Um: Jamie Foxx To Write Laverne & Shirley (Updated)

We heard whispers about a Jennifer Garner/Jessica Biel Laverne & Shirley movie; now details have surfaced. It’ll be directed by Garry Marshall — creator of the 1976 TV show — and written by that noted girl-power authority, Jamie Foxx. UPDATE:

A new report claims that Jamie Foxx will NOT be writing the script. You can go back to your regularly scheduled “Hollywood Has Run Out Of Ideas” outrage, though.

Yes. Jamie Foxx. (Hints were dropped when they were promoting Marshall’s latest flick, Valentine’s Day — which featured Foxx, Garner, and Biel — as you can see in this clip.)

Now when Garry Marshall created L&S in 1976 — with his sister, Penny Marshall, as Laverne De Fazio — the show was basically a modern buddy comedy, with women. While it was set in the ’50s, the characters reflected the women’s lib zeitgeist of the ’70s. They were single ladies, living together as roommates and working at the same beer factory. Even the theme song had a pseudo-feminist message:

Give us any chance, we’ll take it.
Give us any rule, we’ll break it.
We’re gonna make our dreams come true.
Doin’ it our way.

Jamie Foxx, on the other hand, is known for lyrics like:

Blame it on the vodka
Blame it on the henny
Blame it on the blue top
Got you feeling dizzy
Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol
Blame it on the a a a a a a alcohol
Oh see
She spilled some drank on me
And now I’m knowing she’s tipsy
She put her body on me
And she keep staring me right in my eyes
No telling what I’m gonna do
Baby I would rather show you
What you been missing in your life when I get inside.

Maybe his expertise with booze will help shape the characters’ careers at the beer factory? It will be interesting to see what Foxx can bring to the film, which won’t be much like the TV show anyway. Garry Marshall tells TV Guide: “Laverne would be this very tough girl with a big ‘L’ tattooed on her arm. Garner would play Laverne and Biel would play Shirley.” Maybe it won’t be so bad. Just don’t let Ashton Kucther play Sqiuggy.

Jamie Foxx Not Writing Laverne & Shirley Movie [NY Mag]

Jamie Foxx Writing Laverne & Shirley Movie [NY Mag]
A Foxx-y Remake of Laverne & Shirley? [TV Guide]
Jamie Foxx Scripting Big-Screen LAVERNE & SHIRLEY?? Huh?? [Ain’t It Cool News]

Related: Laverne & Shirley [Wikipedia]

Earlier: Biel & Garner Resist Urge To Claw Each Other’s Eyes Out
Garner & Biel: “We Don’t Work With A Lot Of Women On Films”