It was only a year ago when the cast for the Jem and the Holograms movie was announced. In that time we have gained very little details, news, or images on the production that micro-budget horror producer Jason Blum from Blumhouse Productions is backing. Seeing that we are only six months away from its release, I feel as though the marketing team has awoken from their slumber to realize they need to start getting the word out.

Full disclosure, as much as you’d all like to think I spend my time wearing pink wigs and my face painted as I type this out, I have no history with Jem and the Holograms. I know of the cartoon and that’s about it. And when Blumhouse became the studio behind this movie, it raised a few eyebrows, mine included. The production house that brought us Paranormal Activity and Insidious, how could they tap into the psyche of teen girls?

They have dipped their toes outside the realm of genre features before with the Oscar winning Whiplash, as well as HBO’s The Normal Heart and The Jinx. So is this an adult romp for nostalgic Millennials? Director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2: The Streets; G.I. Joe Retaliation) shed some light on the project in a recent interview with USA Today:

“It’s actually about a group of young people who are going to be inundated with this idea of fame and fortune and products and stuff, and within all that, how do you stay true to who you really are? That’s the real soul of the movie.”

Many audiences today may relate this property to Hannah Montana, as the lead character Jerrica (Aubrey Peeples) takes on the alter ego of Jem. Chu continues:

“Jerrica is definitely a 21st-century sort of girl. She’s shy and scared to use her voice after the death of her father, who taught her guitar and would call her ‘Jem,’ yet still finds ways to make music even though she’s frightened of the stage. We see the transformation as she gets brought into it, getting seduced by it, and at the same time trying to find her real self in between those two identities.”

Peeles adds:

“She never wanted to pursue the big costumes, lots of makeup, all that stuff. But in a way it helps her hide and have the confidence to come out and be this persona.”

And so we have the band members, but now the supporting cast has also been revealed. Molly Ringwald will be playing Aunt Bailey, the legal guardian to sisters Jerrica and Kimber (Stefanie Scott), and their foster siblings Aja (Hayley Kiyoko) and Shana (Aurora Perrineau). And then we have Ryan Guzman, a Step Up veteran who enters the scene as the love interest, because we all need one of those, right? Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers; Whip It; August: Osage County) inhabits the role of the antagonist known as Erica Raymond, “a Starlight Music record executive.”

Check out the new production stills for the live-action adaptation of the hit ’80s cartoon here (Click on any photo below to being the image gallery):

It’s still not clear as to how we’re suppose to take this film. Whether it will be a fun romp like Pitch Perfect that services all ages, or more apt for tweens and young adults. I can only assume with the release of these images that a trailer should drop soon, which you can expect to find here once it drops.

There is no official plot synopsis yet, but here’s what IMDb.com has to say:

Music executive, Jerrica Benton, lives a secret, adventurous life as a glamorous rock star named Jem.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Jem and the Hogorams stars Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Hayley Kiyoko, Aurora Perrineau, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald, and Juliette Lewis. This film is set to release on October 23, 2015.

Source: USA Today