Ladies and gentlemen, your daily remake announcement has arrived and today isWhite Men Can’t Jump!Black-ishcreatorKenya Barrisis developing the remake of the 1992 sports classic, which starredWoody HarrelsonandWesley Snipesas a pair of street basketball hustlers who team up to make the big bucks.
PerTHR, Barris will also produce and is teaming up with two pro-athletes-turned-producers – Los Angeles Clippers playerBlake Giffinand California Panthers CenterRyan Kalil– to develop the film for 20th Century Fox. Griffin and Kalil will produce through their Mortal Media banner, along with their partnerNoah Weinstein.
The original film, written and directed byBull DurhamandTin Cup’sRon Shelton, starred Harrelson as Billy Hoyle, a former college basketball player who makes a living by hustling streetballers who assume he can’t play because he’s white. Billy meets Snipes' Sydney Dean on the court, beating him twice and the two pair up to double down on their profits for a two-on-two tournament. At the same time, Billy’s girlfriend Gloria is obsessed with winning onJeopardy, a somewhat tangential storyline that ties in better than it sounds thanks toRosie Perezbeing her excellent self.
I feel like it’s safe to say that audiences aren’t exactly clamoring for aWhite Men Can’t Jumpremake, but the project has promising potential.Black-ishis a critical and commercial hit, earning Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations (and a recent Golden Globe win for Tracee Ellis Ross), and it’s continually one of the funniest and most socially relevant shows on the air. Likewise,White Men Can’t Jumpis a good starting point – a strongly-scripted and refreshingly original spin on basketball movies that both a solid base to build on but not so cinematically sacred that audiences will cringe at the idea of a remake.
Barris is also currently developing New Line’s Shaft remake withThe GoldbergswriterAlex Barnow.
