Adapting a classic cartoon series is always going to be a touchy subject for fans. So when Universal’s Jem and The Holograms hits theaters this October, you can count on them to find flaws or errors of their beloved series. It gets a bit more difficult when you have to put a contemporary spin on it. But for director Jon M. Chu, he figured out a way to give the film a modern take.
Chu talks about some of the changes he had to make to the film in order for it to relate to a modern-day audience, one of the biggest of which is that the title character’s holographic bandmates will be replaced by a sister and two foster sisters. We also have a bunch of new images from the film. Check them all out here below.
USA Today talked to Chu about Jem and the Holograms, and released the images below as well.
The animated series centered on a talented musician, her performing alter-ego Jem, and her Hologram bandmates.
It is much easier to keep a secret identity in the 80s than it is today, with social media making a huge impact on revealing and leaking news. Chu knew that this would be a huge issue with the film. Here’s what he told USA Today,
How can you even have a secret identity with all this social media? [“¦] But then it dawned on us: Wait, everybody has a secret identity. The idea of “˜Who are you really?’ is more relevant today than ever.
That’s an interesting concept. He adds,
It’s actually about a group of young people who are going to be inundated with this idea of fame and fortune and products and stuff, and within all that, how do you stay true to who you really are? That’s the real soul of the movie.
We also learn that there will be some changes to the Jerrica character. She won’t be a owner of a music company like she is in the animated series, instead she will be an undiscovered talent who is “forced to embrace the over-the-top Jem alter ego in order to take care of her family and bandmates.” This is a life that Jem doesn’t want, but all the celebrity perks of being Jem “helps her hide and have the confidence to come out and be this persona.” Chu says “We see the transformation as she gets brought into it, getting seduced by it, and at the same time trying to find her real self in between those two identities.”
Aubrey Peeples plays the title pop star, and Stefanie Scott, Hayley Kiyoko, and Aurora Perrineau play her sisters and bandmates. Molly Ringwald, Ryan Guzman, and Juliette Lewis.
Jem and the Holograms arrives in theaters on October 23, 2015.
Here are the batch of images from the film.
Image Gallery
[Source: USA Today]
Terrible. It’s like they took iCarly and Biebers fame story and slapped Jem Character names and places on top of it. Killed my excitment when I saw the trailer. Jem doesn’t own Starlight? Shes a little teen girl who is a sad little victim of fame? The heck? NO. Terrible job Jon M. Chu.
Comment by Victoria Gates — May 13, 2015 @ 10:00 am