Who Can Save the Universe?
From Variety.com
Has the ?kittenish sexpot? returned? Roger Vadim?s 1968 classic Barbarella is back, but this time she?s not in space! Set in a modern world as a modern girl Barbaella is here to show everyone she?s a survivor! According to Variety, poducers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have completed a rights deal that will allow them to reinvent Barbarella, and the producers have set Casino Royale scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to pen the script.
Variety continues to tell us, the original 1968 Roger Vadim-directed fantasy was produced by De Laurentiis, who wrote the check to secure Purvis and Wade.
De Laurentiis recently completed a film rights acquisition deal with Julien Forest, the son of Jean-Claude Forest, author of the French comicbook series on which the film was based. Deal, made with Hollywood Comics principal Jean-Marc Lofficier and French agent Laurie Roy, calls for the reissue of the first two Barbarella books in concert with the feature, along with the publication of material that previously hadn't been translated into English.
"Barbarella is the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: smart, strong funny and sexy," De Laurentiis said. "I'm excited to reintroduce Barbarella to a new generation of moviegoers."
In the original film, Jane Fonda played the title character as a kittenish sexpot. That movie comes off as camp and dated by today's standards.
In the remake, the scribes will make Barbarella a free, modern gal who survives in a futuristic world through her intelligence, fighting skills and sexuality.
De Laurentiis sparked to Purvis and Wade because of the way they used Ian Fleming's early Bond novel Casino Royale as the basis for their script but updated it into a Daniel Craig vehicle that reinvigorated the franchise.
The Casino Royale writers just turned in their draft for the 22nd installment of the Bond franchise and will make Barbarella their next project.
De Laurentiis has set no timetable on when he'll seek a studio for Barbarella. On Hannibal Rising, he waited until the film was done before securing a distribution deal with the Weinstein Co. It's likely he will seek a studio partner once he has a completed script and a star.
