The Footloose remake has temporarily been grounded.

Although Paramount’s had already lined up a new Ren McCormick (Chace Crawford) and Ariel Moore (Julianne Hough) for its planned update, the studio is now without a director.

Up until last week, Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, This Is It) was the man helming the project. Unfortunately, creative and budget differences lead to his exit. According to reports, Ortega wanted $30 million for a musical extravaganza while Paramount was looking at $25 million for something a bit edgier.

A statement from Ortega’s reps, though, claims his recent project was to blame for his departure. “Coming off the extraordinary project, Michael Jackson’s This is It, director Kenny Ortega has decided it is premature for him to commit to his next film and will not be moving forward with Footloose as previously reported.”

It’s believed Paramount will still try to keep to its March production start date.