You may have heard by now that a live action movie is currently in the works. For old fans of the show, the news probably comes as a pleasant surprise. A fond memory that had been stored away by many of us for nearly two decades is now being brought back into the spotlight.
Unfortunately, my friends, not all is well within the walls of Starlight Music.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Christy Marx, creator of the "Jem" series, said that she was not only shut out of the reboot but also learned about the film’s development a few days before its YouTube announcement.Further:
"My other unhappy observation is that I see two male producers, a male director and a male writer. Where is the female voice? Where is the female perspective? Where are the women?," she asked about the film, which Jon M. Chu ("G.I. Joe," "Step Up 2: The Streets"), Jonathan Blum ("Paranormal Activity," "Insidious") and Scooter Braun (the brains behind Justin Bieber) will produce alongside Hasbro.As Marx points out in her statement, however, when it comes to franchises and intellectual property, "they can do whatever they want with it." Hasbro (yes, the toy company), the actual owner of "Jem and the Holograms," has no obligation to include or seek advice from Marx.
There is a silver lining to this story, though. Marx has contacted Chu, the director of the new reboot, and the two seem to have had a good conversation about the upcoming production. The new story will not necessarily be so much a reboot as it will be a "re-imagining"; a different story altogether. It's not the story Marx would have told, but she hopes fans will be able to enjoy it just the same.
