Julianne Hough will co-star opposite Tom Cruise for ‘Rock of Ages’

[HMG Celebrity News] – In what may be the only good thing to emerge from the cinematic nightmare that was ‘Burlesque,’ co-star Julianne Hough has won a role opposite Tom Cruise in a movie version of the hit Broadway musical, ‘Rock of Ages.’

For those not so blessed to have caught the show yet, ‘Rock of Ages’ is a smoke-accented homage to the glam-metal bands of the 80′s, The plot concerns Sherrie [Julianne], a naive girl from Kansas who comes to Hollywood to find fame. She catches the eye of rock star Stacee Jax [Tom,] but he dumps her and she winds up as a stripper.

Life then gets pretty hard, but in the finale Sherrie marries the one man in town who was kind to her and they raise babies among the white picket fences of Glendale.

Mary J. Blige has signed on to play the strip club owner, ‘Justice,’ but Adam says 22-year old Julianne’s audition was stunning;

“It was a ‘Star is Born’ moment,” he tells THR. “Nothing short of a miracle.”

When Tom closed his deal to play Stacee in February, several other actors suddenly wanted to get in. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand are now eying small roles, but stories of Anne Hathaway being cast are unfounded. So far.

Adam Shankman is directing, and the man has the skills – He directed John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer in the 2007 hit musical ‘Hairspray.’ The script will be adapted by Chris D’Arienzo, from his own book on which ‘Rock..’ is also based.

The movie will go before cameras in May, with a projected release date of mid-2012. Photo above, Julianne Hough and boyfriend Ryan Seacrest visit actor Constantine Maroulis, who stars in the theatre version of ‘Rock of Ages.’