Remaking the Closet

Well, well, well. In my recent review of Francis Veber's Le Placard (April 26), I wrote about the regrettable phenomenon of American remakes of Veber's movies. Veber himself, now living in Los Angeles, is trying to make an American version of Le dîner de cons. Now the entertainment press is reporting that an American remake of Le placard (The Closet, 2001) is in the works, with Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) directing a screenplay adapted by Paul Mayeda Berges and Lorne Michaels producing for Miramax. Veber himself is apparently not involved. This was first reported by Ian Mohr for the Hollywood Reporter, which has a subscription-only site so to hell with them (here is the story as it was picked up on May 3 by Reuters UK).