Sony Pictures Giving ‘Sabrina The Teenage Witch’ A Superhero MakeoverAlso, from Entertainmentwise:
EXCLUSIVE: Sabrina The Teenage Witch is getting a makeover at Sony Pictures. The precocious teen witch who originated in 60s Archie Comics, is being recast as a superhero. The live action film will be an origin story in the vein of Spider-Man, about a young girl coming to terms with her remarkable powers.
Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari (they wrote Die In A Gunfight for MRC) will write the script, and Real Steel producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford are producing. Mark Waters, who worked on the presentation that Sony Pictures sparked to, might direct depending on scheduling. Archie Comics’ Jon Goldwater will be executive producer and screenwriter Jeff Stockwell, who also worked on the presentation, will be co-producer.
Sabrina previously had been turned into animated tv series in 1969, 1971 and again in 1999 and the source material was turned into the Melissa Joan Hart sitcom that ran seven seasons. While the tone of the movie will be edgier, they are keeping her talking black cat Salem, who here is a transformed prince creating unique love stories for Sabrina. The project is a priority for the studio with Doug Belgrad and Hannah Minghella fast tracking the negotiations.
“We mentioned it in a meeting to Amy Pascal who chimed in “I’m the little witch girl,’” Murphy and Montford said. “From then on we knew it was the right home.” They added that the popularity of the brand should allow for the studio to discover an actress for the Sabrina role. WME and Prolific rep Barrer & Ferrari.
Sabrina The Teenage Witch For 'Superhero' Movie RebootThe live action "Sabrina The Teenage Witch" television series premiered on Nickelodeon UK in early 1996 and quickly became one of Nickelodeon UK's most popular shows ever, and continually won Nickelodeon UK's "Head To Head" and "Watch Your Own Week"/"Watch Your Own Wednesday" programming stunts in the mid-1990's and early 2000's.
Nickelodeon favourite getting re-made
Photo: WENN.com
90s teen favourite Sabrina The Teenage Witch is reportedly being remade for the big screen... but the format is being drastically altered.
Deadline reports that, rather than being a high school student, the title character, made famous by Melissa Joan Hart, will be a superhero struggling to come to terms with her powers.
Salem, the talking cat voiced by Nick Bakay [in the 1990's/2000's television series and movies], will be a human character who will serve as Sabrina's love interest... meaning no Harvey. There is no mention in the report of Sabrina's kooky aunts Hilda and Zelda (Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick), or best friend Valerie.
Broadcast on Nickelodeon in the UK, the sitcom was a hit for ABC and The WB in the US, airing seven seasons from 1996 to 2003.
Britney Spears made a guest appearance on the show, and Hart returned the favour by appearing in her music video for '(You Drive Me) Crazy'.
UPDATE (Thursday 6th December 2012), from the Irish Film and Television Network:
Irish Co-Produced Animation ‘Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch’ To Air in US
Ashley Tisdale will voice the new series of 'Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch'
An Irish co-production of a reimagined ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ has been picked up by US television network The Hub.
‘Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch’, an animated series, will be broadcast in the US in 2013, on popular kids station The Hub Network, which is a subsidiary of Discovery Communications and toy company Hasbro Inc.
The series, which is a Telegael co-production, is a reimagining of the long-running series ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’, which was based on the popular Archie Comics books.
Melissa Joan Hart originally played teenage witch Sabrina who lived in the mortal realm with her two aunts, who were also witches. The series followed Sabrina as she struggled to hide her magic from her mortal friends, obtain her witches licence and deal with her pet cat Salem, who had been condemned to life as a cat after plotting to take over the world as his former wizard self.
The series ran for seven years, and was first broadcast on ABC in America. Nickelodeon later aired it in the UK and Ireland, with RTÉ Two following suit.
‘Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch’ is being co-produced by Moonscoop, Archie Comics Publications, Inc, DSK Group India, Laughing Lion (India) and Telegael.
‘High School Musical’ star and ‘Phineas & Ferb’ voice over Ashley Tisdale will voice the new Sabrina, which will be written by ‘That 70s Show’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ scribe Dean Batali. Trevor Wall (Hero:108) will direct the series.
Siobhán Ní Ghadhra, COO of Telegael, said the Galway-based production company is “delighted” to be involved with the animated series. “The character was very popular here when the original series was being broadcast and for Telegael to be involved in the new animated series is a huge honour,” she added.
Jon Goldwater, Co-CEO of Archie Comics, the original creators of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ said of the revised co-production: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Telegael and Moonscoop for this exciting new era of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’. Sabrina has had a long and successful history in animation and TV and we are looking forward to continued success with this latest venture.”
Archie Comics is also responsible for a number of successful franchises, including ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and ‘Sonic X’.
Telegael has previously co-produced popular animations such as ‘Wild Grinders’ and ‘The Woodlies’. The Hub Network airs such kids’ shows as ‘Transformers’, ‘My Little Pony’ and ‘Littlest Pet Shop’, all of which are franchises owned by The Hub’s parent company Hasbro.
‘Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch’ is expected to air on the channel in 2013.
