Lassie Determined to Make Comeback
Aug. 24, 2006 — -- In the era of Bratz dolls, video games like Grand Theft Auto, and collective attention deficit disorder, does good old-fashioned Lassie even stand a fighting chance of capturing children's attention?
Samuel Goldwyn Films thinks so. The studio (along with Roadside Attractions) is banking on a new Lassie movie -- starring Oscar winner Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, and Peter Dinklage -- hitting U.S. theaters on Sept. 5.
Watch the report tonight on "Nightline."
"We believe the film is sure to capture the hearts of kids and families everywhere," says Sasha Junk, spokeswoman for Classic Media, the company marketing the movie.
America's most communicative pet has been on hiatus. But now she's back and blanketing the nation in a massive PR blitz. She's got a new line of all-natural dog food, Lassie Natural Way, that hit 7,000 retail stores this summer. She's also working on a grooming tips TV pilot with veterinarian to the stars Jeff Werber.
Today the movie's canine star took a limousine to the Regency Hotel in Manhattan to greet the press and promote her new film.
The director of the new film, Eric Sturridge, took a stab at trying to explain why he he believes Lassie still holds appeal.
"Lassie sucks herself into all those emotions we feel for dogs, so she becomes the iconic dog," he says.
That sounds like quite an acting feat. And she's been doing it for a long time.
Lassie's nearly 70 years old -- nearly 500 in dog years. She was born in a Saturday Evening Post short story in 1938 by British writer Eric Knight, who modeled her after his own dog, Toots.
The story inspired a best-selling novel and the classic Elizabeth Taylor film "Lassie Come Home. " That led to sequel after sequel on film and TV. Lassie is one of entertainment's most successful franchises, with 11 feature films and more than 691 half-hour TV episodes to her credit.
One thing that's very 2006 about Lassie? She's got a secret worthy of an E! True Hollywood story.
"All this time Lassie's been played by male dogs, but we're not supposed to talk about it," says Carol Riggins, Lassie's trainer.
