It’s a frightening time for movies when “remakes of adaptations” garner just as many headlines as everything else. Such is the case with Universal’s Endless Love, a remake of the Franco Zeffirelli’s 1981 multi-Razzie Award nominee starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt, itself based on Scott Spencer’s popular novel of the same name, though many of the changes made for the film added melodramatic weirdness that Spencer never intended. Let’s hope it’s better to remake the bad stuff than the good.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, five actresses are being flown out to Hollywood to read for the role of Jade, which Shields previously played, with director Shana Feste, writer-director of Country Strong and The Greatest.
The names include Gabriella Wilde, from the recent Three Musketeers remake and the upcoming Carrie remake (Do you see a pattern here?); Sarah Bolger, from Once Upon a Time and The Tudors; Sophie Lowe, an Australian actress who was in the controversial and enjoyable series The Slap, also a novel adaptation; and Olivia Cooke, who will star in the upcoming Bates Motel TV series, as well as the poltergeist horror The Quiet Ones. I guess Bates Motel isn’t quite a remake or an adaptation, but that doesn’t make it necessary. The studio was interested in Mirror Mirror’s Lily Collins as well, but she’ll already be filming Christian Ditter’s Love Rosie.
The actresses will be reading with Australian actor Brenton Thwaites, who has upcoming roles in Maleficent, the dark take on Sleeping Beauty with Angelina Jolie, and the horror Oculus. Thwaites doesn’t necessarily have the role yet, but producers like him, and are looking for chemistry between him and the actresses. Though the young leads are mostly unknown, studio insiders say the star power will come when the parents are eventually cast.
I leave it up to you, dear readers, to predict which of today’s pop stars will inevitably remake the classic Diana Ross – Lionel Richie theme song from the film, where the timeless lines “You’re every step I make” were sung.
