Sexy space romp Barbarella set for Bond-worthy revamp
Last Updated: Friday, April 13, 2007 | 11:51 AM ET
CBC Arts
Cult sci-fi hit Barbarella, the kitschy 1968 movie that rocketed actress Jane Fonda into sex symbol status, is set for a 21st-century revamp.
Legendary Italian-born Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis and his producing partner-wife, Martha, have secured a deal to film a remake.
Starring in the 1968 space adventure Barbarella helped U.S. actress Jane Fonda gain sex symbol status.
(Keystone/Getty)
The reinvented heroine will be akin to a "female James Bond — in outer space," De Laurentiis said.
The couple have enlisted buzz-worthy Bond screenwriters Neil Purvis and Robert Wade to revive and modernize the title character, according to Hollywood trade paper Variety.
Purvis and Wade penned the scripts to the last three Bond films: The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and the most recent, acclaimed instalment, Casino Royale. They also wrote the script for the next film in the blockbuster series.
Peter Webber, whose credits include Hannibal Rising and Girl with a Pearl Earring, is reportedly slated to direct.
Based on an erotic French comic book of the same name by Jean-Claude Forest, Barbarella told the tale of a young space vixen who is dispatched across the galaxy and embarks on a series of adventures.
The tongue-in-cheek original follows Fonda as she tracks down a runaway scientist amid sex-filled romps.
Though assailed by critics and a flop at the box office upon its original release, Barbarella eventually developed a cult fan base and a somewhat elevated status after it became a pop culture curiosity and an influence for a host of musical acts, from Duran Duran to Prince.
Aside from the original Barbarella and the upcoming remake, De Laurentiis has produced a wide range of films, including Serpico, Three Days of the Condor, Conan the Barbarian, the 1976 remake of King Kong, Flash Gordon, Blue Velvet and several titles by Italian filmmaking great Federico Fellini.
