When Hollywood attempts to translate arthouse sensations into mainstream vehicles, the result usually misses the ingredients and magic of what made the original work in the first place. So you can understand why our hearts dropped a little when the news came across today that Sebastián Lelio‘s lovely breakout film “Gloria” is going to be “reimagined” with Julianne Moore in the lead role. However, the film does have some strong creative voices guiding the project.
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Lelio himself is writing and directing the movie, which won’t be a straight redo, but spin a new story about a middle-aged woman finding a second wind of joie de vivre. So, at the very least, the key filmmaker who made the original shine so strongly will be guiding this new version, even though we’re still not quite convinced it needs to be made at all. Even more, Pablo Larraín (“Jackie,” “No“) is aboard to produce.
“As one of the greatest actresses in the world, Julianne giving her interpretation of the character is not only a huge honor, it’s irresistible. It’s going to be like jazz, you’ll feel the spirit of the original story but it’ll be re-invigorated and vital,” Lelio told THR.
Again, we’ll wait and see. As much as we love Moore, she feels almost too glamorous and too recognizable to play this everywoman that is supposed to be at the heart of the story. Also, why not just team up with Lelio and make any other movie about a middle-aged woman? Everyone here is going to have to work really hard to convince us of the merit of this picture. For now, Paulina García forever.