Common to feature in remake of movie ''Cooley High''

Rapper/actor Common has signed on to star in a remake of coming-of-age drama Cooley High.

The Oscar winner will also produce the revamp of the 1975 Blaxploitation comedic drama, which featured Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs.

Cooley High was set in Common's hometown of Chicago, Illinois, and centred on a pair of teen best friends during the final weeks of the school year.

The original film was produced on a $750,000 (£573,723) budget and grossed $13 million (£10 million) at the U.S. box office, making it one of the top 30 highest domestic grossing films of 1975.

Bosses at America's ABC network developed a TV adaptation of Cooley High soon afterwards, but the pilot was poorly received. As a result, studio executives asked the show's producers to completely revamp the show as a sitcom with new characters and a new title, and the series became beloved comedy What's Happening!!