Amy Talkington, who also penned the updated version of my favorite movie,Valley Girl is writing the screenplay and Mark Gordon producing. The latest version will definitely discuss the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and acknowledge the importance of women within our military, but not poke fun at the men and women serving.

As I’ve said before, I’m not crazy about remakes, especially when I know there are still oodles of stories to be told. But if this is the vehicle Faris needs to make to put her into the spotlight, then I am behind it. Faris is a rare comedienne, one who is more expressive with facial gestures than anything that could ever be uttered out of her mouth. And while she has had some starring roles, like The House Bunny, nothing has come out and propelled her to the next level, which she so deserves to be. And this disservice is part of the real issue within Hollywood nowadays. Why is someone as talented as Faris not working 4 -5 times a year and turning down quality screenplays left and right? Why is Hollywood not creating star vehicles for such a talent? Where’s her Apatow? Personally, I have a screenplay I have been working on for Faris, so if by the off chance anyone even remotely affiliated with her reads this – CALL ME!(No really, call me!) But, seriously Anna Faris should be a household name, on the covers and in the theaters. Why is it taking Hollywood so long to get this? Hopefully, this does the trick.

Foxx, who will pen the screenplay, has said that he wants to retool the idea so its more in the now, and of course, urban. I mean doesn’t a Garner and Biel tag team comedy film just scream URBAN? Anyways, instead of Laverne wearing her trademark L on her sweaters, she’ll have street tough tattoo of the initial, will most likely played by Garner. SAY WHAT? Personally, Biel makes a bit more sense in the tough and tattooed girl role, but who am I? No word if Penny Marshall, Gary’s sister, who played Laverne, and Cindy Williams, better known as Shirley, will help out and make a cameo or appearance in the film. Which brings me to a more important casting question: Who will play Squiggy?

Now, I don’t want to hate on the project too much, mainly cause Gary Marshall once produced great female-centric films. And I desperately miss the days of powerful female comedy teams, like Shelly Long & Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin & Bette Midler or seriously anything in the 80′s with Bette Midler (except for Beaches), so anything that even resembles these classics is OK in my eyes. But Im just not sure I need Jamie Foxx, of all people, penning the screenplay. And while I like both Garner and Biel, I can’t help but think this sort of project just screams Amy Poehler.

Anyways, what do you think? Will Foxx do a good job? Are there a better tag team than Garner and Biel for this? Let me know in the comments below.

UPDATE: Apparently, this is no way a done deal and Foxx’s publicist has already said there is “no truth” to this. But, I’ve heard that before. The revisiting of the sitcom is still happening though, for now, so keep the comments coming on who you think should be the stars!

For more on Burton, check out MoMA’s exhibition of the director’s films, art and early beginnings. The retrospective is up until April of this year and is a must see for those in or visiting the NYC area.

Is it just me or does this not sound like the most perfect vehicle for Will Arnett and Amy Poehler to team up again? I could SOOO see Arnett as the aggressive Griswold, who is obsessed with his kids having fun and it would be interesting to see a road trip comedy with the aid of modern technology, like GPS, cell phones and credit cards. Whose with me in starting a letter campaign to New Line to explore the Arnett & Poehler possibility?

Unfortunately, the execs seemed to
think Chase Crawford could fill Bacon’s shoes on this, giving him the lead role. Efron I could see in this role because he has a certain charm to him and he can dance, but Crawford is just a wet blanket and has zero personality. And since the director Kenny Ortega, who directed the “High School Musical” franchise, has turned this remake into a full blown musical, Crawford better have an amazing voice to carry his character. This will most likely be a disaster with him in the lead role, but as long they cast the part of Ariel a bit better, it might not be “Justin and Kelly” bad. Miley Cyrus, Julianne Hough and Hayden Panettierre are all in talks to fill in Lori Singer’s role as Ariel Moore, the daughter of the bible thumping preacher who removes dancing, singing and music from the small town. I think Hough is quite a natural fit there, since she is a supreme dancer and a wonderful singer, but I am afraid if she is cast this will turn into a countrified version of the original, with Rascal Flats covering classic Kenny Loggins songs, like “I’m Free”, which will make me very angry. And while the theme of the movie, teenage rebellion, religious overlords and dance fever is actually pretty timely to America, I still don’t want anyone messing with this soundtrack. So let’s watch the video now and hope the execs over at Paramount Pictures really don’t screw this one up to much.

This will be the second time “Yankees” will receive the big screen treatment. “Damn Yankees” originally debuted on Broadway in 1955 was choreographed by the wonderful Bob Fosse and received seven Tony Awards. It was made into a film in 1958, and starring Ray Walston, Tab Hunter and Gwen Verdon (Fosse’s muse at one point.) This adaptation of the play is expected to be a modernization of the original, which was set in the 1950’s. Gyllenhaal will be playing the role of Joe Boyd, a fanatic baseball team fan who makes a deal with the devil so his team can get it together and go to the World Series. The devil, naturally, will be played by Carrey. No word yet who will step into the role of Lola, the lost soul used by the devil to make sure Boyd signs over his soul.

The remake will be directed and produced by Gore Verbinski, the man behind “Pirates of the Caribbean”. It will be fourth board game from Hasbro that Universal will be adapting to big screen versions. The basic plot of the movie/game is the viewers/players take on the task of figuring who done in it in a twist filled murder mystery. Word is that this version will be darker than the original, which had a sort of Mel Brooks feel to it. While the original might not have been a box office smash, it had a second life with its omnipresence on cable movie channels and now on DVD. I could see people like Parker Posey and David Cross involved in this version, a virtual who’s who of the snarky comedic scene. Unfortunately, if they decide to go with a more thriller version of the game, this might end up being some sad horror movie.

In other crazy remake news, Warner Brothers and Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company is interested in remaking the 80’s children’s classic The NeverEnding Story”. It will be a “modernization” of the classic fantasy flick and will not deviate to great from the original. No writers are attached at this time. And if that wasn’t bad enough, there are plans to remake “Robo-Cop” and one of my favorite movies of all time “Total Recall”. It won’t take much to make my brain turn to mush if they screw that one up. But I do wonder if Governor Schwarzenegger would make an appearance in the new version? That might be interesting enough not to protest it.