A new, made-for-TV production featuring an all-black cast premiers on Lifetime this Sunday (9 ET/ 8 CST) is produced by Oscar-winning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, according to a report in USA Today.
The producers hail the remake will be compelling, not because the cast is an entirely different race.
"Steel Magnolias is so much a story about a community of women that if it were multicultural, if it was all Latina, if it was all Asian, it would still be Steel Magnolias. It would just be as original as the group of women you put in it," Meron said.
For those of you that haven't seen Steel Magnolias (myself included) here's a synopsis of the plot. The film takes place in fictional Chinquapin Parish in Louisiana. The 1989 film was based on a 1987 play of the same name by Robert Harling as a tribute to his late sister who suffered with diabetes. The story centers around six close friends who meet regularly at Truvy's Beauty Spot (Jill Scott's character) where they laugh, cry, share secrets and offer each other support. One story in particular is about Shelby Eatenton Latcherie (Condola Rashad), M'Lynn's (Queen Latifah) diabetic daughter and her decision to have a baby even though doctors warned her a pregnancy would threaten her life. ---And I'll end with that.
While the characters and plot are the same, remaking a 25-year movie did pose a challenge as the times need to be reflected - medical advances that made it safer for diabetic women to have healthy pregnancies. When the play was written, when a woman with diabetes was pregnant, it was life threatening.
Some say this film should not be remade, most say otherwise. What do you think? Will you tune in on Sunday night?
this is a favorite movie of mine hopefully the remake lives up to it. as a black woman of course I will tune in to see how much more I relate.
ReplyDeleteI think the producers did a great job of selecting the right cast for the remake of “Steel Magnolias” especially since the original is a cultural icon, and the cast was from the highest caliber of female actresses. I can not wait to see the remake of “Steel Magnolias,” unfortunately; I will miss this when it premieres because of my work schedule at DISH. I set my Hopper to record this movie when it airs. There is a ton of DVR recording space in case Lifetime decides to turn this movie into a mini-series.
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