"Valley Girl" redux in the works

By Jay A. Fernandez

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Valley Girl," the 1983 cult comedy, is being reimagined as a musical feature, and Broadway director Jason Moore has signed to helm the movie.

The original film starred Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman in a romance that bridged the '80s punk scene and suburban San Fernando Valley culture. Martha Coolidge directed, from a script by Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane

Amy Talkington's updated screenplay for the MGM project revamps the story as a "Romeo and Juliet"-inspired musical built around the first movie's New Wave soundtrack (think Modern English, Sparks and the Psychedelic Furs).

The '80s archeology is part of MGM's strategy to repackage classic catalog titles for new audiences in novel ways. The first product of this effort, "Fame," dances into theaters September 25. "Red Dawn," "RoboCop," "Poltergeist" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" are in development at the studio.

Moore has directed episodes of "One Tree Hill," "Everwood" and "Brothers & Sisters." He directed the $24 million Broadway production of "Shrek: The Musical," which is nominated for eight Tony Awards including best musical and won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for outstanding musical.

He also has directed "Steel Magnolias" and "Avenue Q" on Broadway. "Valley Girl" will be his feature debut.

Talkington was a music writer before becoming a filmmaker. She wrote and directed the independent comedy "The Night of the White Pants" and adapted "The Devil in the Junior League" for Fox 2000.