Dave Chappelle as Captain Stubing? Pav, Can You Confirm this Boat-Load of Crap?

[Zoneboy]

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NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 12, 2008) Oscar-winning actress and director Helen Hunt announced yesterday that she will partner with Emmy-winning filmmaker Spike Lee to create a cable television remake of Aaron Spelling’s long-running Eighties television hit “The Love Boat” -- but with an all black cast.


Assuming script permissions can be quickly obtained from Spelling’s widow Candy -– “and I’m hopeful that they can,” says Hunt – comedian Dave Chappelle will reprise the role of Captain Merrill Steubing in the new “Black Love Boat,” which will begin taping soon both at New York’s famed Silvercup Studios’ East Lot in Astoria and at sea.


Wearing a black leather miniskirt and a red top, Hunt made the announcement casually last night at a Fashion Week party held by Heidi Klum, Lindsay Lohan, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Banks and Kristin Davis to toast "Project Runway" judge Nina Garcia in her new job as fashion director for Marie Claire magazine. Foster is also an investor in the project.


Hunt told the crowd that she had been holding weekly meetings with Lee throughout the summer at New York’s famed Trump Tower -– “it’s lucky for me” –- and finally persuaded Lee to “come aboard” her “Black Love Boat” project, which is set to anchor Thursday Nights on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.



OWN premieres in January 2009, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. Winfrey has full editorial control of the channel but shares ownership 50/50 with Discovery.

Television’s original “Love Boat” dominated Saturday nights for the ABC Television Network from 1977 to 1986, with one storyline in each hour-long episode focused around a member of the crew, a second storyline focusing on a crew member interacting with a passenger, and a third storyline focusing on a passenger or a group of passengers. Paired with ABC’s “Fantasy Island,” the show created a formidable “one-two punch” for ABC every Saturday night.





“It was a golden opportunity for both Spike and myself, but we had to work quickly to grab the golden ring because of the rapidly approaching OWN launch date, and so, yes, we will probably just use the existing scripts,” says an elated Hunt. “Tweak them. But because OWN is replacing an existing network and will be immediately available in 70 million homes, Spike and I are predicting that it won’t be long before ‘Black Love Boat’ truly ‘owns’ Thursday nights in 2009.”


Hunt says Lee will bring what she calls a “fresh gangsta” point-of-view to the project and that he “knows all the new black dances and all the new black songs.”


“Spike knows all those people and that’s what’s so exciting about it, he can really line them up and motivate them to create something truly fresh and unique for this project,” says Hunt. “I love to learn.”



For own her part, Hunt promises to bring more of an “Upstairs/Downstairs” sensibility to the project by highlighting the income disparities between the A-List Lido Deck passengers with the 21st century poverty of the high-interest credit-card-indentured below-decks serving class.



“I really feel like this is my lucky Oreo,” says Hunt. “With Spike on my one side, me in the middle and Oprah bringing up the rear, how can we not succeed?”



The original “Love Boat” was usually set aboard a cruise liner called the Pacific Princess, whose passengers and crew had romantic and funny adventures every week. The series' attraction was in the casting of well-known actors in guest-starring roles, with many famous film stars of yesteryear making rare television appearances.





“And who isn’t going to enjoy seeing L’il Kim wrestle Kim Kardashian in Jello on the Fiesta Deck?” asks Hunt, adding that other guest stars are likely to include include Sean John “Diddy” Combs, Kerry Washington, Will Smith, David Alan Grier, Chris Rock, Frenchie Davis, Liya Kebede, Katt Williams, Aretha Franklin, Kimora Lee, Tiger Woods, Ashanti, and the Black Eyed Peas.


Because of the extremely tight deadline – “and we debut in January,” Hunt wailed -- Hunt says that gaining quick script permission from Candy Spelling, who hold the “Love Boat” rights, is “crucial.”





“Problem is, she’s kind of a ******,” Hunt told the Fashion Week crowd. “To paraphrase ‘Tropic Thunder.’ And the way she has treated her daughter Tori – so very un-Jewish. Someone should take her aside this Rosh Hashanah and give her a smack, they’d be doing her such a favor.”





“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” creator Andy Borowitz has also signed onto the project on the creative side, according to Hunt.





Although the creation of her new OWN network is her most ambitious new project by far, Winfrey has been active on a number of other new projects as well. She has signed on with Simon & Schuster to pen a book about weight control, reportedly receiving more than $12 million. And she has also signed a three-year, $55 million deal for a new XM Satellite Radio channel titled Oprah & Friends to air programming related to fitness, health, and self-improvement. She also voiced Gussy the Goose in the live-action/computer-animated feature film “Charlotte’s Web.”





Hunt is an American Emmy-, Golden Globe-, and Academy Award-winning actress, widely known for her role in the television sitcom “Mad About You” and her Academy Award-winning role in “As Good As It Gets.” She has starred in several Hollywood films, including “Twister,” “Cast Away,” “What Women Want,” and “Pay It Forward.”





Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated American film director, producer, writer, and actor, noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983. Lee is also again on the prowl for new filmmaking talent in his second year heading the jury of the Babelgum Online Film Festival. Babelgum is an an Internet company that streams videos online for free, has made the Internet its venue. Independent filmmakers upload their entries onto Babelgum's platform, and audiences vote for their favorites. Last year's inaugural edition of the festival received 1,000 entries from 86 countries, according to Babelgum. More than 1.5 million viewers voted to select the final cut for the jury.

[catlover79]

Say WHAT!?????

[Pavan]

It looks to be true. I won't report it until I see it scheduled, lol.

[Scoobiedoo30]

this would be the third remake for The Love Boat if you remember UPN aired The Love Boat The Next Wave on Friday Night's at 8:00 pm Central Time

[catlover79]

^ That's right - they never learn!

[Schmoopie]

Oh my God!! They cannot be serious! I can see that show lasting about... well probably one minute!

Andrea

[robyrob]

I would think it only fair that they have a white version of Isaac the bartender - they can mock him as they see fit.

[Marvo301]

I hope Candy Spelling is smart enough not to give these people the rights to the show. Especially after Helen Hunt called her names and called into question her mothering skills and her faith!!!!!