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'It's A Wonderful Life' Sequel In The Works (With The Original Zuzu)
It's true: there's actually a sequel in the works for that Christmas cable classic "It's A Wonderful Life."Karolyn Grimes, the woman who played Zuzu (and did NOT have a wonderful life) in the 1946 classic, will return to play an angel, according to Variety. There's a twist: this angel shows the unlikeable grandson of George Bailey (also named George Bailey) just how much better off the world would have been if he hadn't been born. One of the film's screenwriters says the message is still the same, "The storyline of the new film retains the spirit of the original - every life is important as long as you have friends." (Well, that's not exactly how we'd boil the movie down.)
The idea of a sequel to "It's A Wonderful Life" seems a little silly, but, of course, no sequel idea is too zany for Hollywood and this idea has been a popular one among screenwriters. Grimes says she's read through almost 20 sequel scripts, and this one was the best: "The new film will retain the feeling of the original, and it simply must be shared. I’ve probably read close to 20 scripts over the years suggesting a sequel to 'It's a Wonderful Life,' but none of them were any good. The script by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton was wonderful, and I wanted to be involved with his version of the film immediately."
There are talks to bring in the original cast members, including Jimmy Hawkins, who portrayed Tommy Bailey, and Carol Coombs, who played Janie Bailey. The lead playing the unlikeable, third-generation George Bailey hasn't been chosen.
The sequel sounds sacrilegious but it's certainly not the first time someone has tried to retread this old territory. Marlo Thomas and Orson Welles starred in a 1977 made-for-TV remake "It Happened One Christmas Night." "Clarence" was a 1990 "computer-age" spinoff of the movie starring David Carradine as the titular character. (And SNL offered up its own not-so-heartwarming ending.)
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