‘Beaches’ Movie Remake Starring Idina Menzel Greenlighted By Lifetime
By Nellie Andreeva
A Garry Marshall film classic is coming to the small screen. Lifetime has greenlighted a contemporary remake of the 1988 feature Beaches, toplined by Broadway and Frozen star Idina Menzel. She will play the role of CC, originated by Bette Midler in the movie, and will take on the iconic songs “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “The Glory of Love.” In addition to new versions of the two classic tunes from the movie, Tony winner Menzel will record additional songs for the Lifetime remake, produced by Denise Di Novi (Crazy Stupid Love) and Alison Greenspan (If I Stay). It is set for a 2017 premiere.
Beaches follows the serendipitous meeting of two youngsters, CC and Hillary, on the Venice Boardwalk, who, though worlds apart in lifestyle, embark on unexpected and lifelong friendship. Menzel’s CC is an aspiring singer trying to make it in Los Angeles until she is discovered by a director who gives CC her first big shot. Hillary, played by Barbara Hershey in the original and yet to be cast in the remake, is the daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer who struggles to find her own destiny. Their friendship — even with its ups and downs — sustains them for decades.
The movie was a boxoffice success, grossing $57 million domestically, with “Wing Beneath My Wings” winning Record and Song of the Year Grammy Awards (and becoming a pop culture anthem).
Allison Anders (Ring of Fire) will direct the Lifetime remake from a script by Bart Barker (Honeymoon with Harry) and Nikole Beckwith (Stockholm, Pennsylvania). Di Novi and Greenspan executive produce for A+E Studios. Production is set to begin on August 15.
The green light for the Beaches TV movie comes a week after Marshall died at age 81. The project has been in the works at Lifetime for almost a year. The network recently rebooted another female-driven 1980s movie classic, Steel Magnolias, with the remake delivering rating records for the network.
On TV, Menzel had a high-profile role on musical comedy Glee. She is repped by ICM Partners and One Entertainment.
Here’s a clip from the movie of Bette Midler as CC singing “Wind Beneath My Wings”.
Related stories
Elizabeth Banks, Mandy Moore, Idina Menzel, Aisha Tyler & Friends Sing ‘Fight Song’ For Hillary
Kyra Sedgwick To Direct, Kevin Bacon To Star In 'Story Of A Girl’ Lifetime Movie
'Sea Change’: Lifetime Supernatural Drama Pilot Sets Cast, Begins Production
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
