Col dreams of a helmer
Chadha on 'Jeannie' wish list
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Timing on the film isn't clear because unlike Jeannie, Chadha will be serving two masters. She is also developing "Tucker Ames," a Fox 2000 comedy.
Producers and supervising Col execs Amy Baer and Doug Belgrad have a "Jeannie" script by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley that is ready to shoot. Michael Viner and Sidney Sheldon will exec produce.
The genie they've conjured is very different from the subservient beauty, played by Barbara Eden, who called Larry Hagman's astronaut character "master" in the Sheldon-created NBC series that ran from 1965-70.
The film opens 2,000 years ago in Persia, where a young woman's quest to become a soldier earns her the punishment of being stuck in a bottle and sentenced to serve the first person who finds her.
"She is a young woman who understands her self-worth and has grand ambition back in a time when women weren't supposed to have any ambition," said Ganis. "The astronaut Tony Nelson will be there along with characters recognizable from the show. But there are surprises and a unique and original setting."
As word about Chadha began to get out of the bottle, it has uncorked speculation that her "Bend It Like Beckham" discovery Keira Knightley might be ideal to play the title character. That appears for now to be wishful thinking, as Ganis said they won't make any casting decisions until Chadha's deal is done.
The ICM-repped Chadha just completed "Bride and Prejudice," the Bollywood musical version of "Pride and Prejudice" for Pathe U.K. and Miramax.
