How Anna Faris Will Do What No One Else Could: Remake Goldie Hawn's 'Overboard'

The beloved Goldie Hawn comedy “Overboard” is finally getting a big-screen remake after 30 years — but finding a concept that floats has been harder than anyone imagined.

The film industry hasn’t been kind to actresses looking to take on Hawn’s old parts. Even Jennifer Lopez couldn’t get a remake to sail. But MGM announced an update of the film Monday that will make a simple change to a new version starring Anna Faris and Mexican film star Eugenio Derbez: It will swap the genders of the two lead characters.

This new imagining will see Faris play a version of Kurt Russell’s character in the 1987 Garry Marshall original. Russell, Hawn’s real-life partner, played a lowbrow handyman who convinced Hawn’s wealthy, amnesiac heiress that he was her husband.

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Faris shared her love of Hawn during an appearance on RuPaul’s podcast “What’s The Tee?”

“I worship her,” Faris said, speaking in the breathless tone many stars of her generation reserve for Hawn, like Amy Schumer, who lured the legend out of pseudo-retirement this May for Universal’s “Snatched.”

“Here’s the thing. Stepping into those shoes, it feels so — I don’t know,” Faris said nervously.

“Sacred ground?” asked RuPaul.

Faris agreed. You can hardly blame her for the trepidation.

Lopez tried to remake “Overboard” with MGM in 2010, with Will Smith on board to produce and a script polish from original screenwriter Leslie Dixon. The “Boy Next Door” star was panned for treading on the aforementioned sacred ground, and the remake eventually fell apart.

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In 2015, Rebel Wilson announced that she was attached to star in an update of another Hawn favorite, “Private Benjamin.” That decision was questioned by, among others, director Nancy Meyers, a writer and producer on the 1980 original.

“I’m not in charge, you know? I don’t own it, but I like the one with Goldie Hawn,” Meyers told Entertainment Tonight at the time.

There’s also the fragile new world of gender-swapping movie roles to consider, which don’t always sit well with their respective fandoms or skeptical first-timers.

The invective for Paul Feig’s all-female “Ghostbusters” adaptation will likely go down in history, considering the film’s first trailer ranked as YouTube’s most-disliked ever when it was released last year.

The ground seemed much softer for last summer’s announcement that Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell would remake the Tom Hanks-Daryl Hannah classic “Splash” — and also swap gender roles, with Tatum playing the beautiful undersea creature Hannah played in the ’80s.

Also Read: 'Splash' Remake With Channing Tatum as Mer-Man in the Works at Disney

Faris has amassed a large following thanks to her flighty-but-empowered roles in films like “The House Bunny” and “What’s Your Number?”

Taking on the folksy (if not scheming) attributes of Russell’s “Overboard” character, however, spares her the punishment of direct comparison. It’s also a reintroduction to the movie market for Faris, who is on her fourth season as the lead of the CBS sitcom “Mom.”

“I was having this insecurity of, ‘I’m a mom now, does this industry view me as a mom? Where is my place in this industry? Is this a sign?'” Faris told RuPaul of leaving film for TV.

“I didn’t want to be one of those people that hung on to Hollywood without reading the signs that it was time for me to go. I wanted to leave before they booted me,” Faris said.

But Hollywood only booted her to “Overboard,” and we’re happy to go along.

27 Movie-to-TV Remakes in the Works: Hollywood's Big Screen to Small Screen Craze (Photos)

"American Gigolo" – Paramount and Jerry Bruckheimer are teaming once again for a television adaptation of the Richard Gere crime movie.
Paramount Pictures
“The Mortal Instruments” – Using Cassandra Clare’s young adult novel series, the television project will pick up where the first film left off. Ed Decter is attached to run the show, with production starting in 2015.
Sony Pictures
“Bachelor Party” – ABC has brought over “New Girl” writers J.J. Philbin and Josh Malmuth to rewrite the Fox comedy flick.
Twentieth Century Fox
“The Illusionist” - The CW is bringing the 2006 film to TV with a script by Mark Hudis, who was nominated for an Emmy for "Nurse Jackie."
Contagious Entertainment
“In Good Company” - CBS and Universal are teaming for the television project. Josh Bycel and Jon Fenner wrote the pilot script but Paul Weitz, who wrote and directed the movie, is also involved.
Universal Pictures
“Shooter” – TNT has hired John Hlavin to write the script for the drama adaptation.
Paramount Pictures
“Monster-In-Law” - Amy R Harris (The Carrie Diaries) and John Riggi (30 Rock) are writing the multi-camera project for Warner Bros. TV.
New Line Cinema
“12 Monkeys” – The SyFy series has received a 13-episode order starring Aaron Stanford, Emily Hampshire and Tom Noonan. The show premieres in January 2015.
Universal Pictures
“Big” - Kevin Biegel and Mike Royce are executive producing and writing for 20th Century Fox Television.
20th Century Fox
“Uncle Buck” – CBS adapted the movie for a 1990 television series that lasted one season. Now ABC is trying its luck with Steven Cragg and Brian Badley writing.
Universal Pictures
“Phantom of the Opera” – Marc Cherry is developing the drama for ABC, providing his own take on the Gaston Leroux novel.
Warner Bros. Pictures
“Problem Child” – NBC has hired Scot Armstrong, writer of “Old School” and “The Hangover” to adapt the comedy.
Universal Pictures
“The Truman Show” – Paramount is developing but no production has started and the individuals involved have yet to be named.
Paramount Pictures
“Shutter Island” – Martin Scorsese will return to direct the pilot for HBO and Paramount that will be called, “Ashecliffe” and tell the story before the events of the Leonarado DiCaprio film. A full series order has already been ordered with Dennis Lehane writing.
Paramount Pictures
“Ghost” – Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner are teaming to retell the Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore 1990 hit film for Paramount TV.
Paramount Pictures
“Hitch” – Executive produced by Will Smith, with a script from Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, the dating guru reboot is possibly coming to Fox.
Columbia Pictures
“Rush Hour” - Bill Lawrence and Blake McCormick, who previously paired on “Cougar Town,” are writing and executing producing the remake of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker’s hit flick.
New Line Cinema
“Marley & Me” – Despite the conclusive ending, the film is being developed for the small screen by 20^th Century Fox TV.
20th Century Fox
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” - DHX Media and Sony Pictures are bringing the hit animated film franchise to the small screen.
Columbia Pictures
“Scream” – The hit horror flick franchise moves to MTV with an original script from Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin. Willa Fitzgerald, Amy Forsyth, John Karna, Carlson Young and Amadeus Serafini are all set to star but the Ghostface killer will not be a feature for the television project.
Dimension Films
“Underworld” - Len Wiseman, who wrote and directed all four “Underworld” films, is said to be involved on the TV project.
Screen Gems
“School of Rock” – Nickelodeon ordered “School of Rock” straight to series with Tony Cavalero taking the lead role from Jack Black. Jim and Steve Armogida will executive produce and write.
Paramount Pictures
“The Devil's Advocate” - John Wells and Arnold Kopelson serve as producers with Matt Venne writing the first script for NBC.
Warner Bros. Pictures
“In the Heat of the Night” – The 1967 film has already spawned an NBC series that ran for seven seasons between 1988 and 1995. The new reboot comes from MGM Television and Showtime, written and directed by Tate Taylor.

United Artists
“Westworld” – Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden will star in the HBO drama pilot based on the 1973 Michael Crichton film about a problematic amusement park.
MGM
“Real Genius” – Being rebooted by NBC, the project comes from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment.
TriStar Pictures