If we’ve learned anything from football movies over the years its that there are just as many tears as there are tackles, and the 1999 movie VARSITY BLUES has plenty of feels to go along with the field goals. Now all the drama on and off the field is being retooled for a new generation of viewers with the announcement (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the classic high school movie is being revived for the short-form streaming platform Quibi.
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There aren’t many details regarding this new version, other than it will be a “modern take” from writer Tripper Clancy (STUBER) and director Anne Fletcher (DUMPLIN’). The original movie’s producers, Mike Tollin and Tova Laiter, will be attached and the series will come from Tollin and Peter Guber’s MSM and Paramount Television.
Tollin put out a statement, writing, “For all those who cheered Mox’s refrain, ‘I don’t want your life,’ as well as all those who never heard of the West Canaan Coyotes, we’re thrilled to bring Varsity Blues to Quibi and into the 21st century!”
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The original movie, which centered on a 3A high school football team in Texas, came out during the revolution of teen-centric dramas in 1999, which also included SHE’S ALL THAT and 10 THINGS I HATED ABOUT YOU. Made for a budget of $16 million, BLUES went on to make $52 domestically, capitalizing off the fame of young stars like James Van Der Beek, Paul Walker, Scott Caan and Amy Smart. Since then, the movie has remained a staple of the high school movie canon and the line “I don’t want your life” has been quoted daily for the last 20 years.
What we can surmise about the series is that being on Quibi – a streaming service that delivers 5-10 minute segments for mobile devices – it will progress the story of these characters’ lives in short episodes and as they navigate the tough life of high school…and I guess football. Perhaps that may not be the remake that would get fans excited, or at the least vaguely interested, but if I may ever so tweak the famous line: It may not be the life you want, but it’s the life you’re getting!