| It must be one of the first rules you learn in TV show development: If something hits big, clone it in 15 different directions. Case in point: “High School Musical.” It’s been a sensation among kids the past year or two. Now, MTV is planning its own production along the same lines with “The American Mall.”
I’ve never seen Kevin Smith’s movie “Mallrats,” but I know it’s a fun one. And I used to consider myself a mallrat, taking in a different mall in a different suburb of Detroit every Saturday for quite a long time. I could tell you what stores were in what malls, what the demographic of each mall was, how great the food court assortment of each and all kinds of other geeky things. Not anymore, though. I found out just a couple weeks ago that I just don’t tolerate the mall anymore. At least not on my own. (Next week, when I’m shopping with my little niece and her friends, maybe it’ll be a different story!) But I still love the stories in Archie Comics where Betty and Veronica do the mall. How fun! How girlish! How young. The “American mall,” in our materialistic American culture, certainly has an appeal as subject matter.
“The American Mall,” thoroughly a musical, will debut on MTV next year. It’s teen-oriented with high school characters, just like its Disney inspiration. Its creators actually conceived it before “High School Musical” hit, says the coverage by Reuters / Hollywood Reporter. They wanted to make it a feature movie, but there was no indication a musical would sell. Well, we know better now!
So I guess I’ll meet ya at the food court.
|