'Barbarella' Really Headed in the Wrong Direction

When the remake of Barbarella was put in cold storage earlier this summer, I'm sure a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief. It was one less remake to deal with and one that, more than likely, wouldn't have been done correctly, anyway.

That's the real problem with Roger Vadim's version, ultimately. It was released a few years too soon and too much in the mainstream to be the sort of strange, sexual experience it ought to be. It was those things, but dilluted. Nowadays you could probably get away with more sex and more nudity and the level of actresses willing to do that sort of thing include three Best Actress winners in the past decade. But the update hasn't stayed on the shelf long. Robert Rodriguez was involved then he wasn't and now Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth) will direct. See, I don't think Luketic is anywhere near the right choice here. In fact, I think it's a terrible pairing. The Hollywood Reporter contends, however, that Luketic and producer Dino De Laurentiis will keep the sexuality, but "the focus will be on the adventure."

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Robert Rodriguez Won't Remake 'Barbarella'

Much like the 8-track and Mussolini, Robert Rodriguez' reboot of Barbarella is very, very dead. The 8-track gave way to the cassette tape and Mussolini was caught trying to flee Italy dressed as a German soldier, executed, hanged upside down in a public square, and stoned.

That's not exactly what happened to Barbarella, although Germany did play a part in the downfall of both. Rodriguez' new version of the Roger Vadim cult classic was set to star Rose McGowan (not the best casting choice), and Universal balked at the price tag. The Sin City and Grindhouse co- director tells MTV he did manage to find financing elsewhere, but it just wasn't worth the hassle. “It came to the point where [a company from] Germany offered us a $70 million budget, which would have been by far the biggest budget I ever would have had for a movie,” Rodriguez says, “But I had to shoot it in Germany and post it in Germany."

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Rose McGowan Is Still 'Barbarella', Damn It

Despite reports to the contrary, Rose McGowan says she's still going to play the lead in boyfriend Robert Rodriguez' upcoming Barbarella remake.

The Grindhouse star tells MTV that the speculation that she wouldn't be cast by Universal (related to her lack of box office experiences) "(W)as really irritating because I know all the people over there and obviously it wasn't true. It was very malicious and there was no proof," McGowan insisted. "Oftentimes these things have basis in truth but this didn't. I have contracts to prove it."

Rose says the production is further along than we've heard, with costumes ready and many of the sets already constructed. "I've got part of a spaceship built for me," exclaims the actress.

Of course, remaking Barbarella isn't a bad idea. I'm not so sure about the casting, but in order to push the envelope - and there's no reason to remake Barbarella if you're not pushing the envelope - Rodriguez has to have an actress willing to go just about anywhere. McGowan fits that bill, but I'm just not sure she's all that good. Haven't really seen it.

Regardless, I am looking forward to what Rodriguez can bring to the project visually, although Rose claims we may have to just wait patiently for quite a while. "(It) wouldn't be able to be finished before June which is when the next strike might happen," says McGowan, citing the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild strike. "It's a longer shoot."