Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs earned its place in motion picture history by winning the “big five” Oscars. It’s one of only three films to pull off that feat. Additionally, it made audiences the world over scream in disturbance and terror.
Well, I’m pretty sure we’ll be hearing tons of screams the world over due to this astonishing news update. Demme’s film will be getting a revamp like many other highly respected films have been over the past few years. However, there’s a startling new twist, as MGM wants to give the film more than just an update. It seems that the film will be more of a romantic comedy than anything else.
Clarice Starling, the heroine portrayed by Oscar winner Jodie Foster in the original film, will be getting a bit of a makeover, too. No longer will she be a tough-as-nails FBI agent. Instead, she’ll be an effervescent yet perpetually single magazine editor who through a series of miscommunications and mix-ups ends up having to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter. At first the two can’t stand each other, but after spending time together they… well, you know how the story goes.
Don’t believe me? Here’s the official statement:
“MGM is excited to announce that a remake of the Jonathan Demme classic The Silence of the Lambs has been given the go-ahead. This isn’t your standard remake, though. We’ll be giving more of a romantic comedy flavor as magazine editor Clarice Starling finds love unexpectedly when interviewing Dr. Hannibal Lecter for a piece at her magazine.
We made this decision after much thoughtful consideration, which included looking at box office receipts of various remakes released over the past several years. We realized that studios have not been as creative as they once were. Between this and trying something new and inventive, we felt that Clarice and Hannibal's relationship would be a great starting point."
At the moment, MGM is looking at Jennifer Aniston, Katherine Heigl, and Kate Hudson to play Starling. However, Hudson is already hooking up with Matthew McConaughey again … on screen that is; she’ll be starring in the romantic comedy On Fire for You, where the two play firefighters with sizzling chemistry.
Aniston already has Welcome Home, however, for Sony. In that film she’ll play a woman who has to adopt five children from a local orphanage thanks to some fine print in a contract that she didn’t bother to fully read.
Finally, it looks like Heigl isn’t free either. Apparently, she just signed on for the dramedy 127 Dresses, where she has to choose between saving her arm and keeping the 127 fabulous bridal party dresses hanging up in her closet.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any news on who MGM is looking for to play Lecter, but we’re betting that Ashton Kutcher and Matthew McConaughey are being heavily considered for the role.
MGM has tentative plans to release the film on December 21, 2012.