Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Dancing with the Stars has given tube time to some former movie stars, but who knew the show would be so good at launching movie careers? Derek Hough, who as a regular dance partner has cut the rug with three winning contestants (Nicole Scherzinger, Brooke Burke and most recently Jennifer Grey) will star in Cobu 3D. The film will team him with BoA, a top recording artist and performer in Asia. Duane Adler, who wrote Save the Last Dance and Step Up, will direct his screenplay. The film will be produced by Robert Cort, who worked with Adler on Save the Last Dance. Korea’s CJ Entertainment and SM Entertainment will start principal photography in Toronto and New York this spring, while Hough is on hiatus from the show.

BoA and Hough will play dancers from different worlds whose Romeo & Juliet-like romance is threatened by the dangerous rivalry between their brothers’ competing dance clubs in Gotham’s underground scene. Cort is producing with Soo Man Lee, Eric Hetzel and Patricia Chun. Lionsgate will handle international sales on the film, excluding the territories that CJ will take — South Korea, Japan and China. Sales will begin in Berlin. Hough’s sister Julianne, was also a regular dancer on Dancing with the Stars before she left after landing the female lead in Paramount’s remake of Footloose. Derek Hough actually made his name by starring in Footloose: The Musical on London’s West End. As for BoA, she is Asia’s top recording artist, selling over 20 million records in Korea and Japan.