Jamie Foxx Writing Laverne & Shirley Feature; Jessica Biel And Jennifer Garner Still Attached To Star

UPDATE: According to The Wrap, Foxx's "agent said through his publicist that there is 'no truth' to the story." Did Marshall misspeak? Is the deal not done? Unknown. Original article follows.

No surprise that a big-screen version of Laverne & Shirley might be in the works (slightly surprised that it has taken so long) but who would have expected Jamie Foxx would be writing it? That's odd, even with Foxx's history as a writer on In Living Colour. Jessica Biel and Jennifer Garner have been recently been rumored to star, and current quotes seem to confirm that as well.

Talking about a feature version of the show, producer Garry Marshall said at a recent fundraiser, reported by TV Guide, that  "Jamie [Foxx] and I are trying to do it. He's writing it. It's a whole different modern day take on how they came up on the streets during difficult times. Laverne would be this very tough girl with a big 'L' tattooed on her arm. Jennifer Garner would play Laverne and Jessica Biel would play Shirley." (Seems like that casting should be reversed, no?) So the 'L' tattoo replaces the big script 'L' that Laverne had monogrammed on her sweaters and poodle skirts? Guess that's as good a confirmation as any that the movie won't take place in the '50s.

Given the current of nostalgia that helps old TV shows get reinvented as modern feature films, Laverne & Shirley is perfect fodder. It was a spin-off from Happy Days, and both shows were born of '70s nostalgia for the late '50s and early '60s. (I.e. the 'halcyon' days of apple pie America before the assassination of Kennedy, the escalation of the Vietnam War and the emergence of the US counter-culture.) The tattoo suggests this would take place in the present day, so that's something. Last thing we need is more empty nostalgia. (Though a Laverne & Shirley set in '80s Reagan America — that is, the time period that lost interest in both the original show and Happy Days — would be vaguely amusing.)

And with Foxx writing, this could actually be on point, though that seems like a long shot.