Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (the lead kid from “Freaks And Geeks”) have been tapped to scribe New Line’s reboot of the Chevy Chase-starring “Vacation” franchise. As previously reported, David Dobkin is producing the revamp which will center on the character Rusty Griswold, played by Anthony Michael Hall, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry in the three different franchise films and evidently will be more in the vein of “Planes, Trains And Automobiles” than its predecessors. Goldstein and Francis Daley are also behind Seth Gordon’s workplace-comedy “Horrible Bosses” but you have to wonder if this is just a paycheck gig. Either way, we have a soft spot for the “Freaks & Geeks” Daley, especially since everyone else on the show took off (Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, James Franc0) and he was seemingly left in the dust, so it’s good to hear he’s getting work. We’re not vehemently opposed to this project, but our interest is a bit tepid right now. That said, we would kind of love the John Hughes-style comedy to come back into vogue (he wrote the initial ‘Vacation’ film), but only if it were done well.
Speaking of vacations, a few months ago, we reported that Amy Heckerling (“Fast Times At Ridgemont High,” “Clueless,” and “National Lampoon’s European Vacation”) was taking on a new romantic comedy called “Vamps.” Sigh, yes, it’s vampire-related and based on a modern-day tale of two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality. Today it was announced that Heckerling will reunite with her “Clueless” star Alicia Silverstone. The other female lead, Krysten Ritter (the newcomer star of “She’s Out of My League”), has already been cast. We’re gonna pass on this one as Heckerling’s best days are behind her and vampires are, well, very played out. Heckerling’s last film was a fiasco; the straight-to-video bomb “I Could Never Be Your Woman.”
Pierce Brosnan, Ed Harris and Jim Gaffigan have signed on to star in the indie religious comedy, “Salvation Boulevard.” Brosnan was so bad in a recent movie we saw that we can not go on any further.
Susan Sarandon is set to lead Kate Edelman Johnson’s feature film adaptation of her father’s TV show “The Big Valley.” Sarandon will play the role of Victoria Barkley, the matriarch of a ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley. Daniel Adams wrote the screenplay and will direct the film which starts shooting this May in Michigan and New Mexico. The film will be a tribute to her late father.