Alice Reboot Eyed at Fox

TV Line ^ | October 16, 2018 | Michael Ausiello

[EdnaMode]

Mel’s Diner may be reopening its doors: An Alice reboot is in-the-works at Fox, TVLine has learned.

The network has placed a script order for a modern-day version of the classic CBS workplace sitcom starring Linda Lavin. Diablo Cody (United States of Tara) and Liz Astrof (2 Broke Girls) are penning the script for the multi-cam pilot and will serve as EPs.

The Fox revolves around Long Island housewife Alice Hyatt, who has finally worked up the courage to leave her cheating husband. She drives cross-country to Arizona with her teenage son Tommy, and gets a job as a waitress at a roadside diner where the staff becomes their new surrogate family.

In the original Alice — which aired from 1976 to 1985 and was based on the feature film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore — Lavin’s titular waitress fleeing New Jersey herself with her son following the death of her husband.

[T-Bone Texan]

All In The Family was specifically intended to portray white men as a negative.

Carrol O’Connor: Flaming communist who hated America, Lear also.

[T-Bone Texan]

I remember Room 222 as a child. It seemed full of angst, unnecessarily.

Oh, and not funny or interesting at all.

[Safetgiver]

Andy Griffith Show. With Little Opie Cunningham.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Oh, yeah.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Room 222 ?

2 words: Karen Valentine.

[SunkenCiv]

Broadcasting.

[RinaseaofDs]

Adam Sandler pulled off “Kiss my grits” pretty well in the Wedding Singer.

[mylife]

Watching the news tonight, they said they are now making “Golden Girls” Cereal! I am dead serious! LOL

Uckkk.. Marshmallow Maude... LOL

[BillyBoy]

Hollywood has gone remake crazy, a really pathetic example being they are remaking Charlie's Angels AGAIN after just remaking it in 2011 AND 2000. This time they will have "Sir Patrick Stewart as Bosley". Someone please explain to these numbskulls that the original premise wasn't even that good and the only reason people watched it was to ogle Farrah Fawcett.

On the plus side, Hollywood FINALLY announced a remake I can get behind. They're doing a faithful adaptation of "The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle" with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Neither of the previous "adaptations" (the 1967 Rex Harrison musical or the goofy 1998 Eddie Murphy comedy) had much in common with the source material aside from the "Doctor who has the ability to talk to animals" premise. The original book series has about twelve novels. If this movie is decent they could presumably start a whole franchise. Like the 2005 adaptation of Casino Royale (which was awesome IN SPITE OF Daniel Craig in the title role), I guess third time's the charm.

Now someone just needs to kill the Charlie's Angels remake and replace it with a live action reboot of Little Orphan Annie that's actually faithful to creator's Harold Gray premise of teaching kids conservative-libertarian ideas through a lighthearted comic format (and has nothing in common with the 70s broadway musical Annie that is associated with the character now, though if they forced me I'd find a way to work the song 'Hard Knock Life' into the movie). Wouldn't THAT be refreshing?

[fieldmarshaldj]

That was the one thing that bugged me about the ‘82 musical. They made Aileen Quinn’s “Annie” an FDR fangirl, and she browbeat Daddy Warbucks into supporting his agenda.

[BillyBoy]

>> That was the one thing that bugged me about the ‘82 musical. They made Aileen Quinn’s “Annie” an FDR fangirl, and she browbeat Daddy Warbucks into supporting his agenda. <<

I can't blame the '82 filmmakers for that, they were just adapting the plot of the 1977 Broadway musical directly, as have all subsequent versions of "Annie" who go with the 70s musical as their 'source material' instead of Harold Gray's original writing.

The Broadway musical pretty much conveys the exact OPPOSITE message that Gray intended, as it depicts grouchy old fashioned anti-big government capitalist Daddy Warbucks being "enlightened" by Annie and coming around to realize how wonderful FDR's New Deal is for America. In fact, the broadway musical is far worse than any film adaptation in this respect, as it include a sarcastic "We'd like to thank you, Mr. Hoover" musical number that repeats the myth that free-market capitalism is responsible for Hoovervilles and the great depression. It has also has the finale "New Deal for Christmas" number celebrating how FDR's wonderful government programs are gonna help all the widdle poor orphans feed their families on Christmas day, blah blah blah. I don't think either song made it into the movie adaptations.

By his own admission, the guy who turned Annie into a broadway musical didn't like any of the storylines from the comics, so he decided to write his own original story and only keep the characters of Annie, Daddy Warbucks and Sandy the dog. Gray would be spinning in his grave if he saw any of it. Imagine how liberals would react if some conservative adapted the preachy left-wing comic strip Doonesbury into a cheesy musical where Garry Trudeau's characters celebrate the Trump administration.

By 2014, it was so far removed from the original comics that they made Annie a black girl in present-day America and had Jamie Foxx as "Will Stacks" (which is supposedly "based on" Daddy Warbucks), so if any franchise ever needed a complete reboot to erase the bad direction its been veering off for decades, its this one. Someone hire Kelsey Grammer to play Daddy Warbucks in an independent film.

It speaks volumes that the silly 1982 movie is actually the LEAST offensive of the "modern" versions of the story. It might also be the only one where "Little Orphan Annie" actually looks like Gray depicted her (a curly haired 10 year old redhead)

[Impy]

I ain’t never seen Little Orphan Annie.

The source material is a comic and it has a conservative message?!??

[fieldmarshaldj]

No, they didn’t have those 2 political numbers in the ‘82 film (remarkable they didn’t, if only to use them to poke at President Reagan). I remember well at the time I went to see the film a few times at the theater and played the album many, many times (I was 8). Although it was mainly because I had a terrible crush on Aileen Quinn (minus her costume and awful red wig, she was an adorable brunette in reality).

In hindsight, the best part of the film were the scenes with Carol Burnett and Tim Curry. I thought Burnett should’ve received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Curry’s musical number, “Easy Street”, should’ve also gotten him a similar nomination.

I couldn’t work myself up to see the infamous 2014 version. I could tell how offensive it would be (too bad they passed up the opportunity to do “We’d like to thank you, Mr. Obammy”).

As for the notion of “Doonesbury” as a Conservative movie musical, that’s a marvelous idea. Hopefully we could do that before Garry Turdough kicks off.

[BillyBoy]

There’s also a 1999 version. I caught it on TV once. In some ways its better than the ‘82 or 2014 versions since it realistically depicts the depression era 1930s as a very gritty and bleak time. For example, in the 1982 and 2014 versions, the kids look like they’re actually having fun while singing “Hard Knock Life” and dance around doing gymnastics and horseplay. Doesn’t seem like a “hard knock life” to me. In the 1999 version, they’re doing grueling work and the scene actually fits the lyrics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UIiT6ry6zQ

I also liked the winter setting of the 1999 version. But its also Disney-fied and had some stupid PC crap about Daddy Warbucks publicly dating a black girl and nobody batting an eyelash — which obviously wouldn’t have happened in the 1930s.

Of course, all 3 movie adaptations promote the same leftist viewpoint. Incredibly some liberals were angry that the 2014 version (set in “modern day”) DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH in promoting liberal tripe, even though they promote it from the very first scene.

The Miss Hannigan character (played by Carol Burnett in ‘82, Kathy Bates in ‘99, and Cameron Diaz in 2014) was invented for the musical. In the comics, Annie gets sent back to the orphanage several times, and its run by Miss Asthma and then Miss Treat (obvious pun on the word ‘mistreat’). Agree Burnett did a good job playing a nasty alcoholic who had reached the end of her rope though.

I do love the idea of giving lefties a taste of their own medicine by adapting some screechy left-wing diatribe into a happy-go-lucky musical singing the praises of conservative government. The other great idea you had was some politician who goes around publicly swearing up and down that he’s “personally pro-abortion” and has no qualms about women aborting as much as they want, but votes 100% pro-life on EVERY bill anyway because it’s not right for him to “force his views on others” I’d love to see liberal gnash their teeth at that one!

[fieldmarshaldj]

I actually forgot about the ‘99 version until you brought it up. I do remember seeing it when it ran on ABC (through the fog of my dreadful health of the time). Victor Garber was serviceable as Warbucks (although the actor is gay, he can play acceptably straight). I don’t much recall the girl that played Annie.

Kathy Bates, although a good actress, didn’t come close to Burnett’s tour-de-force (although Bates’s Hannigan got the comeuppance that Burnett’s should’ve in the ‘82 film — she should not have been at the mansion celebrating with everyone else at the end).

The colorblind casting was disconcerting, although was done obviously to showcase the singing talents of Audra McDonald. If you get the chance to see arguably Miss McDonald’s best and most heartbreaking role, watch her tackle Billie Holliday in her waning days in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” Absolute jaw-dropping performance for which she received an Emmy nomination.

[GOPsterinMA]

10 minutes in is applicable to the current state of Hollywood, not just Star Wars.

https://youtu.be/R0QPCS4a84k