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STEVE MARTIN THE CAT FOR 'PINK PANTHER' REMAKE? |
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MGM is looking to one wild and crazy guy to revive its forty year old 'Pink Panther' franchise.
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Steve Martin is in talks with the studio about replacing the late, great Peter Sellers as bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in 'Birth of the Pink Panther'. The flick is being touted as a remake of Blake Edwards's original 1964 hit comedy.
According to the trades, the studio has been hot on Martin's case. The actor reportedly read the script over the weekend and is close to making a decision whether to accept the role. Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman is slated to direct the picture and is producing through his Montecito Picture Co. banner.
Aside from affecting an outrageous French accent and donning the trademark trench coat, to play Clouseau, one must have a certain lan for pratfalls, misguided karate chops, silly disguises and general goofiness, all while inadvertently solving the inevitable jewel heist.
Martin seems a perfect fit, having stumbled over himself in 'The Jerk' and 'All of Me', done his own sleuthing in 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' and disguised himself while working the French Riviera in 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'. His star is on the rise again thanks to the summer smash comedy, 'Bringing Down the House' with Queen Latifah.
But insiders close to Martin tell the trades that the actor is a bit skittish about aping Sellers's shtick, especially if the 'Pink Panther' is a straight remake. Martin reportedly is looking for room to add his own imprint on the character.
Martin wouldn't be the first big name to pass on this latest 'Pink Panther' project. The studio was originally keen on seeing Kevin Spacey fill the part, but the Oscar winner turned them down. MGM then approached Mike Myers, but broke off negotiations when he demanded $20 million.
The last time the studio tried to resuscitate the series came a decade ago with 1993's eighth installment, 'Son of the Pink Panther'. That film, featuring future Academy Award winner Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful) as the manic police officer son of Clouseau bombed.
The script for 'Birth', penned by Len Blum, follows the clumsy sleuth as he investigates the murder of the coach of the national soccer team while simultaneously looking into the disappearance (yet again) of the famed Pink Panther diamond, which, as fans of the series know, is the national treasure of the fictional state of Lugash and the subject of the other Pink Panther flicks.
No word on who will play Clouseau'a sidekick Cato (Bert Kwouk in the original, and still fighting fit), Professor Balls or the ever-twitchy Chief Inspector Dreyfus.
Martin, meanwhile, will next appear on the big screen as the head of the ACME corporation in this fall's 'Looney Tunes: Back in Action'. He's also slated to topline another comedy redo, 'Cheaper by the Dozen', and star in an adaptation of his own novella, 'Shopgirl', opposite Claire Danes>
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