Jason Moore, Like, Totally Talks About His Movie Remake of Valley Girl

Jason Moore, director of the Broadway production of Shrek the Musical and Avenue Q, will make his feature film debut with a musical remake of the 1983 comedy Valley Girl. The new movie, which will feature a screenplay by Amy Talkington, will be a Romeo and Juliet-inspired story built around the original film’s New Wave soundtrack. No casting as been announced. 

“We have a lot of songs we know we want to use—we’re still in the process of securing the rights,” Moore tells Broadway.com. (Among the power-pop tunes featured in the film: Modern English’s “I Melt With You,” the Plimsouls’ “A Million Miles Away,” Bonnie Hayes’ “Girls Like Me,” Sparks’ “Eaten by the Monster of Love.”) “It’s safe to say there are several songs from the movie,”

As for the plot, Moore promises “lots of surprises,” but promises to deliver “the same basic story”: Directed by Martha Coolidge, Valley Girl starred Nicolas Cage as a Hollywood punk who embarks on a romance with the title character, played by Deborah Foreman. Explains Moore, “They’re star-crossed, but it’s the fun version of star-crossed, not the dead version.”

The casting process hasn’t even begun, says Moore, nor is a release date set. In the meantime, he’s brushing up on his val-speak. “I’ve been doing research—it’s very pervasive in the way people talk. Most people use ‘like’ and ‘totally,'” he says. “I’m getting more fluent, although I don’t want to annoy everyone around me.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Valley Girl remake is part of MGM’s strategy to repackage classic titles for new audiences. A 2009 version of Fame is scheduled to open on September 25.

In addition to Shrek and his Tony-nominated work on Avenue Q, Moore has directed the Broadway revival of Steel Magnolias and the off-Broadway play Speech & Debate, which is currently being developed into a feature film. Moore has also directed episodes of the TV series Brothers & Sisters, One Tree Hill, Everwood and Dawson’s Creek. He is producing Paris Hilton’s My New BFF for MTV.