Call me a pessimist, but I can't help but think that as soon as a studio decides to remake a movie from my childhood, it can't help but pale in comparison. The Hollywood Reporter recently announced that MGM has partnered with 300's Mark Canton to put together a remake of the 1980 musical Fame. The original film, directed by Alan Parker (Evita) starred Irene Cara, Laura Dean, and Barry Miller as students at the New York School of Performing Arts and became known for its signature line "I'm gonna live forever!," which you can be certain will be used in the remake. MGM's Rick Sands has confirmed that a writer and a director have been hired, but he was keeping quiet about any further details about casting.

Sands is also not making any promises about how close the new remake will stick to the original. However, he did comment on some of the changes saying, "We'll update it, (but) we'll still keep some of the songs. The script is being written right now, but we are keeping it under wraps. There will be a strong musical component, though," which makes it sound like Fame is going to be bottled into the new dance film craze with a little of the old music thrown in to appease the people who are nostalgic for the original. You have to admire a musical that can work in dance numbers in between story lines about abortion, drug abuse, and sexual exploitation. It's also worth noting that it won an Oscar for the original song (Fame), and spawned a TV series and a long-running musical. Oh well, as long as they don't mess with Hot Lunch ... some things are sacred.