Over the span of his career, James Franco has proven time and again that he’s perfectly willing to get involved with any project imaginable, so long as it sparks his interest. He’s in the middle of a particularly far-reaching span of projects, and the latest one will be a remake of one of the most ridiculous TV movies to ever exist, the Tori Spelling-starring Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? Those words in that particular order light up a giddy place in my brain that I didn’t know existed.
Lifetime will be the network behind this inarguably outlandish remake, as it has teamed up with Sony Pictures Television and Franco’s Rabbit Bandini Productions to turn this into a reality. At this point, Franco isn’t set to appear in front of the camera, and he’s got the dual role of executive producer and the person who penned the basic story behind the remake. The actual screenplay will be the first writing credit for actress and makeup artist Amber Coney, whose most notable work has been on the 2015 web series Class. Coney will also appear in the upcoming adaptation of Franco’s novel Actors Anonymous, which is being directed by Melanie Aitkenhead, who will also be at the helm of this project, according to THR.
This updated Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? will bring in the 20th anniversary of the original, which aired on NBC in 1996. (Mother, may I redundantly let people know the premiere year?) In what was supposed to be a big screen release prior to absolutely zero distributors signing on, Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? centers on Tori Spelling’s Laurel getting romantically involved with Ivan Sergei’s Kevin, who initially seems like the perfect boyfriend, but soon reveals his aggressive stalker tendencies that tie into something in his past. It’s a movie with more cheese than Wisconsin, and easily falls into the “so bad, it’s flabbergastingly glorious” slot. Just take a look at this clip, which features a hilariously over-the-top piece of physical acting.
No word on whether Spelling would be involved with this remake, but she would absolutely fit in as the mother in the title. Franco needs to make that happen.
Franco currently has as many projects in progress as many actors do in their entire careers. He’s got the comedy web series Making a Scene, the upcoming Hulu series 11/22/63, the making-of-The Room flick The Disaster Artist, the animated comedy Sausage Party, and over a dozen other projects.
We can expect Lifetime, which had a ratings success on its hands with the Will Ferrell/Kristen Wiig original movie A Deadly Adoption, is expected to debut Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? in 2016.
