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6.25.2008

I dream of jeannie movie gets a new writer

There have been several attempts over the years to bring I Dream of Jeannie, based on the old 1960s TV show, to big the screen. The project has been unsuccessfully kicked around to various writers and directors (including, at one point, Gurinder Chadha)... but no movie just yet.

The job now goes to Rita Hsiao, who has been hired to rewrite the latest draft of the script: "Mulan" scribe grants wish for "Jeannie" update. Her credits include screenplay work for Mulan, Toy Story 2, Enchanted and 13 Going on 30. Good luck, I guess. How many people out there these days are clamoring for I Dream of Jeannie movie?

I just noticed that Hsiao is also credited as a screenwriter on Good Cook, Likes Music, a mail-order bride comedy stuck in development hell that we've been hearing about for years. At one point Zhang Ziyi and Adam Sandler were attached to star, and Wayne Wang was supposed to direct. Is this movie ever going to happen? Man, I really hope not.