WHAT. A. STUPID. F'IN. IDEA. What's the point?? The original film is (in it's own way) iconic so why remake it (with an all-this or and all-that cast or anything)? Hey Kenny, if you want a film to showcase the talents of 7 talented black actresses, how about WRITING SOMETHING ORIGINAL?
M'Lynn - Viola Davis Truvy - Loretta Devine Ouiser - Whoopi Goldberg Clairee - Phylicia Rashad Shelby - Anika Noni Rose Annelle - Erica Hubbard
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
While I agree with Jordan that I'd rather see six talented women of color in a new work, Goth's cast isn't half bad.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Remember that this is a television movie for Lifetime, not a feature film.
While most of the (well cast) women on your list are very much within the realm of possibility, Gothampc, I don't see Viola Davis being one of them, as phenomenal as she'd be.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
WTF? What's with all the remakes? Aren't there any talented god d@#ned writers in the universe. Write some new s@#t!
This movie is a legend. LEAVE IT ALONE!
NO!!!!!
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
I have to agree. I get really sick of "An all THIS cast" or "And all THIS cast." If they REALLY have to do this, I think it would be a nice change if it was a mix of ethnicities. Doing it the other way is just so segregating.
It is not that there aren't original writers out there with new stuff , the problem is the Producers. They want to be sure to spend money on things they know people will identify with and not lose money. Even made for TV movies are as expensive as hell to make and the money people don't want to lose cash.
Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!
Well producers are morons then. Dont they realize that people will go see new works if they are brilliant and well produced. Find fresh talent and make new things happen. Its the same thing they do on Broadway-mounting known quantity titles, most of which end up failing.
Most of these remakes dont make that much money.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
I'll totally watch it. I mean, I own the dvd and all, and I totally queened out over it when it came out when I was in ninth grade, but I really don't look at it as some sacrosanct piece of art. Also, years later when I was watching the the movie and its special features on the dvd, the whole affair started to seem a little mawkish to me. I know he based it on his sister and all, but it just seemed like overkill to know they shot the movie in the actual hospital where she died and had actual nurses who had been there as extras and stuff. Shelby's life seems a lot less romantic to me now and just a lot more foolish and deliberately wasted.
But I will say that the thought of Loretta Devine as Truvy could make me queen out like I did when I was 14.
Also, I was in an all-male production once, and there's just no taking it seriously after that.
Oh! Paula Patton as Shelby! That's my vote.
Updated On: 10/11/11 at 10:48 PM
Two seconds ago, a friend of mine also suggested Jackee. Maybe as Clairee? Loretta Devine still works for a tv movie. And I think Paula Patton would come cheap.
And I don't know if you are kidding or not about Keisha Knight-Pullium, but she'd be great! Have you seen her? She grew up redonkulously beautiful.
I think Marla Gibbs would be a better Ouiser. I think Angela Basset would be a good M'Lynn. I'm sure she'd do tv.
Haters gonna hate, but I want this to happen so bad. Updated On: 10/11/11 at 11:12 PM
Just my opinion, but I am tired of seeing 'all black casts' of shows originally conceived differently. The fantastic actresses discussed in this thread should absolutely be working and working in material up to their talents, but just adapting material to fit a specific race does not work for me. My personal feeling is that if you want to feature a group of actors of one race, or speak to a specific racial experience then WRITE A NEW PIECE THAT SPEAKS TO THAT!
This ain't Shakespeare...oh wait, there too reversed casting is used (read: not just color-blind). And seriously: if you don't like it, don't watch it. Will I be seeing this season's "Streetcar"? Proabably not, unless I read something worthwhile about the production. Did I enjoy some of the performances in the recent ""Cat on A Hot Tin Roof"? Yes.
The point: you have a choice. It's F'in LIFETIME for crying out loud! Get me a good cast, and I'm there. Otherwise, I won't waste the time finding the channel. (My choice.)
Fun trivia fact: Steel Magnolias has already been on tv. They tried to do a Steel Magnolias tv series. Elaine Stritch was Ouiser, Cindy Williams was M'Lynn, Sally Kirkland was Truvy, Polly Bergen was Clairee. I remember seeing the pilot episode and thought it was horrible.
I think some of you don't like the show because the movie was mediocre. (Sorry, but Julia Roberts can't act. And I remember thinking her epileptic and Sally's "Drink your juice, Shelby" were funny when they shouldn't have been.)
The show works very well onstage when you have wonderful actresses.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.