Actress Aubrey Peeples will play Jem in the forth-coming movie version of Jem and the Holograms. If you’re wondering why she’s familiar, Peeples plays the annoying reality TV star slash country pop singer Layla Grant on ABC’s Nashville.
In addition to Peeples, Variety’s Justin Kroll writes that Stefanie Scott, Hayley Kiyoko and Aurora Perrineau of Pretty Little Liars are also on board. As I’ve written before, director Jon M. Chu of G.I. Joe remake fame, along with Jason Blum and Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber’s manager, are producing this film. No word yet on whether the Biebs will make an appearance as an inappropriate man-boy in Jem’s audience but we can hope, eh?
As a kid who grew up on Jem and the Holograms and was excited to see this remake happen, Peeples might be a new enough actress to make the part her own without bringing any pieces of her previous projects to it. She can sing; in fact, I said that to myself last night as I watched ABC’s Nashville concert, where she sang live beside the show’s songwriters, musicians and cast mates. But there’s still one thing holding me back.
While I’m thrilled to see Jem on the big screen, with a pipeline full of remakes from 1980s cartoons and toys like Barbie — really Hollywood, Barbie? — and Godzilla‘s 500,000th revival hitting theaters this month, Tinsel Town I beg of you, please give us new stories. Because if I see a Carebears or a She-Ra movie in the works, then, for the honor of Grey Skull, I might have to boycott until conditions improve.
