Frank Capra's Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy Political Dramedy 'State Of The Union' Getting A Remake

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by Joe Cunningham
February 28, 2013 5:20 PM
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Despite its potentially dry subject matter, Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is creeping towards $200 million domestic box office, while Netflix’s “House of Cards” is just about the most talked about television show right now, which suggests that political dramas are in vogue. What better to give a shiny new big screen remake to than Frank Capra’s 1948 film “State of the Union,” in which Spencer Tracy’s industrialist ran for President, backed by Angela Lansbury’s wealthy newspaper magnate.

65 years after Frank Capra adapted Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Identity Films and Flat Penny Films are developing a new feature version of the iconic movie. They’re currently seeking writers for the new project, which we imagine will be a modernized retelling – because, let’s face it, it’s not going to be that hard to draw parallels between the politics and media influence of seven decades ago to those of today.

While a remake is an interesting project in concept, we imagine this will probably bother the political pages more than the entertainment ones until the relatively fresh-faced producers (Anthony Mastromauro and Amy Lanier) attract some serious filmmaking talent… which they could well do. Tracy and Lansbury starred in the original film alongside Katharine Hepburn and Van Johnson, and the reliable upside of any remake being announced is the reminder that it gives us to go back and watch the original again. And heck, if we’re remaking classic political dramas starring Angela Lansbury now, then maybe “The Manchurian Candidate” would be ripe for a modern retelling. Oh, wait… [Variety]