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud is a different kettle of fish. A supernatural tearjerker, it will see Efron star as the title character, a caretaker at the cemetery where his younger brother, who died in a car crash for which Charlie was responsible, is buried. However, every night the younger brother, Sam, comes back as a ghost to play catch with Charlie. Then a girl happens upon the scene, and it all becomes a bit tangled.
Sounds like a nice change of pace for Efron, who’s still trying to prove that he’s capable of being much more than just the High School Musical dude. Backing out of Footloose will probably be seen as a very smart move in the right direction; this could well be the same.
Production on the movie will begin in July, with Steers currently rewriting the script by Craig Pearce, James Schamus and Lewis Colick. Marc Platt will produce.