Nick already brought word that there was an Arthur remake starring Russell Brand on the horizon. Now comes word from THR.com that Dame Helen Mirren, the sexiest sexagenarian out there (don’t believe me, check out this), is coming aboard to class up the project. The original film starred Dudley Moore as a boozy playboy who is set to
inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will
make something out of him. However, he falls in love with a
working-class woman and turns to his valet for help when his family
makes him choose between money and love. In the original, Arthur’s foil was his valet, portrayed by John
Gielgud. Mirren will be taking over Gielgud’s role, which has been retooled to be Arthur’s longtime nanny.
Mirren never seems to be at a loss for work, and has more than half a dozen films upcoming, including The Debt for director John Madden and The Tempest for Julie Taymor. Mirren will also be bending genders in that latter film, as the role of Prospero is being re-worked into Prospera. She’ll also be getting bossed around by husband Taylor Hackford in Love Ranch, a tale of the couple who opened the first legal brothal in Nevada. Peter Baynham has written the script for Arthur, with Larry Brezner, Kevin McCormick and Chris
Bender producing.