When hair was big, and big oil was brash and unbowed by scandal, "Dallas" was the world's favorite soap opera.
Now the 1980s story of the Ewing family and their Texas oil empire is coming to the big screen, updated to the present day with an all-star cast. Instead of "Who shot J.R.?" the mystery now is who will play J.R., the devious oil man with a glint in his eye and a cowboy hat setting off his business suits.
"Wealth and power, greed and corruption in Texas -- it's a very pertinent topic," screenwriter Robert Harling said in an interview shortly after turning in his script to "Legally Blonde" director Robert Luketic who will direct the film. The author of "Steel Magnolias," who also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 comedy "The First Wives Club," has been working for 18 months on the "Dallas" script which takes the original characters from the pilot of the 1978-1991 series.
"It's reinventing the Ewing family as if they existed now in 2006 when the movie comes out," Harling said, explaining that he did not follow the plots developed over more than a decade in the series, though fans will recognize some things.
"In this story Bobby and Pam meet, fall in love and get married, J.R. and Sue Ellen are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and we have the patriarch Jock and the matriarch Miss Ellie."
--I can't wait until this comes out!
--Thanks for the tip, Brian.
Posted by Lawren at March 25, 2005 06:39 AM
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Let's see...who would make a good J.R.? Ooh, how about Tom Selleck?? Yeah! That's my vote.
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Buzz at March 25, 2005 06:51 AM
You know...Tom Selleck does sound like a great casting call to play J.R.
My mother will LOVE this movie. She was a huge fan.
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Brian D. at March 25, 2005 08:10 AM
Jock could be played by Ralph Waite or Tom Skerritt.
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Nanc' at March 25, 2005 08:39 AM
One more: An auburn haired Julia Roberts for Sue Ellen. Blonde or brunette wouldn't work.
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Nanc' at March 25, 2005 08:41 AM
If memory serves me correctly, there was an interview a while back where Larry Hagman suggested Bruce Willis for the part of J.R....
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LDH at March 25, 2005 09:02 AM
Vince Vaughan would make a good J.R.
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The Dog That Talked To David at March 25, 2005 05:00 PM
Who is doing the casting for Dallas The Movie
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tony at September 28, 2005 06:50 PM