Remember Jem and the Holograms? Hasbro’s line of glam rock dolls with bright hair that spawned a short-lived cartoon series in the 1980s? No?
Well, they’re back, and there’s a high-powered team working on the big-screen comeback of the animated series.
Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious), Jon M Chu (GI Joe, Step Up 2: The Streets) and Scooter Braun, the brains behind Justin Bieber, have teamed up to bring a ‘modern-day, live-action reinvention’ of the series to cinemas.
In an attempt to secure some social media love for the project, the trio is promising to crowdsource a meaty chunk of the creative process. In a YouTube video announcing the reboot, the team called on fans of the series to help them make the movie, ‘from writing music to designing costumes to even casting,’ Chu said.
“Whatever it is, we want you to be part of our creative time,” Chu said. “Sort of like Kickstarter — but rather than asking for money, we’re asking for your creativity.”
The YouTube announcement called on fans to upload photos, video and messages of what they love about Jem on Tumblr. Aspiring Jems wanting to audition? Dust off your pink wig and produce a two-minute video.
“We are looking for the most talented girls and boys in the world to be in our movie,” Braun said. “We want you to be our movie star.”
Chu will direct the film and produce alongside Blum, Braun and Hasbro.
The 1980s Hasbro toyline inspired the animated series, which ran from 1985 to 1988. The cartoon followed Jerrica Benton and her pink-haired alter ego Jem, the frontwoman of glam rock band the Holograms.
Producers said the reimagining will centre on an orphaned teenage girl who becomes an online recording sensation and embarks on a music-driven scavenger hunt with her sisters across Los Angeles in an attempt to unlock a final message left by her father.
