'Women'
finally ready for makeover
Eva
Mendes, Annette Bening join cast
By MICHAEL FLEMING
After
more than a decade of trying, Diane English
has a solid cast and an Aug. 6 start date for
"The Women," the remake of the 1939
classic that she adapted and will direct. Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett
Smith, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen have
either signed or are near committing to star
in a contemporized version of the George Cukor-directed
film, which Picturehouse will distribute domestically
next year.
The project's
less-than-$20 million budget has been financed
by Inferno Entertainment, Picturehouse and soapmaker
Dove, which will make "The Women"
a major cog in a marketing campaign for its
female-friendly brand. The financing was pieced
together with an assist from the independent
division of ICM, the agency that reps English.
Jagged Pictures
partners Victoria Pearman and Mick Jagger will
produce with English and Inferno's Bill Johnson,
who brokered deals in Germany, Italy, Spain
and other territories during Cannes. Johnson's
Inferno partner, Jim Seibel, will exec produce.
While numerous
remake attempts were made at MGM before the
title sold with the MGM library to Ted Turner,
the current version took root right after Turner
bought New Line and set up "The Women"
as a star/producing pairing of Julia Roberts
and Ryan, with James L. Brooks planning to direct
(Daily Variety, April 18, 1994).
English
signed on to write the script shortly thereafter,
at a time when she was the hottest writer on
television thanks to "Murphy Brown."
English became attached as the project's director
in 2001 and is now in a position to reteam with
that sitcom's star, Bergen.
The bitchy
tone of the Clare Boothe Luce play lent itself
perfectly to a 1939 original film that starred
Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
and others. Even though the property has always
been catnip to actresses, skeptics felt the
film was locked in its original period and would
be difficult to remake. English, who weathered
several near starts and watched actresses come
and go, simply would not give up.
Her script
maintains the arch spirit of the original, and
the all-female cast, but the gals aren't as
relentlessly catty this time around. Story follows
a group of female friends when the one they
envied most discovers her husband's cheating
on her.
Read the
full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966005.html
