Hooters founders’ rise to inspire new feature film
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Variety’s film-news round-up is led by plans for “Hooters: The Movie”, an independently produced feature based on the restaurant chain’s origins. The project follows two Iowa friends whose journey to Clearwater Beach, Florida, helps set in motion a national restaurant empire later threatened by federal action; it is being made with involvement from original Hooters founding partners.
Jon Rosenbaum will direct a screenplay by Ed Droste, Phil Olson and Chuck Melcher, with filming scheduled to begin in November. The round-up also confirms that David Fincher’s Brad Pitt-led “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” will receive a two-week global Imax release from 25 November before streaming on Netflix on 23 December; the Visual Effects Society has introduced new awards categories; and Janus Films will re-release the restored 1995 Isaac Mizrahi documentary “Unzipped” from 25 September.
- Hooters founders are turning the chain’s origin story into a feature film.
- Filming is scheduled to start in November.
- Other news covers Cliff Booth, VES awards and “Unzipped”.
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Hooters is a US restaurant chain known for casual food, sport on television and waitresses wearing a distinctive uniform. It began in Florida in 1983, founded by a group of businessmen who had been friends since growing up in Iowa, and later expanded across the United States and abroad.
The planned film will focus on the early years of the company and the people who created it. Origin-story films usually turn the founding of a business or brand into a drama, following the personal relationships, risks and decisions behind its growth.
The chain has become a widely recognised part of American restaurant culture, though its business model and image have also attracted debate over the years. The project is being made with involvement from original Hooters founding partners, giving it a direct connection to the company’s early history.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters can argue that the founders’ story is a legitimate subject for a feature film: it charts an unlikely entrepreneurial journey from a friendship and road trip to a nationally recognised business. A dramatisation can examine the risks, ambition and cultural impact behind the chain while allowing audiences to judge its legacy for themselves, rather than treating controversial businesses as off-limits to storytelling.
The case against
Critics can argue that a founders-backed origin story may too readily celebrate a brand whose business model has long drawn concern for commodifying women’s appearance. They may question whether the film can provide sufficient critical distance, particularly if the original partners are producing it, and contend that any account of its success should squarely address the workers and cultural norms affected by that model.
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Originally published by Variety as “Hooters Restaurant Movie in the Works — Film News in Brief”.