According to Variety, Ortega has abandoned the remake of Footloose due to creative differences with Paramount Pictures.
The director wanted to make the film on a budget of 30 million dollars, including elaborate musical numbers, while the head of the production studio, Adam Goodman, wanted the film to be more dramatic than a musical with a budget of 25 million.
Zac Efron was primarily chosen to take on the principal role, but was replaced by Chace Crawford to star opposite Dancing With the Stars sensation, Julianne Hough. Filming is set to begin in March, while Crawford has time off from the Gossip Girl series.
Kenny Ortega was the director behind the High School Musical films and Michael Jackson’s This Is It documentary, which hits theatres on Wednesday, October 28.