Merrick again...

The apparently indestructable big screen adaptation of DALLAS is in motion once more, this time under the direction of Betty Thomas. The project is now being re-conceived as a comedy (the film's original iteration was "serious").

I really enjoyed what Thomas did with THE BRADY BUNCH movie - I liked her balance between skewering and affectionate homage, and some of the gags were pretty smart (Mike Brady not being able to design any structure that looked different than his already out-of-date house, for example). This said, I'm having difficulty imagining DALLAS as a comedy...because it was already pretty funny as a "drama" on 70's television.

HOT ROD's Pam Brady will re-script the film. To the best of our knowledge, Pam is related to neither Mike, Carol, Greg, Peter, Marcia, Jan, Cindy, Bobby, or Tiger Brady. John Travolta is still attached to play the nefarious J.R. Ewing - a role originated by Larry Hagman.

This project has been in the mill for a while now; one iteration crashed last year.

When the movie was derailed late last year, Gurinder Chadha ("Bend It Like Beckham") was directing. Luke Wilson was attached to play Bobby Ewing with Shirley MacLaine to play Miss Ellie, while producers were talking with Meg Ryan to play Sue Ellen after Jennifer Lopez dropped out.

...says THIS ARTICLE in Variety.

Remember the "Who Shot J.R." intrigue in the original series (which, admittedly, was nowhere near as compelling as the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" mystery in THE SIMPSONS)? I had an "I Shot J.R." T-shirt before the resolution of the case. I thought that shirt was awesome at the time; now it seems dorky as hell, and a little embarrassing.

Remember how one of the seasons was later revealed to be nothing but a dream, after which the show re-set to how it had been before the season?

Wow. So many kitschy memories. Maybe it could work after all...