jem and the holograms is a 2015 american musical fantasy film produced and directed by jon m. chu, written by ryan landels, and starring aubrey peeples (as the title character), stefanie scott, hayley kiyoko, aurora perrineau, ryan guzman, molly ringwald, and juliette lewis. borrowing elements from the 1980s animated television series "jem" by christy marx, the film was produced by hasbro studios and blumhouse productions. chu's interest in developing a film adaptation of "jem" is based on having grown up watching the original animated series with his sisters. he had attempted to make the film 11 years earlier, but was rejected by universal due to the cost.