Julianne Hough: What's Next for the Actress

Former Dancing With the Stars pro Julianne Hough stars in the modern-day take on the Kevin Bacon classic, Footloose, in theaters this weekend. Footloose is on track to top the domestic box office for the weekend, beating out new openers like The Big Year and holdovers The Ides of March, Dolphin Tale and Real Steel.

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The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic Todd McCarthy wasn't too keen on Footloose, but gave credit to Hough's co-star Kenny Wormald, also an accomplished dancer. "The new film may also serve a purpose by showcasing a dynamic and attractive new actor, Kenny Wormald but, otherwise, this is a by-the-numbers affair that generates rote sympathy for hormonally-charged high schoolers busting out of their jeans to find a way to express themselves in a repressive small Southern town," he writes.

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Even so, Hough has several projects in the pipeline, one of which is the big-screen adaptation of Broadway's Rock of Ages. In the film, whose cast consists of Tom Cruise, Will Forte and Russell Brand, Hough plays Sherrie, a small-town Kansas girl who goes to Hollywood to try and make it big who falls for a rock star (Cruise). The film is slated for a release next summer and will be directed by Adam Shankman.

Additionally, Hough is reportedly lending her voice to an animated film titled, Not Born to Be Gladiators. The feature is said to consist of a large budget.

Hough will also work on Diablo Cody's directorial debut, Lamb of God. Hough said in a recent interview earlier this month about the opportunity, "If it’s something scary, I should probably do it, and it is scary. Sometimes it might not work, but you’ve gotta just go full-force ahead and do it, and take those risks and challenges."