Kevin Bacon in New York City on Sept. 5, 2023.Photo:Noam Galai/Getty
Noam Galai/Getty
Kevin Baconis about to cut loose once more!
On Friday, the actor — whose iconic filmFootlooserecentlycelebrated its 40-year anniversary— appeared via video chat on theTodayshow, to surprise staff and students at Payson High School in Payson, Utah, with some very big news.
“I have been so impressed with everything that’s been going on there with this crazy idea to get me to come back,” said Bacon, 65, who shot the 1984 movie at the school. “I’ve been amazed at the work that all of you have been putting into this, with the musical and the flash mobs and the re-creations.”
After those gathered in the school’s gym to watch his announcement erupted in cheers, Bacon added, “Thank you guys. Let’s dance.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
On a recent episode of the actor’sSix Degrees with Kevin Baconpodcast, he recalled that the final scenes of his classic musical drama film were altered to remove slow-motion sequences that did not test well with early audiences.
“The ending ofFootloosehas this big dance sequence and in the original, when we originally shot it in Utah it went into slow motion,” Bacon shared. “When they tested the movie everybody said, ‘We don’t want slow motion, we want to see people getting down. We want to feel the music and see everybody rocking out.’ "
“So we went to California a year laterand reshot the endingbut not in slow motion, with new choreography and new dancers and a whole bunch of new things,” he added, noting that he believes the changes made “definitely helped the movie a lot.”
Lori Singer and Kevin Bacon inFootloose(1984).Everett
Everett
As for whether a sequel might ever find its way to fruition, Bacon said last month on the podcast,“Never say never, [but] I think it would be a disaster.”
But Singer, 66, has an idea — just in case. As she told PEOPLE in February, “I don’t know if Kevin even remembers this, but I actually had sort of an idea where Ariel grows up and goes to New York where she wanted to be, and [Ren] stays there.”
“[Ren] stays in the town, and he becomes a bigger deal in the town. That’s where he becomes the town lawyer or whatever,” she continued. “[Ariel] comes back because her father’s sick.”
“I mean, I justplayed with that idea years agoand we were talking about it and joking,” Singer clarified. “But that was just something for us to meet on and talk about and laugh about."
When it actually comes down to it, however, the actress isn’t sure she wants a follow-up film. As she told PEOPLE, “It was so pure for what it is that I kind of agree with Kevin … but you never know.”
source: people.com
