Fame (2009)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Fame
Original title Fame
FAME-Final Logo large 300dpi.jpg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2009
length 107 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Kevin Tancharoen
script Allison Burnett
production Mark Canton ,
Gary Lucchesi ,
Tom Rosenberg ,
Richard Wright
music Mark Isham
camera Scott Kevan
cut Myron I. Kerstein
occupation

Fame is a 2009 remake of the dance film Fame , which was made in 1980 and directed by Alan Parker .

Director Kevin Tancharoen has n't changed much about the main plot of the new version , but the individual characters have been rewritten. The film describes an ensemble of young actors, singers, dancers and musicians who passionately fight for the fulfillment of their dreams at the New York School of Performing Arts . The structure of the original - a division of the film into five acts  - has been retained.

action

First act: the selection process

As every year, the New York School of Performing Arts conducts a rigorous selection process to find suitable students who aim for a career in the fields of acting , music or dance . Malik, Joy, Jenny, Neil, Kevin, Marco, Denise and Victor - eight teenagers who couldn't be more different, in terms of character, strengths, are among the few chosen ones for the four-year elite training course from thousands of participants , Weaknesses, talents and origins.

Second act: first year of school

In their tightly organized everyday life, the students not only have to prove their artistic achievements, but also go to school. Even in the first year of training, the highest standards are set for young talents. Jenny always finds it a little difficult to come out of herself, which the somewhat daring Marco seems to like. Malik constantly clashes with his mother, who does not have a great understanding of his acting dreams. And Denise too has to justify to her parents again and again that she wants to become a singer, although she has been trimmed to classical piano since she was a young child. Alice was also sent to special schools by her parents when she was five. The result is that she is arrogant and very self-confident. But not only she herself, Victor also considers her the best dancer in the school. Marco has nowhere problems - except with Jenny, who persistently evades his advances.

Third act: Second year of school

In the second year, too, all protagonists have to go to their limits, be it Kevin, who messes up while dancing, or Victor, who still finds it difficult to muster the same passion for Bach's classical compositions as he does for his own. He and blonde Alice get closer, as do Marco and Jenny. Malik does not want to take advice from a teacher regarding his acting. For this he discovers Denise's singing talent. She begins to work with him and Victor on his compositions, but lives constantly worried that her parents might discover this. In the first year she had the chance to play the background music in a performance of the musical Chicago , but her father forbade her to do so because it did not correspond to the classical music style. Her mother makes no effort to support Denise. Since then, Denise has been secretly practicing her favorite music.

Fourth act: Third year of school

In their third year at the New York School of Performing Arts , students have their first professional opportunities. For this they also have to accept their first defeats. Neil meets a sponsor who is interested in his short film but eventually disappears with Neil's tough money, Joy is invited to television roles and ends up getting a steady but mediocre job on Sesame Street , and Jenny, who has blossomed, gets an invitation to the set of a TV series , which turns out to be a flop. The main actor in this TV series was only interested in her personally. Marco is so outraged that he breaks up with Jenny. Meanwhile, Victor, Malik and Denise can inspire a renowned producer with their music. The joy about it only lasts for a short time: The producer only wants to sign Denise, but she refuses in order not to offend her friends and to finish school. Since the teachers want to slowly prepare their students for their careers, they take them to public appearances, including a karaoke bar . The singing voice of her music teacher also comes out there. Then she tells her life story.

Fifth act: senior year

In the fourth school year, the long-awaited graduation is finally getting closer. Alice made her breakthrough. She drops out of school and goes on a world tour with a famous company. Victor separates from her unhappily. Kevin has to hear from his teacher that his skills are not enough for the dancer's career. After overcoming his dejection, he decides to end the year anyway and then take over his mother's dance studio as a dance teacher. But Joy doesn't graduate. Your grade point average has dropped too far due to constant absence. Malik finally comes to terms with his past and excludes his own emotions from his acting. He has a gig with Denise that her parents also see. Her father wants to take her out of school angrily, but her mother finally speaks a word of power: Denise can become a singer. Jenny and Marco dare to start over. At graduation, not everyone has gotten to where they planned four years earlier, but they are ready to apply what they have learned in the world outside of school.

background

History of origin

The original film from 1980 was not only successful with the audience, it also won two of six Academy Award nominations , one for best music and one for "best song". This resulted in the television series Fame - The Road to Fame with six seasons, a globally successful musical Fame - The Road to Fame and a TV reality show.

Fame is Kevin Tancharoen's first feature film. Until then, Tancharoen had mainly worked as a dancer and choreographer, including for Madonna and the Pussycat Dolls , as well as a TV producer. His first filming experience was Onyx Hotel - Live In Miami , a live Britney Spears concert that was released on DVD in October 2009. Like Alan Parker with the original film, Tancharoen also selected beginners in particular to authentically portray their struggle for careers. The composition of dance, drama and music such as hip-hop , modern dance and jazz , mixed with new forms of representation such as slam poetry and freestyle, is characteristic of the new version .

Fame was filmed in Los Angeles and New York City . Filming began in December 2008. The budget for the film is estimated at around 18 million US dollars .

publication

The film premiered in Los Angeles on September 23, 2009 .

While the film was released in the United States , Canada and the United Kingdom on September 25, 2009, Universum Film launched it in cinemas on October 7, 2009 in Switzerland , on December 24, 2009 in Germany and one day in Austria later. The DVD was released in Germany by Universum Film GmbH on May 14, 2010.

The film grossed over $ 10 million on the opening weekend in the US, making it the third highest grossing film of the weekend. Overall, the film grossed just under 22.5 million in the United States and had revenues of more than 54.7 million US dollars worldwide.

Soundtrack

The 19-track soundtrack was released on August 25, 2009 by Lakeshore Entertainment in digital stores and in the North American market. It mainly contains new songs. Only the ballad “Out here on my own” and the Oscar-winning hit “Fame” by Michael Gore , with which Irene Cara became famous, remained of the original film . However, this has been rearranged and given modern elements.

criticism

The remake has so far received mostly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer showed 28% positive out of 101 reviews, with the consensus that the film cut was hacked up and the characters incomplete, and that the whole film was aimed at fans of high school musicals and similar products. Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times praised the dance scenes choreographed by Tancharoen, which would be the only ones to liven up the film. She also lifted Naturi Naughton , Kherington Payne , Collins Pennie and Asher Book from the crowd of otherwise "forgettable" actors.

Andy Webster of the New York Times called the film desaturated and criticized the fact that the youngsters in the remake were hardly going through any real problems or rebellions. Roger Ebert awarded two out of five stars. He suspected that director Tancharoen did not understand what made the original film so charming, and that this lack of understanding resulted in the superficial, shallow remake of an originally moving film. The distributors of the Golden Raspberry Film Award described Fame as the worst new feature film of the week and indicated that they would like to nominate the film for the upcoming award ceremony in spring 2010.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Fame . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2009 (PDF; test number: 120 188 K).
  2. ↑ Internet Movie Database : Filming Locations
  3. ↑ a b c Internet Movie Database : Budget and Box Office Results
  4. ↑ a b Internet Movie Database : Start Dates
  5. ↑ boxofficemojo.com: Statistics on Fame
  6. ↑ Fame at Rotten Tomatoes (accessed November 22, 2009)
  7. ↑ Fame . In: Los Angeles Times
  8. ^ Another Optimistic Bunch, Determined to Live Forever . In: New York Times
  9. ↑ Roger Ebert : Critique of Fame
  10. ↑ Worst "New" Movie of the Weak: MGM Releases "New" (But Decidedly Un-Improved) FAME : The fact that it […] wasn't nominated for a single RAZZIE, may also distinguish it from this cash-mongering re -hash. in terms of the difference between the original and its remake.