We are finally getting our first official look at the upcoming JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS movie adaptation today along with the synopsis. I’ve been curious about this one ever since the slick poster arrived (see below) and the talent involved came together. You might know by now but if not, I have a refresher; the movie is based on the 1980s animated television series and will star Aubrey Peeples as Jem, an orphan who becomes an internet sensation and goes on a music-driven scavenger hunt with her band, which includes Stefanie Scott as Kimber, Hayley Kiyoko as Aja and Aurora Perrineau as Shana.
Here is the official synopsis followed by the first image:
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
So essentially there is going to be some girl power here, accompanies by some rock music. The image shows off the crazy hair and makeup choices for the girls, so they’re we know their style is one of a kind by the looks of it. I’ve never seen the show so I have nothing to base this on, but it looks faithful enough.
Comic writer Kelly Thompson did an interview with AdvocateSpotlight where she revealed that the characters Kimber and Stormer are a couple:
“We are definitely having LGBTA+ characters. Jem was always really diverse, but it was of course a bit limited by the time period and by being a children’s cartoon. It’s only natural that a modern Jem includes additional diversity. Kimber and Stormer are indeed both out gay characters in the comic and as Tumblr will very excitedly let you know, we’re going to be exploring a romantic relationship between the two characters. We have some other plans for LGBTA+ characters as well but it’s still early days and we’re still figuring out how some things can fit together to tell the best possible story.”
As someone who is for taking risks and creating something new when it comes to movies, I’m definitely up for something that’s not predicable or cliché. This movie sounds like it’s doing just that; it’s going to be awesome to see people stuck in the dark ages shake their fists too.
JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS, which also stars Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis, will hit theaters October 23, 2015.