We
live in a remarkable media age. We have hundreds of channels on our TV
and unlimited content on the internet. Our radio comes from satellites
and we can watch entire movies on our phones. All of this incredible
technology means that we, as a race, can burn through a joke with
relentless, almost Teutonic efficiency.
The latest thing to burn out under
the white hot gaze of a million media gazes? Betty White.
Anybody
remember back when Lake Placid came out and White was the
unexpected comedic highlight of the piece? Now White is nearly
omnipresent, and her rebounded popularity climaxed with a fan petition
getting her to host Saturday Night Live. But after that it was overkill;
last week I got a press release about a Betty White pin-up calendar.
In
the aftermath of her fatal overexposure, Warner Bros has suddenly taken
an interest in White. The project: a remake of Oh God!, the George Burns religious
comedy. And while I’m utterly sick of Betty White, she’s actually kind
of a great choice for the role.
Deadline, who is reporting this, says
that there’s no script and that nobody has contacted White yet;
producer Jerry Weintraub, who has been trying to get the film remade for
some time, is just pitching this concept to WB (he’s pitching Paul Rudd
in the hapless John Denver role. If Dinner For Schmucks, where
Rudd plays a similar role, makes money I could see the studio going for
that. Whether Rudd would is another matter). This could go nowhere, but
it’s worth noting because I guarantee this isn’t the only pitch with
Betty White’s name attached.
Let’s hope none of those projects
come to pass. Betty White, it was fun, but we’ve had enough. You’re old
and you swear – we get it.