And The Remakes Keep Coming

LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - Kate Beckinsale is set to star in a remake of 'Barbarella'.
Tuesday, 17th April 2007, 16:39

Movie bosses think the British actress is a perfect choice to play the cult 60s heroine - a role made famous by Jane Fonda in the original 1968 erotic space adventure.

A source told Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "Jane Fonda made the 'Barbarella' role very much her own all those years ago and she is bound to be a tough act to follow.

"But the feeling is that Kate has just the right combination of beauty, humour and acting talent for the part."

Sienna Miller, Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry have also been linked to the role.

The script for the £55 million project will be written by Robert Wade and Neal Purvis, who penned 'Casino Royale'.

Peter Webber, whose credits include 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' and 'Hannibal Rising', is set to direct.

Producer Dino De Laurentiis said: "The reinvented heroine will be akin to a female James Bond - in outer space."

In the original film, Barbarella stripped naked before being taken to a mysterious planet where she battled her enemies and had several sexual experiences.

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HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: MGM gets another shot at 'Fame'
By Mimi Turner April 18, 2007

CANNES -- MGM is backing a remake of the 1980s musical "Fame" with "300" producer Mark Canton and Lakeshore Entertainment, MGM COO Rick Sands said here Tuesday.

Sands also said that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's United Artists is "weeks away" from concluding a $500 million film financing fund with Merrill Lynch.

"We're just finalizing the paperwork," Sands said. Press reports had suggested that Merrill Lynch was struggling to deliver a partner to fund the estimated $100 million equity portion of the debt-driven fund, but Sands dismissed the report as "just wrong."

The $25 million "Fame" remake is slated to hit theaters in summer 2008 and will be based on the Alan Parker film set at the New York Academy of Performing Arts, which starred Irene Cara and Debbie Allen and launched a generation of wannabe performers.

Sands said MGM has hired a writer and director for the project but offered no further details. Casting has not yet begun. He said the studio plans to retain many of the musical elements of the original movie that also launched a global television hit and international stage show.

"We'll update it, (but) we'll still keep some of the songs. The script is being written right now, but we are keeping it under wraps. There will be a strong musical component, though," Sands said.

Speaking at a lunch at the Riviera-side market, Sands said MGM aims to launch a European version of its movie download deal with Apple's iTunes as early as the end of the year but was being held up by music rights clearance hurdles.

Last week, the studio signed a deal for a limited amount of library products to be available on iTunes in the U.S. but said that repeating the deal in Europe will take time.

"The big issue for all studios is getting the music rights cleared for all these movies," Sands said. "We have a really big staff working on rights clearance, but there's still a lot of work to be done."

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I love it when a studio keeps the script of a remake under wraps!