Phoenix 24
The restaurant chain will transform its corporate mythology into an independently produced comedy.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA
Hooters: The Movie is in development as a comedic biographical film inspired by the creation of the American restaurant chain. Production is scheduled to begin in November, primarily around Tampa and Clearwater, where the first Hooters opened in 1983. Casting is underway, but no actors, distributor or release date have been announced.
The screenplay follows Ted and Lenny, lifelong friends from Iowa who embark on a road trip after Ted sees a woman named Diane in a spring-break advertisement. According to the project’s official synopsis, Diane subsequently becomes the first Hooters Girl, while the two friends accidentally help create a national restaurant empire. Their success is later threatened by the federal government, introducing a conflict drawn from the company’s history.
Jon Rosenbaum will direct the film from a screenplay written by Hooters co-founder Ed Droste, Phil Olson and Chuck Melcher. Droste is also producing alongside members of the chain’s original founding group, while Lisa London and Catherine Stroud are overseeing casting. Rosenbaum has described the project as a combination of buddy comedy and inspirational biopic.
The company’s documented history begins with six Florida businessmen who had no restaurant experience and opened their first location in Clearwater. Its identity combined chicken wings, beer, sports entertainment and waitresses wearing a distinctive uniform. The concept became internationally recognizable, but it also generated recurring criticism over the sexualized presentation of female employees and faced legal disputes concerning its hiring model.
Because original company figures are developing the film, it is likely to present the brand’s preferred interpretation of its past. The announced plot is described as being based on real events, but the production has not explained how closely Ted, Lenny and Diane correspond to identifiable historical figures or which details have been fictionalized. That distinction will determine whether the finished movie functions primarily as a biographical comedy, a nostalgic brand narrative or an extended act of corporate rehabilitation.
La narrativa también es poder. / Narrative is power too.