Tagline: They will dream it. Earn it. Live it.
Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame… the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work.
In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student’s passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything else that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery. As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they’ll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they’ll find out who amongst them will achieve Fame…
Fame is a 2009 American musical drama film and a loose remake of the 1980 film of the same name. It was directed by Kevin Tancharoen and written by Allison Burnett. It was released on September 25, 2009 in the US, Canada, Ireland, and the UK. The film follows talented high school students attending The High School of Performing Arts in New York City (known today as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School), where students get specialized training that often leads to success in the entertainment industry.
The film opened at third place behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the newly released Surrogates with approximately $10,011,682. The film has grossed $22,455,510 domestically and $50,930,003 in the foreign market with an international gross of $73,385,513, making it a moderate box office success.
The Faculty
To play the High School’s teachers and mentors, the filmmakers called on a group of actors who’ve each achieved success in a variety of arenas. From the big screen to television, from the stage to the recording studio, the school’s different disciplines are reflected in the versatility and multifaceted careers of the actors portraying the people at the front of the classroom.
In the original film, Debbie Allen famously portrayed dance teacher Lydia Grant, warning her students that they’d have to pay for their fame in sweat, and she went on to appear in and direct episodes of the Fame television series. Having added a plethora of credits to her resume since then, Allen returns for the new Fame as Principal Angela Simms.
Debbie Allen sees Angela Simms as a new incarnation of Lydia Grant. “As far as I’m concerned,” Allen says, “she is Lydia Grant who got married and became Ms. Simms. I said to one of the producers, `You can call me whatever you want. The audience is going to think it’s Lydia Grant up there.’ Now she’s the principal and she’s in charge.”
Simms is a role that the busy Allen understands on a very personal level. “I run the Debbie Allen Dance Academy,” she says, “and when you are in charge, you have a map, a game plan for every child that walks through the door. As Principal Simms, it’s my job in the movie, in a few brief scenes, to let the students know that there are steps you must take in order to make the most of what we have to offer you. And if you don’t complete those steps, it won’t work.”
Charles S. Dutton plays acting instructor James Dowd. Dutton, in fact, once taught at a performing arts high school in Baltimore; two of his alumni include Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur. For this role, however, Dutton says he turned to some of his own acting teachers, who instilled in him not just a work ethic but also the notion of art as a higher calling.
“I modeled Mr. Dowd after many acting teachers that I had myself,” Dutton says. “They gave us a lot of tough love, intensity and discipline. I think Dowd tries to get his students to understand that it’s not just about being an entertainer – it’s about being an artist. There is a difference. An entertainer will do anything, but an artist will only do things he or she feels advances civilization. That’s where Dowd is coming from.”
Dutton, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama who has earned an Emmy, a Tony, and a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” believes that art can be a life-changing experience, independent of “fame.”
“When I realized that acting was what I was born to do,” he says, “it truly changed my life. I’ve always viewed the individual pursuit of the arts as a way to discover and rediscover your humanity. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what the real essence should be.” It is a philosophy that Dutton believes in so profoundly that, after some initial conversations about the character, Tancharoen incorporated it into a discussion Mr. Dowd has with his students.
Kelsey Grammer portrays Martin Cranston, one of the school’s music teachers. Grammer has earned a total of 16 Emmy nominations, eight Golden Globe nominations, and 16 SAG nominations; he has directed, produced, and appeared in many movies, including the recent X-Men series, as well as starring on Broadway in productions of “My Fair Lady,” “Macbeth” and “Othello.” Grammer credits a singing teacher as first inspiring him to pursue a career in the arts. He studied and prepared for his craft at Juilliard but, he says, leaving the famed school taught him a valuable lesson.
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Fame (2009)
Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen
Starring: Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Kherington Payne, Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth, Thomas Dekker, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
Screenplay by: Allison Burnett, Aline Brosh McKenna
Production Design by: Paul Eads
Cinematography by: Scott Kevan
Film Editing by: Myron I. Kerstein
Costume Design by: Dayna Pink
Art Direction by: Scott Meehan
Music by: Mark Isham
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language.
Distributed by: Paramount Vantage
Release Date: September 25, 2009
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