Filed under: News
With Hollywood greenlighting many remakes and reboots of classics and cult favorites, here comes another film to the mix.
Long talked about but never going anywhere, Warner Bros. and Overbrook Entertainment have brought on comedy screenwriter Tim Dowling to rewrite the remake of 'Uptown Saturday Night,' the 1974 buddy comedy that starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier.
Overbrook partners Will Smith, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz and Jada Pinkett Smith will produce the remake, which has been in development since 2002 and was originally scripted by Mark and Robb Cullen ('Cop Out'). David Dobkin ('Wedding Crashers') is attached to direct and exec produce, stated Variety.
The story centers on two estranged friends who have their wallets stolen at a nightclub. The next morning, they learn that one of their wallets contained a winning lottery ticket, and together, they set out to find it.
Among the rumors floating around is that Will Smith will likely star in the film, along with Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
While Smith has starred in a number of sci-fi action comedies ('Men in Black') and romantic comedies ('Hitch'), the last time Washington starred in a comedy film was 1990's 'Heart Condition,' which co-starred Bob Hoskins. The movie's reception was largely negative, scoring 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. At the end of its run, the box office total was $4,134,992. Washington was talked into making this movie by his agent. Afterwards, Washington fired him and has not starred in a full scale comedy since.
Smith is also remaking 'Annie' for his daughter Willow Smith to star in and rapper Jay-Z collaborating on the music.