Divas Reunite for 'These Old Broads'

Feb. 12 -- It's a dream casting of Hollywood greats: Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Debbie Reynolds and Shirley MacLaine in a comic farce written by Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher. Sound profitable? Hollywood studios didn't think so.

The ladies in question wanted to start singing, dancing and working again in what they envisioned as a female version of Grumpy Old Men. They concocted a plot, enlisted Fisher as the scribe, and went shopping for a studio.

But the studio suits said it would be a commercial flop.

"They said the world wasn't ready for old ladies," Reynolds told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "Well, we're not old ladies, we're interesting, fabulous broads."

So the ladies turned to television, and found an eager network in ABC. The musical comedy, which is the story of a fictional group of screen legends reuniting on the tube, will air Monday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. ET.

"It's a script for women … not for kids in slip dresses," said Collins. "I think it's something that, unfortunately, there's not enough of."

Fisher agreed. "These women should be working. They've done it all their lives," she said. "They have this wealth of experience."

Real-Life Drama

When most movies start shooting, introductions are in order. But except for Collins, the women share a complicated history worthy of its own Hollywood drama.

"I used to bounce Carrie on my knee 'cause my daughter was born around the same time," said MacLaine.

Gossip historians will note These Old Broads marks the first time Reynolds and Taylor have worked together since the big scandal of the 1950s, when Reynolds' husband Eddie Fisher (Carrie's dad) ran off with Taylor.

Instead of ignoring the past, they confront the incident in the movie with a scene where Reynolds' and Taylor's characters are dealing with a similar situation.

"This is a mess that was made in public 40-some years ago. I am an arguable victim of the mess," Fisher said. "We can handle it in public, in a funny way, 40-odd years later. I don't need therapy anymore!".