Great news, all! Fame is being remade! You know, FAME! I’m gonna live for ever and all that jazz. About the kids who dance and dance and dance! They dance everywhere! Bathrooms, streets, rooms, gardens and even on my eventual grave! Why? Because they’re gonna live foreeeevvvvvveerrrr…

Ok. The brunt of it, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Written by Allison Burnett and Aline Brosh McKenna, the reinvention will be directed by choreographer Kevin Tancharoen. Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg of Lakeshore Entertainment are producing the $25 million project along with Mark Canton. Becky Sloviter is overseeing for MGM.

The film is expected to begin lensing in late November to make its Sept. 25 release date. MGM will distribute “Fame” in North America, while Lakeshore will handle international distribution and release the soundtrack.

Well, that’s just grand. The young cast of hopeful performers banking their careers on acting as hopeful performers are made up from bit parts that you may have seen on Hannah Montanna, CSI:Crime Scene Investigation, The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie and the whiny kid who plays John Conner in Terminator: The John Conner Chronicles.

But why remake a 1980 musical that is nothing more than pop kitsch and somewhat entertaining play?

“In many ways, the idea of pursuing a career in dance or music or acting is much more palpable now,” MGM chairman Mary Parent said. “Anyone with a page on a social networking site is instantly ‘famous,’ and anyone with a digital camera is a potential filmmaker. The negotiation between fame and real talent is much more immediate and something with which audiences are familiar, and there’s a universal relatability[sic] to experiencing the trials and tribulations associated with pursuing one’s dream, regardless of the arena.”

As a buoyant batch of relative unknowns in a brutal business, the new cast members mirror the stories of the musical’s characters — rising stars in a variety of artistic disciplines competing for respect and success.

Right. Now is a great time to be an artist! I always think about dancing when there’s an economic depression happening.