Jennifer Aniston is producing a remake of the classic 1980 comedy 9 to 5, according to a report by The Insneider. Aniston and her producing partner Kristin Hahn have been hired to work on the film for 20th Century Studios through their company, Echo Films. The reimagined film is still in development, so fans likely won’t see it for some time.
Details on this remake are scarce, including the casting, the director and even the plot details. Aside from Aniston and Hahn, the only name attached to the project so far is writer Diablo Cody, who is reportedly working on the latest draft of the script. Cody is best known for writing movies like Juno and Lisa Frankenstein, but the wording of the reports indicate that other writers may have been involved in the development process as well.
The original 9 to 5 starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton as three women working in corporate office together, all answering to the same boss – a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” played by Dabney Coleman. The three women come together over their shared gripes and spend a cathartic evening fantasizing about getting revenge on their boss, describing elaborate murder plots to each other. The next day, a series of misunderstandings lead them to believe their fantasies are coming true.
The movie was commercially successful and critically beloved at the time, and has even been credited for boosting Parton into mainstream stardom beyond the country music scene. It even got a TV series spinoff starring Parton’s younger sister, Rachel Dennison along with Rita Moreno and Valerie Curtin. A few years later, the show was revived with Dennison, Curtin and Sally Struthers. In 2009, a Broadway musical adaptation of the movie premiered with new original music by Parton.
The movie’s subject matter makes it a strong fit for a remake these days in the wake of the “Me Too Movement” and other rapidly changing social attitudes. In the last 44 years, women have come a long way in terms of financial independence – it wasn’t until 1974 that women were even allowed to apply for credit cards in their own names. According to a report by CBS News last year, the number of opposite-sex couples where a woman was the “primary breadwinner” had approximately tripled since the 1970s, but entrenched gender roles have been slower to change. In many cases, those high-earning women still did more domestic labor like housework and childcare than their partners.
While details on the plot aren’t available, fans will likely expect a 21st century take on 9 to 5 to tackle these issues just as the original made bold commentary on the issues of its time. The original 9 to 5 is available to rent or purchase on PVOD stores now, but is not included with any streaming subscriptions. The remake has been ordered, but is still in the development stage with no release date yet.