‘Steel Magnolias’ to Get a Remake
EmailABC News’ Elizabeth Kreutz reports:
If three makes a trend, then it seems we’ve got one. Following in the footsteps of ’80s movie classics, “Footloose” and “Dirty Dancing,” the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias“ will now also be getting a remake.
But this one is a remake with a twist.
According to a Sony studio representative, Lifetime is developing the contemporary version of the film that will feature an all-black cast.
This artistic decision — backed by producers Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, director Kenny Leon (who all worked together on the 2008 ABC “Raisin in the Sun” remake) and Sony pictures TV– has fans already speculating about casting.
Online, people are throwing out the big names like Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis, Halle Berry and Jennifer Hudson. But studio representatives say no casting decisions have been made.
The original featured the power team of Dolly Parton, Sally Fields, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, and a pre-”Pretty Woman” Julia Roberts, so there’s a lot to live up to.
Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton star in the 1989 motion picture "Steel Magnolias." (Zade Rosenthal/Tri-Star Pictures/The Kobol Collection)
This new “Steel Magnolias,” like the original and the 1987 Robert Harling play it was based on, will be set in small-town Louisiana and will explore similar themes of friendship, heartbreak and personal struggle.
While studio representatives say they’re in the early stages of the film and no dates have been set, what are your first thoughts: is this a potential epic failure, or perhaps a totally awesome ’80s makeover?
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atleast put some white people in it your remaking the orignal nothing orignal will be in it, it wont be the same and i wouldnt watch it. and no jennifer hudson and no oprah
Posted by: ash | October 12, 2011, 6:03 pm 6:03 pm
This movie was based loosely on a true story! How can you think about remaking it with a twist and an all black cast? This Louisiana girl will not watch it if that is how it is going to be! Natchitoches, LA still has sweet memories and things from that wonderful movie with that wonderful cast. Why not continue the story as to what happened to Shelby’s baby boy and so on and get as many as the original cast as possible?
Posted by: Donna Wiggins | October 12, 2011, 7:04 pm 7:04 pm
You need to proofread. Seriously.
Posted by: jojo | October 12, 2011, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
it’s a shame that no one in hollywood can come up with an original idea for a movie.
ridiculous. and they won’t see a dime of my money to watch a remake of an almost perfect film.
Posted by: paula w | October 12, 2011, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
WOW!! it’s such a shame that there are still neanderthals like Ash and Donna Wiggins out there. There have been many movies that have been remade with a cast of different race. The success of the movie doesn’t depend on what color the actors and actresses are, it depends on the talent.
Posted by: laura | October 13, 2011, 1:22 am 1:22 am
Remaking Steel Magnolias with an all black cast would be like remaking Roots with an all white cast. Just wouldn’t be the same.
Posted by: jack | October 13, 2011, 8:05 am 8:05 am
I don’t think a remake would work. Even if it had a mixed cast. The story looks at life from the perspective of the typical white southern lady. I don’t mean to put down the image. I was born and raised in the south and consider myself a southern woman. Maybe a different story line with an all-black cast, but not the same story line.
Posted by: Dolly | October 13, 2011, 10:38 am 10:38 am
This was a “chick flick” that even a guy could enjoy watching. The thing(s) that made the original such a great film were the women in it. Can you really imagine anyone else but Olympia Dukakis saying “…hit her M’lynn…knock her block off!”? Seriously, instead of this remake, I would probably just put in a DVD of The Color Purple, Waiting to Exhale, Women of Brewster Place, Beloved or The Help instead. This formula of “a close-knit group of strong Black women getting each other through life’s trials and tribulations” has worked a thousand times over in dramas, comedies, sit coms, etc. It’s a tried and true story line that will almost always work well because every viewer WANTS it to. However, as a Southern Black man, I just don’t see an all-Black cast working for this one particular movie.
Posted by: Roderick | October 13, 2011, 10:42 am 10:42 am
I’m sick of remakes. Get an original idea folks. I can deal with remaking a lame movie like Ocean’s 11. The remake was better. But leave the classics alone. I know it’s all subjective about what’s classic & what’s not, but lots of people are sick of all the ’80s remakes that are happening right now. This isn’t about race. It’s about the lack of creativity in Hollywood.
Posted by: lesnesman | October 13, 2011, 11:20 am 11:20 am
The movie was more than “loosely based” on the true story of the playwright Bobby Harling’s family. I suspect this will be a volatile project that may not have the success of other remakes of classic movies.
Posted by: Doyle Bailey | October 13, 2011, 11:46 am 11:46 am
Will be an embarrassment to any actress that decides to be a part of this!! RUN don’t walk away from this remake!! Why ruin your career –I mean unless they use C list actresses!
Posted by: Crystal | October 13, 2011, 11:50 am 11:50 am
Seriously???? I agree with LESNESMAN, Hollywood producers have to have better ideas than this.
Quit remaking all the classic 80s movies, you are killing them and I am one of many who will never see them in theaters or on DVD. Get with it and come up with better, more creative ideas and quit ruining our memories with bad movie remakes and bad 80′s song do-overs by artists with no talent!
Steel magnolias was a hit because of the cast and the story line and no one black or white will be able to make this re-make work. Bad idea just like all the other re-makes!
Posted by: Laura | October 13, 2011, 11:51 am 11:51 am
I HATE ALL THESE REMAKES JUST STOP IT ALREADY LEAVE ALL MOVIES ALONE first footloose then dirty dancing now this for pete sakes really ugh!!! i dont care if they the blessings from the original cast its the fans that count! im boycotting watching the new remakes stupid!
Posted by: vegasmade | October 13, 2011, 11:51 am 11:51 am
epic fail. Will not be the same. I agree with Jack. Why don’t the remake The color Purple with an all white cast?
Posted by: lola | October 13, 2011, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
I like a good movie no matter the color of the cast, but I have to agree with everyone else, remaking Steel Magnolia’s with either color of cast WILL NOT WORK! And of course they can’t come up with any new ideas, they’ve done used them all! Then need new people with new ideas. Steel Magnolia’s is a CLASSIC, and just like with the remake of True Grit, it will FLOP!
SERIOUSLY
Posted by: Seriously | October 13, 2011, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm
I agree with Roderick. Remakes of classics is an insult. I bet 30 years from now or maybe even sooner, they would attempt to remake Jaws or Star Wars. All that hard work in the 70s to create Jaws….that would be uncool. The computer generated sharks have been made already in other movies. With that being said, there is no need to remake the unique 1975 Jaws. It would be a shame and I wouldn’t watch it. Leave the classics alone!! I’m sure there are lots of ideas out there. I knew that day would come when all the ideas would run out. Movies have been around since the 1920s or maybe even earlier than that……who really knows? To think that all this time, we have exhausted all possible ideas from space to super heroes to aliens to horror to drama, etc, etc, etc. How about more supernatural movies? or more bizarre twisty movies based on true stories? I am sure they are out there. When all else fails, I bet they’ll go out and interview true stories and make something of it to create a movie. I like BOATS, based on a true story.
Posted by: anonymous | October 13, 2011, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm
Why can’t they leave the classics *alone*?? Footloose did not need a remake. Dirty Dancing does not need a remake. And Steel Magnolias doesn’t need a remake either! Is the writing talent in Hollywood so dried up that they can’t think of anything new to put out there? Leave the classics alone, do your job, and create something NEW!
Posted by: Tiffany | October 13, 2011, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm
There are a ton of screenwriters and new screenplays out there, producers are just too lazy to read the scripts and know that remakes bring in big money so they have no reason to NOT remake it. I think that Steel Magnolias was a great movie, with a great real life plot, and depending on the new cast regardless of race, or whatever differences they could come up with, could also do well.
Posted by: Katie | October 13, 2011, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
ANOTHER REMAKE.IM NOT SUPRISED HOLLYWOOD JUST DONT HAVE IT ANY MORE.CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO MAKE SO LET’S DO A REMAKE..TO TELL THE TRUTH I HAVE NEVER SEEN A GOOD REMAKE.SO WHY TAKE A MOVIE LIKE ‘STEEL MAGNOIALS ” WHICH IS A GREAT MOVIE AND REMAKE IT. YOU CAN’T MAKE IT ANY BETTER THAN THE ORGINAL.LEAVE WELL ENOUGHT ALONE AND GET MORE IMAGINATIVE HOLLYWOOD AND MAKE SOME GOOD ORGINALS
Posted by: ED | October 13, 2011, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
Remaking Steel Magnolias with an all black cast is a ridiculous thought (and shows lackof writing talent in the Motion Picture industry). Roderick also had the same thought. They can’t seem to create an original story line unless of couse it involves CGI effects or has the 3 B’s, Boobs, Bombs and Blood (so called action flicks) Classic films are just that … classics, fabulous casts and directors. Not only that they represent a period in our time or a period in another time that we can go back to again and again. Some titles have already been mentioned but I offer this. Would we remake Gone with the Wind, To kill a Mockingbird or Butch Cassidy & The sundance Kid. How about Schindler’s List with an all black cast? Of course not!! Those are classics in film! Someone mentioned the Color Purple … that movie was with a stellar cast and directed by a master in film making.It would never work with an all white cast. Hollywood needs some real talent to write both adapations and screenplays and not be scrumaging through the cassics to “update” them, we don’t need any updates. Leave the orginal pieces of art as envisioned by both the author, the cast and the director! It’s what makes for GREAT movies.
Posted by: Karen B | October 13, 2011, 1:04 pm 1:04 pm
Oh Please why do these producers always have to make a remake of the original? Leave it alone. Oh da poor black people have to be in the cast. Theyre feeln left out oh well. The first film was perfect just leave it alone. Why does everything have to do with race?
Posted by: Meija | October 13, 2011, 2:38 pm 2:38 pm
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. . . .
Posted by: LISA S | October 13, 2011, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm
Sally FIELD. No “s.” Were you born yesterday? She’s an American icon, and this is what you do?
Posted by: klander24 | October 13, 2011, 4:35 pm 4:35 pm
Really???? I am African-American and I absolutely love Steel Magnolias and I do not want to see a remake of it. I don’t care what color the cast is. Just leave well enough alone. Good Grief!!!
Posted by: Katrina | October 13, 2011, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
Well this is just one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. I don’t care about changing the color of the cast, I’m not racist but the movie is a classic, and I wouldn’t bother watching a remake. Steel Magnolias is a movie I watch every now and then, even though I’ve seen it more than a dozen times. It’s like visiting old friends, and it just wouldn’t be the same remade. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. I liked someone else’s idea of continuing the story instead.
Posted by: Tori | October 13, 2011, 5:57 pm 5:57 pm
Well I won’t be watching it…..BECAUSE there is nothing wrong with the older version and if its not broken then don’t fix it…….It is bad enough that they took True Grit and look what a mess they made out of that ! And Dirty Dancing ! I am sorry but there is no one that can live up to the stars that made these films famous and they were wonderful movies and should be left alone ! A Shame that Hollywood can’t come up with fresh ideas and leave great films alone…………
Posted by: Tricia | October 13, 2011, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm
This is disturbing!!!! I could careless if they remake it with aliens; remakes SUCK!!! Kids need to see the classic that captured so many hearts. I am from LA and can quote this movie. My mom and I have worn out many VHS of this movie. Is the man who wrote this movie about his sister going to be in on it?!?!?! Is he going to perform the wedding ceremony?!?!?! Please, don’t ruin a good good thing!!!!!
Posted by: Susan | October 13, 2011, 8:37 pm 8:37 pm
Remake Steel Magnolia’s with an all black cast? Isn’t that what “Beauty Shop” was???? Seriously! Why mess up a wonderful movie? *shakes head*
Posted by: Shelby | October 14, 2011, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
I’m sick of all the remakes! I honestly don’t think people in Hollywood have had an original thought in years!
Posted by: Ann | October 14, 2011, 3:47 pm 3:47 pm
Another remake,it seems like movie studios cannot come up with anything original anymore. I do not mean to sound racist,but why remake Steel Magnolia with a black cast.? What’s next , The Wizard of Oz featuring african american munchkins.
Posted by: Thomas Garrett | October 15, 2011, 11:29 am 11:29 am
Seriously…isn’t that what Beauty Shop was…no indeed? Never could you compare Beauty Shop to Steel Magnolias…prayerfully you were just being facetious! I honestly don’t think that this movie needs a remake because they got it right the first time. As far as recasting…yeah you could but we’ve seen movies about 4 friends told from the Black perspective (or hell the White perspective, Asian perspective, Latin too)…and I’d watch a million more using the same formula. It works (from Designing Women to Girlfriends to Golden Girls to Joy Luck Club to Mi Vida Loca to Set it Off)…I just don’t understand why they’d recast this same film…and switch some stuff around (if they’d even do that) and then call it a remake. CA C’EST VRAIMENT STUPIDE.
Posted by: Atkins | October 18, 2011, 12:29 am 12:29 am
Steel Magnolia IS sensational therefore leave it alone. I have been reading all the comments and have to chuckle because they are funny but true. Let’s cast it with the Kardashian’s and for sure no one will watch it. Oh, that was mean!
Posted by: Teresa Oliver | November 10, 2011, 6:49 pm 6:49 pm
I see Hollywood is ready for yet another flop. You do not remake amazing movies like Steel Magnolias if you want a success. Hollywood has been out of new ideas for so many years now. They obviously need new talent in there because their writers stink. Stop with the remakes, and stop adding to series that are already done and over with. Either come up with something new or hire someone else who can.
Posted by: Kathleen | February 12, 2012, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
Interesting post but like always I tend to confirm everything I read on the net.
Posted by: Jarrod Tosic | March 23, 2012, 10:27 pm 10:27 pm
DON’T DO IT! there are some movies that stand the test of time… and Steel Magnolias is one… you wouldn’t remake Beaches or The Color Purple… so please leave this film alone… btw… this is coming from an african american woman…
Posted by: Nicole | April 3, 2012, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
I cannot believe that you want to remake a story on the deep south which is based on a true life experience and change the whole context by making the cast black. The way that a black family in rural Louisiana would react to this situation is totally different than a white family would react. You really need to do your research on this one. Not saying it is not possible to do this, but this is another Louisiana girl who will not watch the remake of such a touching story which is totally true to Louisiana and its culture if you remake it with a black cast.
Posted by: Camille | April 25, 2012, 6:37 pm 6:37 pm
This is a complete disgrace! Steel Magnolias is a classic that should NOT be touched by black actresses or white! But I have to ask – how would the public feel if we remade Waiting To Exhale and had Julia Roberts play the part Whitney Houston played? Would that be okay with everyone! This is a complete disgrace!
Posted by: Chrissy | April 26, 2012, 8:22 am 8:22 am