James Franco is remaking Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? as a 'very non-Lifetime movie'

It's the made-for-TV movie remake you never knew you wanted until now — courtesy of James Franco.

Franco is serving as executive producer on a remake of the Tori Spelling movie Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?, and he told Us Weekly over the weekend that it's all happening because of Will Ferrell. "Will Ferrell had done A Deadly Adoption, and Will told me he was actually inspired by my going on General Hospital when he did that, and then Lifetime came to me and [asked] would I like to recreate their movie like Will did," he said. "And I said yes, as long as I could change it a bit."

In the original Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?, Spelling starred as a teenager who thought her boyfriend, played by Ivan Sergei, was the perfect guy. Because this was a 1996 Tori Spelling movie, he was anything but, and the movie ultimately became a cult classic. Franco told Us Weekly that Spelling, 42, will have a role in his "completely revamped" version — this time, playing the mom. While the essence of the original will still be there, Franco insists that his Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? will be a "very non-Lifetime movie."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up