With NBC's low-rated legal thriller The Firm moved from Thursdays to Saturdays back in February, cancellation for the TV sequel to John Grisham's popular novel seems eminent, if it's not already assumed. So it's not all that surprising to see one of its stars moving on to other projects. For Juliette Lewis, it's a starring role in a remake of an Oscar-winning film
Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria debuted at Cannes in 1957 and follows a prostitute living in Rome, searching for love but only ever getting her heart broken. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film the following year. In 1966, it was turned into a stage musical, with Neil Simon writing the book and Bob Fosse directing/choreographing. Then in 1969 the play was made into a movie starring Shirley MacLaine. And now it looks like the original Nights of Cabiria screenplay will be revisited to some extent, as Constellation Entertainments has acquired the movie rights to the story.
Variety shared the news today that Lewis is set to star in a film called The Days of Mary. Directed by Brad Michael Gilbert, Mary is described as a reimagining of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria. This time around, the story follows "an eternally optimistic working girl who's looking for love to escape the broken world of Reno, Nev." While the title is literally as different as night and day, the story sounds similar enough, with Rome exchanged for Reno.
It certainly sounds like an intriguing and potentially challenging role for Lewis, whose recent credits include Due Date and Hick. As a fan of hers going back to her days of Christmas Vacation and Cape Fear, I'm especially excited to see her taking on a lead role, considering so many of her recent projects, including NBC's The Firm have her in a supporting role.
