For years I could never remember the difference between Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, two 60s sitcoms about wives with special powers that aired constantly on Nick at Nite throughout my childhood. Then in 2005 the difference became pretty easy-- one became an awful movie, and one didn't.
Now they're taking even that away from me. Apparently undeterred by Nora Ephron's flop take on Bewitched, the wheels have started spinning at Sony once again on a feature film take on I Dream of Jeannie. Sheila Callaghan, a writer for The United States of Tara, has been offered the screenwriting job , according to The LA Times. Callaghan is known best as a New York City playwright, having had the gumption to retell James Joyce's Ulysses onstage along with other work.
And before you ask, no, they're not going to make it some story about searching for a new Jeannie for a new TV version of the story-- that was Bewitched's gambit, and it failed miserably. I still fail to see a way to make a modern story about a woman who calls her husband "master" and is kept in a bottle, but hiring a female playwright with a history for invention is probably a good first step. Given how many times this particular project has gone into development, though, I wouldn't be too hopeful that it will stick this time.
