i dream of jeannie Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Anyone else find it a little bit weird that we've seen movies based on Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and The Beverly Hillbillies ... but not I Dream of Jeannie? (And frankly I'm a little amazed that there's been no Gilligan's Island movie by this point. Or three.) Well, there's a reason for that, but first we have some fantastic news for the die-hard Jeannie fans: The producers finally have a screenplay pitch they like! That's so great, because I don't know how much longer I could survive without a Jeannie movie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Sid Ganis is crazy about the latest pitch, which comes from Mulan writer Rita Hsiao. (She also did some polishing on Enchanted and 13 Going on 30, so clearly she digs the chick flicks.) Mr. Ganis wants the loyal fans to know that "she has a terrific, bright, fresh approach to Jeannie's story, with a twist and turn along the way." The producer notes that the Jeannie movie will take place in modern times, and also that Ms. Hsiao's script was so accurate ... it felt like she'd actually lived with Samantha, Tabitha, and good ol' Derwood Jeannie, Tony Nelson, and Dr. Bellows. Wow!

And why has it taken so long for the Jeannie flick to hit the silver screen? Mr. Ganis says "This is such a beloved and iconic character that it has to be told the right way ... You have a loyalty to the character that has to exist, and sometimes it takes time to get there." Dude. It's a '60s sitcom. About an astronaut and a half-dressed lady genie. Get over it. But if they are going to make this flick (and they are), who would you cast as Jeannie? (Fingers crossed on Scarlett Johansson.)

Wayyy back in 2005 it was reported that Jimmy Fallon would be starring opposite Jessica Alba in a big-screen version of I Dream of Jeannie, based off the popular television show from 1965. At the time, the thought of Alba running around in a genie outfit was pretty enticing, not to mention Fallon was a pretty popular guy. Well, whether it was because Bewitched bombed or because Fallon is no longer capable of drawing a big crowd, the dude told Howard Stern recently that he's no longer associated with the project. When Stern asked if he was still doing a film with Alba, Fallon said it's not happening and that his name should be removed from IMDb. As of right now, Alba's name is now gone from the IMDb page, which means the project is most definitely spending a lot of time in development hell.

And what is Fallon up to these days? Well, apparently NBC has signed him to replace Conan O'Brien -- only (and here's the kicker) there's no date set for the switch, so Fallon is being paid to simply wait it out. In the meantime, however, his contract does not allow him to host any other shows. Good news: Fallon won't be stumbling over his own words during an opening monologue anytime soon. Bad news: He'll have plenty of time to make up for it once Conan decides to bail. On the film front, Fallon just wrapped an indie flick called Rockett, where he starred opposite Sharon Stone, Tom Arnold and Lucy Liu. Other than that, his slate is completely blank -- which is kind of how my brain feels after watching Fallon perform in anything.